Wise, Airwallex or Skydo: The Best Payoneer Alternatives for India

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.

Wise, Airwallex and Skydo are among the platforms named as Payoneer alternatives in India, and each sets its own rules on who can sign up. Wise and Skydo describe individuals as eligible users, while Airwallex says it opens accounts only for registered businesses. The table uses only each platform's own eligibility pages. Whether a non-bank platform holds RBI authorisation as a payment aggregator can be checked on the RBI list of payment system authorisations.

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 ₹1,87,066 and Wise Business about ₹1,85,463 at today's reference rate, a difference of ₹1,603.

The documents stay the same whichever platform receives the money, because they come from FEMA and GST law. A service exporter declares each month's invoices on an EDF, keeps a FIRA or FIRC for each receipt, and furnishes a bond or LUT before export to supply without paying IGST. A service counts as an export for GST only when, among other conditions in IGST Act section 2(6), payment is received in convertible foreign exchange or in rupees where RBI permits.

The rules behind every Payoneer alternative changed on 1 October 2026, when the FEMA Export and Import Regulations 2026 came into force. RBI Circular No. 20 superseded the Master Directions on export and import and the circulars in its Annex, including the SOFTEX circulars, from the same date.

• New regulations: Notification FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB replaced the 2015 export regulations from 1 October 2026; see the FEMA update.
• EDF for services: Service and software exporters file an EDF within 30 days from the end of the invoice month, under Regulation 3(2), in place of the old SOFTEX route for software.
• Realisation: Export value must be realised within nine months of the invoice, or twelve months when invoiced or settled in rupees, under Regulation 5 as amended on 22 September 2026. The AD bank may extend this on request.
• Small invoices: Invoices up to ₹10 lakh can be closed in EDPMS on the exporter's own declaration, under Regulation 4(2).

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. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Notification FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, Regulations 1(2), 2(1)(f), 3(2), 4(2), 5(1) and provisos, 18(2); footnotes on Notification FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB dated 22 September 2026 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
2. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20, RBI/2025-26/194: Export and Import of Goods and Services (16 January 2026), Paras 4 and 7; Annex A (superseded circulars, including SOFTEX) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
3. RBI Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator (PA), RBI/DPSS/2025-26/141 (15 September 2025), Para 4 (PA-CB definition), para 5(a)-(b) (authorisation), para 11(h) (documents for EDPMS closure) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
4. RBI: Certificates of Authorisation issued under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, Payment Aggregators (PA-O, PA-P and PA-CB) section (checked 6 Oct 2026)
5. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84, RBI/2011-12/413: Compilation of R-Returns: Reporting under FETERS (29 February 2012), Para 3 (purpose codes for classification and reporting of foreign exchange transactions in FETERS) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
6. IGST Act, 2017, Section 2 (Definitions), Section 2(6), export of services (checked 6 Oct 2026)
7. IGST Act, 2017, Section 16 (Zero rated supply), Section 16(1) and 16(3) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
8. CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 96A (Export under bond or Letter of Undertaking), Rule 96A(1) and (1)(b) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
9. CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 89 (Application for refund), Rule 89(2)(c) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
10. Wise Help: How to verify your Indian business to receive payments, Business types onboarded in India; sole trader or freelancer criteria (checked 6 Oct 2026)
11. Wise India: Fees for receiving money, Receiving money feature is currently available only for business customers (checked 6 Oct 2026)
12. Airwallex Help: Eligibility to open an account, Unable to offer personal accounts to individuals; officially registered and active business (checked 6 Oct 2026)
13. Airwallex Help: Eligible Countries and Territories, INDIA IN - AWX Legal Entity SINGAPORE (checked 7 Oct 2026)
14. Skydo Terms of Use, Definitions of Person and User; Export transaction collection payments (checked 6 Oct 2026)
15. Payoneer India: Digital FIRC, What is FIRC (Indian exporter, business, freelancer or sole proprietor) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
16. Skydo homepage (pricing and fee calculator), Know what you pay; calculator showing GST 18% of transaction fee (checked 6 Oct 2026)
17. 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)
18. Kotak Everyday Savings Account fees and charges, Foreign Inward Remittance certificate (Branch Request) INR 100/Request; GST on Foreign Currency Conversion; fees exclusive of GST (checked 6 Oct 2026)
19. 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)
20. Payoneer India home (checked 6 Oct 2026)