Or just exchange 1000 USD in INR at nearest Western Union counter for way minimum fee than that. A better option than giving out your personal info and biometrics.
Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
91–100 of 129 posts
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#92This looks interesting, but there are some questions I still have after reading your website. Perhaps you could clarify, please? Your website says: > 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 sho…
Hey, answering the questions below 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 finis…
You guys shot yourself in the foot by using Transcorp. They only have a presence in Punjab and with a smattering in Haryana, UK, and Delhi.
The target persona who would use this is probably in the Indo-American diaspora, which skews Telugu, Malayali, Kannada, and Tamil - and that too a mix of larger cities and smaller towns (the South Indian versions of Moga and Ludhiana such as Coimbatore, Thrissur, Warangal).
In my experience, Punjabi NRIs are tech averse and tend to head directly to the pind where you can still use cash, or stick with Chandigarh/Delhi, where credit card support is mainstream.
Re-pivot to target the more tech aware Indian diaspora in the US - they would be more open to adopting a "random" app (not to dunk on you guys - getting into YC is amazing, but it doesn't have street credit outside the Bay Area).
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#93Or just exchange 1000 USD in INR at nearest Western Union counter for way minimum fee than that. A better option than giving out your personal info and biometrics.
And walk around with a years salary in your pocket? Doesn’t sound like the best idea
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
ignoring the tone of this comment, “charged an arm and a leg” = pennies. i guess pennies are now valuable in the netherlands? in any case, the Dutch supermarket chain albert heijn still doesn’t accept any cards except some non starter locally developed ones. i always found it interesting that the netherlands are so far behind places like the UK when it comes to payments. even countries in SE Europe have better paymen…
Not sure where you're from, but it's true at least if I went to NL from the UK and used any credit card, there'd be probably both 1) an awful FX rate; 2) a flat charge. ATMs are typically worse, even if the machine operator itself doesn't add a fee. Some debit cards (or pre-paid 'charge cards', such as any specifically marketed for travel) like Monzo bank's don't, are just like using it at home in GBP (as long as you…
it really depends. there are so many providers in the UK that you can find all the possible combinations (high FX rates, high FX fees to mastercard/visa FX rates, no FX fees).
> Some debit cards (or pre-paid 'charge cards', such as any specifically marketed for travel)
for anyone checking this thread, these two are not the same. debit cards are different from pre-paid, and some shops will have issues with pre-paid.
> not 'helpfully' converted for you (at a terrible rate) by the merchant's PoS provider
oh yes, this is one of things travellers always need to be aware of: never select currency conversion by the PoS, always charge in the local currency and let your bank to the conversion.
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#95Or just exchange 1000 USD in INR at nearest Western Union counter for way minimum fee than that. A better option than giving out your personal info and biometrics.
And walk around with a years salary in your pocket? Doesn’t sound like the best idea
If 1000 dollars is your years salary then you should not visit india for a tour.
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#96Excellent, 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…
Hi Brajeshwar, How do I join the founder community you mentioned?
Emailed you.
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can understand why 3.5% might sound high. But cross border payments are expensive to facilitate. And this is the best rate we've been able to figure out currently. Btw, In the US, Most ATMs are charging 3-5$ extra each time I withdraw cash. Plus the currency conversion charges. Our prices are definitely better.
Often the most egregious fee is the crap FX rate they give you too - I assume because a lot of people just assume the rate's the rate, so it's completely hidden. Do you pass on the wholesale rate from your provider directly, or is there some spread too? My bank Monzo for example gives me Mastercard's rate on the day the payment (in-person abroad or online in foreign currency) settles, so I always use it for such tran…
We're passing on the wholesale rate to our customers.
And plan to keep optimising these costs with time and volumes.
Also, loading Cheq with INR is not allowed for foreign tourists currently.
You can topup with international currency only
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#98What happens to the account when your visa expires? Or if you get a new one/OCI without interruption?
Once passport/visa expires, we're supposed to disable the account
We'll have to verify the new documents and enable the wallet again.
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure where you're from, but it's true at least if I went to NL from the UK and used any credit card, there'd be probably both 1) an awful FX rate; 2) a flat charge. ATMs are typically worse, even if the machine operator itself doesn't add a fee. Some debit cards (or pre-paid 'charge cards', such as any specifically marketed for travel) like Monzo bank's don't, are just like using it at home in GBP (as long as you…
it really depends. there are so many providers in the UK that you can find all the possible combinations (high FX rates, high FX fees to mastercard/visa FX rates, no FX fees). > Some debit cards (or pre-paid 'charge cards', such as any specifically marketed for travel) for anyone checking this thread, these two are not the same. debit cards are different from pre-paid, and some shops will have issues with pre-paid. >…
> these two are not the same
..hence one or the other..?
> never select currency conversion by the PoS, always charge in the local currency and let your bank to the conversion
That's not good generic advice. Be aware of your best card's fees and see what's better. Credit cards especially are generally atrocious. Some banks' debit cards are free (Monzo, Revolut) and others are no better than credit cards. Hence the market for the pre-paid ones I suppose.
Re: Show HN: Cheq UPI – India's first UPI payments app for foreigners
#100What happens to the account when your visa expires? Or if you get a new one/OCI without interruption?
Once passport/visa expires, we're supposed to disable the account We'll have to verify the new documents and enable the wallet again.
But you intend to keep it around as a sort of not usable dormant account, but if re-verified the old funds, payment history etc. still available?
I would hope so, because I think otherwise I wouldn't want to use it without OCI (i.e. a perpetual visa it's not an issue) - would just be an annoying thing to keep track of.