Capital India Finance Limited (CIFL), a tech enabled SME Finance player, has announced the partnership of its fintech subsidiary RapiPay and its cross-border remittances business vertical ‘RemitX’ to provide international outward remittance services to a varied set of customers.
With this development, CIFL has forged an alliance within the group to explore joint synergies by enabling financial technologies taking outward remittances services to India’s vast micro-markets and thereby, consolidate its position, the company said in a release.
CIFL aims to create a digital ecosystem in financial, payments and banking space to offer its services to customers both in Urban and rural India.
Under the partnership, RapiPay will penetrate the outward remittances services offered by RemitX into the deeper markets of the country by leveraging its vast network of over two lakh agents called ‘RapiPay Sathis’.
On the other hand, RemitX will make available its tech-driven, integrated Foreign Exchange services such as outward remittances, buying and selling foreign currency bank notes, foreign currency demand drafts, foreign currency prepaid cards, travel insurance to RapiPay’s business network.
Currently through RapiPay, RemitX is offering the two highly in demand services in the international remittance space – outward remittances for Students and outward remittances for overseas Medical Treatment.
Post COVID, as the students plan their higher studies abroad this segment is poised to offer vast opportunity in servicing their payments for university fees and personal expenses.
CIFL Executive Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala said, “We are geared up to offer seamless and real time technology – led foreign exchange remittance services to under-penetrated markets of India.”
On the students’ front, around one million Indian students go abroad for studies every year. Their tuition fee is transferred by their families in foreign currency through banks and the local money changers. In most cases, the conversion rates charged to consumers are either extremely high or have additional bank charges.
While RemitX will offer the best rates and ensure a seamless and transparent process, RapiPay’s pan India presence across Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities will help the consumers remit foreign exchange with a greater convenience.
Similarly, outward remittances for medical requirements is another highly in demand service provided by RemitX. The customers would need to contact their nearest RapiPay agents to meet their remittance requirements, the company added in a release.
Of late, there has been a strong demand for international outward remittances to the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany. “We are expecting a good traction from the Tier II and Tier III cities of Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, which are emerging as a strong economic hotspot in India,” said Bhanwala.
