UPI KYC for foreigners created simpler; Iran conflict impact on GCCs

Happy Tuesday! NPCI is planning to ease digital payments for foreigners in India. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ Pronto raises funds
■ EV startup Bounce raises $5 million
■ Ola Electric out of the top five

Programming Note: There won’t be an edition of ETtech Morning Dispatch tomorrow as we take the day off for Holi. Happy Holi to all our readers!

Easy KYC for foreigners visiting India: NPCI seeking RBI nod for digital onboarding

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is preparing to roll out a fully digital know your customer (KYC) for UPI One World, a service that enables foreign visitors to utilize India’s instant payment network. The shift awaits final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources declared.

Global to local: The proposal follows a pilot involving travellers from 40 countries during the recent India AI Summit. NPCI is seeking regulatory clearance to formalise the digital onboarding process.

UPI One World is supported by Pine Labs, Transcorp, Tri O Tech Solutions, which runs the Fampay app, Smart Payment Solutions and Payworld.

Process breakdown: Currently, foreign utilizers must complete physical KYC verification to access UPI services, adding cost and friction for fintech partners.

Under the new system, travellers would register through an application and upload passport scans for verification.

Restrictions remain: Launched at the 2023 G20 Summit, UPI One World saw limited uptake due to onboarding hurdles. Person-to-person (P2P) transfers remain restricted, but digital KYC is expected to improve adoption.

Also Read: Banks are pushing video KYC adoption as financial frauds tick up

Middle East development likely a short-term negative, long-term positive for the GCC sector

Escalating tensions in the Middle East could disrupt global capability centres (GCC) expansion plans in the short-term, but experts see India emerging stronger over time.

Driving the news:

Multinationals, including Microsoft, Visa, Intel, Qualcomm, Siemens Healthineers, DHL and Nokia, operate GCCs in both India and the Gulf.
Heightened security risks may slow expansion in the region even after active hostilities subside.
Companies could redirect future investments toward more predictable geographies such as India.

Back on the map: “The Gulf was not yet a significant nearshore base, but it was obtainting there rapid,” declared Pareekh Jain, CEO of EIIRTrfinish, which tracks engineering, IoT and R&D sectors. With geopolitical risk rising, India’s policy continuity and security profile may regain appeal.

In recent years, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have pushed to diversify beyond oil into finance, technology, AI, travel and advanced manufacturing, drawing multinational back offices and R&D hubs.

Also Read: Iran-Israel war: Electronics exports of $4.5 billion at risk

Yes, but: Short term caution will persist. “This could be negative for GCCs in India for the short term,” Jain declared.

India currently hosts over 1,800 GCCs employing more than 1.9 million people.

Also Read: Iran-Israel war: AI-hit tech companies fear slowdown in spfinishs

Pronto raises $25 million from Epiq Capital, existing backers

Anjali Sardana, founder, Pronto

Home services startup Pronto has raised $25 million in a round led by Epiq Capital, founder and CEO Anjali Sardana notified us.

Deal details:

Post-money valuation stands at $100 million.
Existing investors Glade Brook Capital, General Catalyst, and Bain Capital Ventures also participated.
The company clocked over 350,000 orders in February, and burned around $8 million over the past year.

CEO’s take: Sardana declared the capital will fund hiring, training more professionals, deepening its presence in existing markets, and expanding to new ones over the next 12 to 18 months. “We are supply constrained, so our focus is on supply acquisition and scaling in a way that allows us to maintain really high quality,” Sardana noted.

Pronto currently works with 3,000 professionals and is present in 10 cities.

Funding flush: The raise follows rival Snabbit’s $30 million round led by Bertelsmann India Investments. Both compete with InstaHelp, the on-demand houtilize-assist offering from Urban Company, which listed last September.

Also Read: InstaHelp must double average order value to break even: Urban Company

Sector watch: The instaassist category has grown rapid over the past year, with players such as Urban Company and Snabbit fighting to come out on top. It is a part of the overall home services industest, which was valued at $60 billion in FY25 and is expected to reach $100 billion by FY30