Reading rupee amounts
This is the one that catches people out. Indian digit grouping is not the same as most of the world’s.| You see | It means |
|---|---|
₹10,00,000 | 1,000,000 — one million rupees |
₹25,00,000 | 2,500,000 — two and a half million rupees |
₹1,00,00,000 is ten million, not one hundred million.
| Word | Value |
|---|---|
| lakh | 100,000. “₹10 lakh” is ₹10,00,000. |
| crore | 10,000,000, or 100 lakh. Not used in this guide, but you will meet it. |
INR, the currency code.
The two amounts
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| Amount to be collected | What you ask the buyer to transfer — the amount to be settled plus our fee, GST on that fee, and any tax. Returned by the quote as total_payable_inr. |
| Amount to be settled | What reaches you abroad. Sent as amount_to_be_settled. |
How buyers pay
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| NEFT | National Electronic Funds Transfer. A standard Indian bank transfer, settled in batches. |
| RTGS | Real Time Gross Settlement. Same idea, for larger amounts, settled one at a time. |
| IMPS | Immediate Payment Service. Instant transfer, works around the clock. |
| UPI | Unified Payments Interface. India’s instant mobile payment system. |
| IFSC | Indian Financial System Code. Eleven characters identifying a specific bank branch. A buyer needs it alongside the account number to send money. |
| UTR | Unique Transaction Reference. The number the bank puts on a transfer — how you match a credit to a payment. |
| VBA | Virtual bank account. The Indian account number we issue for you to collect into. |
Who is who
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| Buyer | Whoever in India is paying you. |
| Remitter | The same person, in LRS rules and API field names. Identified by PAN. |
| Merchant | A business collecting money. You, if you collect for yourself. |
| Sub-merchant | A business a PSP onboards and collects for — a university, a hospital, a travel operator. “Merchant” is the API’s term for it, not a description of what it sells. |
| PSP | Payment Service Provider. Collects on behalf of the sub-merchants it onboards. |
| AD bank | Authorised Dealer bank. The partner bank licensed to move money out of India; it makes the actual transfer. |
| Beneficiary | Whoever receives the money abroad. |
Tax and money
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| TCS | Tax Collected at Source. Indian tax taken when money is sent abroad, paid to the government against the buyer’s PAN. The buyer claims it back later. |
| GST | Goods and Services Tax. Indian sales tax. Applies to our fee. |
| MDR | Merchant Discount Rate. Our processing fee, as a percentage. |
| Financial year | India’s tax year: 1 April to 31 March. Not the calendar year. Limits and thresholds reset on 1 April. |
| Form 26AS | An Indian taxpayer’s annual tax statement. Where a buyer sees the TCS credited to them. |
Regulation
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| RBI | Reserve Bank of India. India’s central bank and the regulator here. |
| PA-CB | Payment Aggregator – Cross Border. The RBI licence EximPe holds to do this. |
| FEMA | Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. The law governing money crossing India’s border. |
| LRS | Liberalised Remittance Scheme. The FEMA rules for an individual in India sending money abroad for a personal purpose — education, travel. A purchase of goods or services is not LRS and carries no TCS. Decided by what the money is for, not who pays. |
| Purpose code | A FEMA code declaring what a payment is for. Decides who may pay, which documents are needed, and what tax applies. |
| Resident individual | Someone resident in India under FEMA. Only they can use LRS — not companies, partnerships, trusts, or non-residents. |
| HUF | Hindu Undivided Family. An Indian entity type for tax purposes. Cannot use LRS. |
| PAN | Permanent Account Number. A ten-character Indian tax ID, e.g. ABCDE1234F. How a buyer is identified under LRS. |
Onboarding
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| KYC | Know Your Customer. The identity and business checks before your account goes live. |
| UBO | Ultimate Beneficial Owner. Whoever really owns your business, behind any holding structure. |
| PEP | Politically Exposed Person. Someone in public office, or close to someone who is — declared during KYC. |
| MOA / AOA | Memorandum and Articles of Association. Your company’s constitutional documents. |
Your own bank, abroad
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| SWIFT / BIC | The code identifying your bank internationally. Both names mean the same thing. |
| IBAN | International Bank Account Number. Used instead of an account number in many countries. |