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

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

#41

Post by [deleted] »

sudshekhar wrote: post #8
shivekkhurana wrote: post #3

HN is a global forum, and most people probably don't know about UPI. 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 :)

We're still playing with our pricing. 10$ joining fees and a 3.5% markup on adding funds is the current business plan. We'll observe customer usage over the next 3-6 months and figure out if fixed fee subscriptions can be cheaper. > Also how did you build a legal structure to allow this ? We've partnered with Transcorp International Limited to operate the Cheq app in India. They are an RBI approved AD2 and PPI licens…

[deleted]

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

#42

Post by orochimaaru »

sudshekhar wrote: post #15
toomuchtodo wrote: post #12

Can you continue to use this from outside India once identity proofed within India?

Currently, you can only make payments using the app while you're in India. Your wallet will remain active and you can use the funds next time you visit again. But we have geofencing restrictions which prevent customers from initiating payments while outside the country. Due to certain regulatory restrictions.

Won’t vpns circumvent geofencing? I use one often.

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

#43

Post by orochimaaru »

fakedang wrote: post #32

For those not in the know, I believe it's possible for NRIs with an Indian Bank account (NRE/NRO) to use UPI. https://m.economictimes.com/wealth/save/upi-for-nris-with-in... The list of countries are Canada, Singapore, UK, USA, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

It is, but it’s a pain in the rear end to maintain that account. This is what happened.

I had an NRE with icici. But kyc requirements kick in after some period during which the account is idle. This happened often, because I don’t use it when I’m in the US and my parents didn’t use it in India.

Getting that unlocked was a bit of a process needing snail mail and identity documents. It wasn’t icici’s fault. They were super helpful.

In short, I closed the account. Besides the depreciating rupee makes it not so attractive to keep dollars in India anymore.

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

#44

Post by sudshekhar »

abhinai wrote: post #30

I am your exact target and I could try this right away. Can you please give more details on what currency conversion fees can be expected?

For this month at least, we're running a zero forex sale.

You'll be able to purchase INR using your international card at no extra cost apart from the 10$ basically.

Standard add money rate will be 3.5% . Whenever we start applying the same.

This is less than half the fees charged by airport money changers.

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

#45

Post by sudshekhar »

optimistprime wrote: post #27

Love the idea, but honestly it's too much friction to start using your product. Please consider in-app passport verification and wallet creation. Also the website does not seem to be well thought out - 1. No mention of how to use UPI or Cheq. 2. Where to go to get verified? 3. I could not find an ios app. Is there one coming soon? 4. Too many typos as others too have noted. "UPI wallet let’s you pay " <-- lets 5. Lot…

We're live on both android and ios. You can use this link to view the apps directly.

https://link-to.app/cheq

And thanks for all the suggestions. We'll improve the website asap.

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

#46

Post by jrumbut »

sudshekhar wrote: post #35
redindian75 wrote: post #33

I struggled a lot with this exact problem during my trip to India last year, so I am your perfect NRI customer. I don't have an Indian phone number, so GPay and PayTM were out of reach. So I had to use my parents' phone everywhere. This app is great for my next visit. However, in-person-branch-verification is a big non-starter for me. It needs to be more convenient than visiting a branch. If I have to visit a branch,…

> Otherwise, the inconvenience of a branch visit negates any usefulness. Unfortunately, existing regulations in India mandate a one-time physical verification before we can unlock you for a full-fledged prepaid account without applying artificial limits. Our team is definitely looking into way to make this entire process online and as hassle-free as possible. And we're looking for ways to unblock activation directly…

Hey best of luck with this! I would have loved something like this on my trip to India.

To get anywhere and do anything required increasingly elaborate setups and even personal password sharing between myself and new inlaws that hardly knew me.

A lot of time and money was wasted and somehow in the process I was banned from Uber for several months.

I have the same advice for you I would give to basically every other business that caters to tourists in India: charge a lot more and make it a lot more convenient. If you need in-person verification and can't get an airport kiosk, give me an option to pay $50 and have someone come to my hotel or have someone pick me up and bring me to Cheq. It's so difficult to get around before you get some kind of digital payment setup.

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

#47

Post by reacharavindh »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #31

Excellent, and I love the idea. We (a community of 400+ founders in a small Bangalore community) were even discussing you guys a few days back. I have given this feedback earlier, too, but the copy sounds Ind-lish at most places. Your customers are going to be primarily non-Indian. It would be best to have a native speaker, such as an American, to review and re-write. I’m an Indian and have worked primarily with over…

I see where you are coming from. But, as an NRI, I found the writing authentic. Just like American English, English English, Australian English, it is Indian English. Nothing to be unproud of and criticized about..

I’d perhaps be happy to see translation options as Indian English, American, UK etc on a modern humorous tone :-)

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

#48

Post by kobiguru »

wmf wrote: post #26
sudshekhar wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have to do the passport verification since we're providing you with a prepaid wallet, which can be used to store funds and make purchases in India. Companies like Wise power Remittances i.e. you can send money to a person in India from USA using their facilities. However, this cannot be used to make purchases from merchants. Nor are you guaranteed your money will be delivered within 2 minutes in case of cross-bord…

There are KYC APIs that can do identity verification for you.

Fintech in India is hard by design. harder still when it involves cross boarder payments. I trust what they are saying about RBI regulations, not following them to the letter means death.

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

#50

Post by sudshekhar »

jrumbut wrote: post #46
sudshekhar wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Otherwise, the inconvenience of a branch visit negates any usefulness. Unfortunately, existing regulations in India mandate a one-time physical verification before we can unlock you for a full-fledged prepaid account without applying artificial limits. Our team is definitely looking into way to make this entire process online and as hassle-free as possible. And we're looking for ways to unblock activation directly…

Hey best of luck with this! I would have loved something like this on my trip to India. To get anywhere and do anything required increasingly elaborate setups and even personal password sharing between myself and new inlaws that hardly knew me. A lot of time and money was wasted and somehow in the process I was banned from Uber for several months. I have the same advice for you I would give to basically every other b…

Thank you for the encouragement. I hope you get to use this app on your next visit.

> charge a lot more and make it a lot more convenient.

We're trying to introduce doorstep verification services. And establishing good unit economics is definitely our current biggest problem.

50$ will make our investors very happy but then customers might complain.

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