PayPal, Wise or Payoneer: What the RBI's EDPMS Rule Means for Social Media Agencies Invoicing Abroad

Platforms named in the question are shown alongside the 2 highest payouts among the platforms this site covers, ranked by the INR received on a $5,000 invoice. Fees were checked on 30 Sept 2026.

A social media agency billing a foreign client is an exporter of services under the FEMA Export and Import Regulations, 2026, in force from 1 October 2026. The AD bank enters each service EDF in EDPMS and must close or update the entry when it credits the payment, under Regulation 4(2). For GST, the work is a zero-rated export when the IGST Act section 2(6) conditions are met. These rules apply whichever payment route the client uses.

No code in RBI's FETERS purpose codes names social media management, so the code follows what the invoice describes. Paid promotion and ad campaign work sits closest to P1007, while brand strategy or public relations sits closest to P1006. Confirm the code with your AD bank before the payment is credited, and see the P1007 purpose code and purpose code for digital marketing services.

Each row applies the platform's published fee, FX markup and 18% GST on the fee to the XE mid-market rate for 4 Nov 2026. Platforms without full published pricing are not included.

For example, on a $2,000 invoice Skydo pays about ₹1,87,138 and PayPal about ₹1,73,972 at today's reference rate, a difference of ₹13,165.

Each foreign payment to a social media agency needs records that let the AD bank close the EDPMS entry and support GST zero-rating. The LUT comes before the first invoice, each invoice carries the export endorsement in CGST Rule 46, and the EDF follows within 30 days of the invoice month end. A bank certificate and an e-BRC confirm the money arrived, and CGST Rule 89(2)(c) asks for BRCs or FIRCs in a refund claim.

In 2026 social media agencies move to a new FEMA export framework and a new income tax law. The FEMA Export and Import Regulations, 2026 apply from 1 October 2026, and RBI Circular No. 20 supersedes the old Master Direction on exports from that date. The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026.

• New framework: From 1 October 2026, Circular No. 20 paragraph 4 supersedes the Master Direction on Export of Goods and Services and the circulars in its Annex. See what changed in the FEMA export rules.
• EDPMS closure: Regulation 4(2) lets entries for invoices up to ₹10 lakh close on the exporter's declaration, given per invoice or quarterly in bulk.
• Realisation: The amendment of 22 September 2026 changed the period in Regulation 5(1)(a) from fifteen months to nine months before the Regulations took effect. Rupee invoicing gets twelve months. See export realisation period.
• Caution list: Regulation 13 requires full advance or an irrevocable letter of credit after one year of non-realisation. Exporters already on the Caution List on 30 September 2026 stay under that order until removed.
• Income tax: The Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed on 1 April 2026. Tax years before 1 April 2026 stay under the old Act, and later income falls under the 2025 Act.

Every rule is linked to its official source below with the date it was checked. Platform figures come from each platform's own pages; the full method is on the methodology page.

1. RBI Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB: Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Regulations 1(2), 2(1)(f)(ii), 3(2), 4(2) and proviso, 5(1)(a) and provisos, 6, 10(1), 13, 18(1) and 18(2); footnotes on the amendment of 22 September 2026 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
2. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20 dated January 16, 2026: Export and Import of Goods and Services, Paragraphs 4 and 7 and Annex A (checked 7 Oct 2026)
3. RBI: FETERS guidelines and purpose code list (Annex to A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84), Receipt purpose codes P1006, P1007, P1016, P1099 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
4. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84 dated February 29, 2012: Reporting under FETERS, Paragraph 3 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
5. IGST Act, 2017, Section 2: Definitions, Section 2(6): export of services (checked 7 Oct 2026)
6. IGST Act, 2017, Section 13: Place of supply where supplier or recipient is outside India, Section 13(2) (checked 7 Oct 2026)
7. IGST Act, 2017, Section 16: Zero rated supply, Section 16(1)(a) and 16(3) (checked 7 Oct 2026)
8. CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 96A: Export of goods or services under bond or Letter of Undertaking, Rule 96A(1) (checked 7 Oct 2026)
9. CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 89: Application for refund, Rule 89(2)(c) (checked 7 Oct 2026)
10. CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 46: Tax invoice, Proviso on export invoice endorsement (checked 7 Oct 2026)
11. GST Portal user manual: Furnishing of Letter of Undertaking (FORM GST RFD-11), Steps 3 and 4 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
12. DGFT FAQs on Self-Generation of eBRC (Version 1.0, March 2024), Q1 and Q2 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
13. Income Tax Department: Objective and scope of the New Act, FAQ 2 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
14. Skydo homepage (pricing and fee calculator), Know what you pay; calculator showing GST 18% of transaction fee (checked 6 Oct 2026)
15. Razorpay MoneySaver Export Account (International Bank Transfers) pricing, Standard Plan: 0% FX markup, 1% fee, FlashLinks 2%, GST applicable, flat fee of INR 1,000 on transactions below INR 1,00,000, setup and AMC INR 0 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
16. Wise India: Fees for receiving money (Business), Conversion fee depends on the currency; eFIRC for every transfer; GST 18% of (conversion fee + eFIRC fee); calculator (checked 6 Oct 2026)
17. PayPal India Merchant Fees, Receiving international transactions; Currency Conversions (3.0% converting balance and payments received; 4.00% all other cases); Withdrawals Out of PayPal; Dispute Fees; Other Fees (Last Updated 28 March 2024) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
18. Payoneer India home (checked 6 Oct 2026)