Stripe, PayPal Bet $16.6M on Xflow’s B2B Payment Tech

Bengaluru-based fintech startup Xflow has secured $16.6 million in a Series A funding round backed by payments giants Stripe and PayPal Ventures to modernize India’s legacy cross-border B2B payment systems.

A Multi-Million Dollar Bet on Financial Infrastructure

The all-equity investment round was led by General Catalyst. It saw active participation from existing backers including Square Peg, Stripe, Lightspeed, and Moore Capital, alongside new investor PayPal Ventures. This latest injection of capital values the Indian startup at $85 million post-money, pushing its total funding raised to date past the $32 million mark.

Solving the Friction in Cross-Border B2B Transactions

While India has experienced rapid digitization in domestic payments, international B2B transactions for local exporters remain heavily reliant on banks. This traditional system lacks transparency, leaving businesses in the dark regarding hidden fees, settlement timelines, and the exact exchange rates applied to incoming rupee conversions.

This operational friction heavily impacts mid-to-large-scale exporters who routinely transfer millions of dollars to fund local payrolls and operations. Xflow addresses this critical gap by offering a transparent, high-speed payment infrastructure designed specifically for international money movement.

The Tech Powering High-Volume Exporters and Freelancers

Established in 2021, Xflow provides the underlying payment architecture for a diverse client base, ranging from SaaS enterprises and global capability centers (GCCs) to individual freelancers and product exporters. The platform enables these entities to seamlessly collect international funds, manage foreign exchange, and settle balances directly in India.

“Cross-border B2B payments were stuck in a different age compared to UPI,” noted co-founder Anand Balaji, drawing a stark contrast to India’s highly successful Unified Payments Interface. Balaji, who previously led Stripe’s business development in India, co-founded the venture alongside former Stripe colleagues Ashwin Bhatnagar and Abhijit Chandrasekaran.

The startup’s growth trajectory is steep. Last year, Xflow facilitated transactions from over 100 countries across 25 currencies. The company processed nearly $1 billion in annualized payment volume, representing a tenfold increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Building the Infrastructure for Future Fintechs

Xflow currently serves approximately 15,000 businesses. The transaction sizes handled by the platform vary significantly depending on the client segment. Multinationals operating offshore units in India (GCCs) average transactions between $1 million and $2 million, while traditional goods exporters average $30,000 to $40,000, and freelancers typically process around $3,000 per transaction.

Rather than positioning itself as a consumer-facing application, Xflow operates purely as an infrastructure provider. Its robust API suite allows platforms and exporters to embed cross-border payment capabilities directly into their proprietary software.

“We didn’t want to build the next Wise — we want to power the next thousand Wises,” Balaji explained, highlighting the company’s B2B infrastructure focus.

AI-Driven Forex Optimization and Prediction

To help corporate finance teams maximize their returns, Xflow introduced an AI-powered foreign exchange tool. This feature functions similarly to limit orders in stock trading, allowing businesses to set target currency conversion rates instead of accepting standard, real-time bank quotes.

“What we’ve added is the prediction layer and the ability to actually set a limit order,” Balaji said. The predictive model offers a three-day forex forecast with a reported 92% confidence level, though this figure has not been independently verified.

Regulatory Milestones and Global Expansion

While Xflow competes with traditional banking institutions and lower-end retail fintechs like Wise, Payoneer, and Skydo, its focus on high-value corporate transactions and API integration sets it apart. The startup plans to utilize the fresh capital to expand its product offerings and secure critical regulatory licenses in international markets.

Xflow is currently preparing to launch import payment capabilities and is actively pursuing operational licenses in Singapore. The company already holds a payments license in Canada, though India remains its primary operational hub.

Furthermore, the company secured final authorization from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for its Payment Aggregator–Cross Border (PA-CB) license, covering both import and export transactions. To accelerate distribution, Xflow has signed key platform partnerships with Easebuzz and Drip Capital to embed its cross-border features directly into their respective platforms.

Balaji noted that securing backing from industry leaders Stripe and PayPal Ventures has significantly bolstered Xflow’s credibility with financial regulators and global banking partners. The startup currently operates with a specialized team of 65 employees as it continues to scale its global financial network.