Sequoia-backed fintech platform Aspora expands opportunities for the Indian diaspora: now non-resident Indians (NRIs) can pay bills and top up family members’ mobile plans directly from their app. The new capability allows paying utilities and other bills in India without the need for transfers through intermediaries.
Previously, users had to either transfer funds to domestic Indian accounts or ask relatives to make payments. Alternatives included using overseas cards with high fees and the risk of processing failures.
Aspora is integrated with Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) via an internal Yes Bank channel, enabling processing of payments to over 22,000 providers in India – from energy distributors such as BSES and BESCOM to broadband providers (Jio, Airtel) and loan payments at major banks.
The company says there are no fees for these payments, and users are guaranteed favorable currency exchange rates to pay bills directly in foreign currency.
“For millions of Indians living abroad, paying bills in India has always been too complicated – requiring transfers, delays, and double charges. Aspora has now solved this massive problem with a single tap of a button.”– Parth Garg
Ecosystem, testing and expanding access
“Today, the goal of any neobank is to strive for more transactions within the app. Previously, transfers were used once a month or twice a month. With this new bill-payment system, the speed of using our platform has increased, and users visit the service more often,” said Parth Garg.
“With transfers, people previously used the app once a month or twice a month. With this new bill-payment system, the speed of using our platform has increased, and our users visit the platform more often.”– Parth Garg
According to the company, testing of this feature lasted several weeks among thousands of users and yielded positive results. One of the key usage scenarios was mobile top-ups. It should be noted that BBPS does not cover all categories; in particular, mobile top-ups and credit card payments for foreign payers require separate solutions. Therefore, Aspora has partnered with Ding to simplify these operations.
The option is already available to customers in the United Kingdom, and the company plans a rapid rollout for users in the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
In June, Aspora raised US$50 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia, valuing the company at around US$500 million. Investors also included Greylock, Hummingbird, Quantum Light Ventures, and Y Combinator. The company’s total investments have surpassed US$99 million. Aspora currently serves more than 800,000 customers who have completed transactions totaling about US$4 billion and saved over US$25 million in transfer fees. In the future, the company plans to launch NRE (Non-Resident External) accounts to manage foreign income and NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary) accounts to manage inflows into India.
Source: https://mezha.net/
