Paying suppliers and manufacturers in India: deposits, balances and the exact rupees on the pro-forma

Short answer. A supplier in India quotes in rupees or in dollars, asks for a 30% deposit and the balance against the shipping documents, and will not release the goods until the money is in the account. Storspay pays the exact figure on the pro-forma to the supplier's bank — HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India — at the mid-market rate for 1% all-in, usually within minutes, with the pro-forma number on the receipt. No correspondent bank, no short arrival, no week of waiting.

Who buys from India

software development shops, IT services firms, design and marketing agencies, BPO and KPO teams, pharmaceutical and machinery exporters, textile and garment manufacturers — the buyers are importers in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa, distributors in the Gulf, and companies in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe sourcing from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi NCR. The supplier wants two things: the money to arrive exactly as invoiced, and to see it before the container leaves.

Deposit and balance, without the gap

Pay the deposit from your Storspay balance with the pro-forma number as the reference. When the documents are ready, pay the balance the same way; the supplier's bank shows two domestic credits that match the two invoice lines. If you buy from several suppliers, Run Payroll pays them in one batch with one fee line.

Paying from Africa

A business registered in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana or any of our other African corridors funds its Storspay balance from its own local bank or mobile money at 2% and pays the Indian supplier from that balance at 1% — no dollar queue at the bank, no agent, and a receipt that names the importer and the pro-forma. See Pay abroad from Africa, Latin America & Asia.

What is different about India

India is the largest market for remote professional services on earth and a bank-first corridor: every salaried professional and every registered company has an IFSC-coded bank account, and domestic rails (IMPS, NEFT) clear in minutes. What matters to an Indian recipient is the rupee amount that actually lands, because wires from the US or Europe routinely arrive short after correspondent-bank charges and a hidden FX spread. Storspay converts once at the mid-market rate and shows the 1% separately, so the rupee figure in the notification is the figure in the account.

Documents, tax IDs and what the recipient's bank may ask

Inbound business payments to India go through the recipient's authorised-dealer bank. The recipient's bank may ask for the purpose of the payment (a purpose code such as P0802 for software consultancy, P0801 for IT services, or the goods-export codes for merchandise), the invoice, and the recipient's PAN. Exporters of goods and services usually want a Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) or an e-FIRA from their bank to close the export entry and claim GST refunds — ask the recipient whether they need one before the first payment, and keep the Storspay receipt with the invoice on your side.

How a payment to India works on Storspay

1. Fund your balance in USD (ACH or wire), CAD (Interac e-Transfer or EFT), GBP (UK bank transfer) or EUR (SEPA) — to account details in your own business name. Funding is free.
2. Add the recipient once: their name as it appears on the account, the bank (HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra and every other IFSC-coded bank) and the account number. Storspay checks the account name before you confirm.
3. Type the amount in either box. Enter what you want to send and see the rupees that land, or type the rupees figure on the invoice and see what it costs you. The rate is the mid-market rate; the 1% is on its own line.
4. Confirm. The money goes over IMPS or NEFT and usually lands within minutes — the same business day at most. The recipient gets a notification with the exact amount, and you get a receipt with the invoice reference.

Nobody in India has to sign up, install an app or touch anything other than their own bank account. Everything on the recipient side looks like an ordinary domestic transfer.

What it costs

Storspay charges 1% all-in on payments to India, with a minimum of US$2, at the mid-market rate. That one line covers conversion, settlement and delivery; there is no FX markup, no intermediary-bank charge and nothing deducted on the recipient side.

Rates in this guide are the mid-market rate on the day of writing (1 USD = 96.9643 INR); the calculator on the homepage shows today's. Payments above ₹1,500,000 are split automatically under the local cap, under one reference and one fee.

See what your team in India receives →

Questions businesses ask before the first payment to India

The supplier wants US dollars, not rupees. Can you do that?

Storspay pays Indian bank accounts in rupees. Most suppliers who quote in dollars are happy to receive the rupees equivalent at the mid-market rate on the day — it is usually more than their own bank would have given them for the dollars.

Can I pay a supplier before my own verification is finished?

No. Business verification (KYB) comes first; it usually takes a day. After that every payment is immediate.

How do I show the supplier the payment is on its way?

Every payment has a receipt with the reference, the rupees amount and the status; forward it. The supplier's bank shows the credit within minutes of "Sent".

Can I pay a UPI ID instead of an account number?

Not yet. Storspay pays Indian bank accounts by account number and IFSC code; UPI handles are on the roadmap. Every UPI-linked account has an ordinary account number you can use today.

Is there a limit per payment to India?

Payments above ₹1,500,000 are split automatically under the local cap, under one reference and one fee — a large invoice never becomes several trips to the bank.

Does the recipient pay anything?

No. Storspay charges you 1% all-in (minimum US$2); the recipient receives the rupee amount shown. Their bank may apply its own inward-remittance charge for issuing an FIRC — ask them, it is usually a few hundred rupees.

Who this is for — and who it is not for

Storspay is for businesses and organisations: companies, agencies, schools, hospitals, facilitators, foundations and sole traders paying other businesses and professionals for work, goods and services. A sole trader counts as a business and signs up in their own name.

What Storspay is not is a personal money-transfer service. We do not open personal accounts, and every payment has to be a business transaction: an invoice, a contract, a fee note, work delivered. Money to family and personal transfers are not what this is, and we would rather say so now than at verification.