Bharat in BetaCross-border business trade services
Source
- Kae Capital, Cross-Border Fintech (opens in a new tab)Application layersPublished: 28 Feb 2023
The idea
Combine payments with business-specific support.
Why this is interesting
- The source describes application layers as owning the customer, often appearing as a checkout on marketplaces, and earning more by adding treasury and working-capital services on top of payments. It lists business trade as one application use case and expects the best customer support and widening product range to win.
- Business trade is named as a use case without a specific buyer or workflow; the note applies the essay’s general application-layer argument to it. The model is portable. In India, trade payments for imports and exports fall under Reserve Bank of India rules that changed after the essay, as noted on the infrastructure entry.
Possible starting points
Collections for one export segment
Serve one kind of exporter, such as small service firms or marketplace sellers, with collection, conversion and documentation in one flow.
Working capital on visible receivables
Offer short-term financing to merchants whose cross-border receivables already pass through the application.
Questions to answer
- Which trade segment has the most friction in getting paid across borders, and does it switch providers for better support?
- Can an application lend against receivables without taking on credit risk it cannot price?