What is Payment Aggregator Cross-Border (PA-CB)?
A Payment Aggregator Cross-Border, or PA-CB, is a business that collects money from overseas payers and settles it to Indian merchants, or handles the reverse for imports. Many of the platforms Indian freelancers and agencies use to receive international payments, through card links, local collection accounts or invoices, operate in this space. RBI has brought cross-border payment aggregation under its regulatory framework, so these providers need RBI authorisation and must follow rules on merchant due diligence, settlement and reporting.
Some providers are themselves banks or partner with AD banks; others are non-bank entities authorised by RBI. The structure affects who issues your payment advice and how money reaches your account.
Why it matters for exporters
Receiving export payments through a PA-CB is legitimate and often cheaper or faster than a SWIFT wire, but you still have FEMA obligations as an exporter. Your EDF lists each invoice, and your bank needs to be able to match realisations against them in EDPMS. With a PA-CB, the inward credit may arrive as a batch settlement, with the provider's own reference and purpose code, after fees and conversion.
Before you rely on a provider, check that it is RBI-authorised, ask what documents it issues as proof of realisation (an advice or a FIRA-equivalent), and ask your AD bank how it will treat those settlements when closing EDPMS entries. Our fact sheet does not set out a platform-specific procedure, so get that answer in writing from your bank or provider.
Example
Indus Copy Studio, a two-partner content agency in Kochi, invoices a UK client GBP 1,800 and shares a collection link from a PA-CB. The client pays from its UK account. Two days later the provider settles ₹1,89,400 to Indus's current account with a payment advice showing the invoice number and purpose code. Indus records the advice against the invoice listed on its EDF.
Common confusion
A PA-CB is not the same as a plain payment gateway, which may only process domestic payments. See EDF when you get paid through Skydo for a worked example. This is general information, not legal advice.