Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners

My name is Sudhanshu and I'm the Co-founder/CEO of Cheq UPI (https://www.chequpi.com). We are the first UPI wallet for foreigners and non-resident Indians travelling to India. Using Cheq, you can purchase almost any goods/services across India .

Just scan the merchant QR code / choose the pay by UPI id option to make the purchase. You don’t need an Indian bank account to operate Cheq UPI. Our prepaid wallet can be topped up with any international debit/credit card.

10mn+ foreigners visiting India each year, invariably face one of the below problems

1) Indian merchant not accepting international credit/debit cards

2) Unavailability of ATMs/money changers at remote locations

3) Indian merchants not tendering exact loose change

The Cheq UPI app was launched to help all these individuals travel cashfree across the country.

If know someone planning to visit India this year, please ask them to try us out!

A lot of time, hard work and luck has gone into building Cheq and we hope it’ll make travelling to India more convenient for citizens across the globe.

Some quick pointers to know about the Cheq UPI app:

- The Cheq UPI app works ONLY in India and we must verify your passport in-person before activating the UPI wallet.

- Once activated, you’ll be able to scan & pay with UPI anywhere across India.

- Funds can be added to the Cheq wallet using any international debit/credit card, you don’t need an Indian bank account / aadhaar card.

- Apart from the 10$ account opening fees, there are no other costs for using the product. Funds added can be spent anywhere across India.

I’ll be available to answer any questions you may have throughout the day about Cheq, UPI or Indian fintech in general.

Look forward to seeing you all try Cheq UPI

PS: We're continuously improving our services, so critical and constructive feedback is most welcome.

Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
chequpi.com

But this is amazing. Do you have a subscription service or do you charge a markup on forex deposits ?

Also how did you build a legal structure to allow this ?

Congrats on the launch. Wish you success :)

> Verify yourself at any one of our partner branches across India

How do I find out if there's a branch nearby without downloading your app and committing to an unknown amount of effort? I couldn't find a list of your branches anywhere, but it looks like it would be a showstopper if there isn't one available. It's as if you're being evasive about how widespread your coverage is. Why should I invest my time if it seems likely that you won't have a branch where I need it, and therefore I won't be able to use your services at all?

For example: do you have a presence in the arrivals areas at major airports? If so, which ones?

In fact, it seems that your call to action is to download your app. But why would I bother to do that if I know I won't get anywhere without visiting a branch to get approval first? Assuming you have no choice about in-person documentation checks, it would make more sense for you to send prospective customers to their nearest branch, have their documents checked and approved there, and to provide wifi at every branch so that they can get the app up and running quickly - for example with a QR code or something generated by your staff when documentation is approved and an account created. Being asked to set up the app first, when we know we will be blocked on a visit to a branch, seems backwards.

Your FAQ says:

> Your passport and Indian VISA are required to open a tourist wallet

What about OCI holders? Are your branch staff going to be familiar with this case, or will it be a waste of time to show up with one?

> You can add funds to your tourist wallet via an instant payment gateway.

This is a non-answer. Is this through the app? Through the website? Through something else not specified? Are there any criteria that must be met? Or do you support adding funds immediately via credit card without any further review steps apart from the usual payment flow expected when buying anything else online? Because that's what I'd like, and this answer makes me doubt that this is what you mean.

1) https://transcorpint.com/find-us => You can verify yourself at any of these centers across India.

We'll improve the site to directly point customers to appropriate verification centers (thanks for pointing this out)

2) OCI holders are accepted as well. Only your passport and OCI card are required

3) Add funds facility is instantenous. And is available in the app once you've finished the verification. You'll be able to add funds via any card, and instantly receive funds in your Cheq wallet for spending.