New Delhi – Beacon, a company redefining financial services for immigrants in Canada has launched a groundbreaking feature allowing direct bill payments to India in Canadian dollars from their Beacon Money account. India Bill Pay is the newest addition to the Beacon super app, a platform designed specifically for immigrants to Canada and now available for download on Google and iOS. The first of its kind, Beacon’s India Bill Pay is a pioneering cross-border bill payment solution launched in collaboration with Bharat Connect (BBPS) and YES BANK in India.
With approximately 60% of remittances to India used for family maintenance, many Indians face the delicate balance of building their lives in Canada while fulfilling their home obligations. Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are restricted in their ability to access India’s banking and payment systems from abroad.
This creates major pain points for NRIs around the world looking to pay bills in India either for themselves or for their family. Currently, people must rely on maintaining NRI bank accounts or family and friends to pay Indian bills, both of which are inconvenient. Managing multiple accounts is costly, and culturally, asking for help often leaves NRIs feeling guilty about not meeting their obligations independently. With the launch of India Bill Pay, Beacon expands its financial services for immigrants, providing a seamless way for Indians to pay bills across borders.
“As an NRI in Canada, I faced challenges paying bills in India for my family. That’s why we partnered with YES Bank and Bharat Connect to build Beacon India Bill Pay, a product designed to provide seamless experience to NRIs like me.” said Aditya Mhatre, Co-Founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer of Beacon. “With Beacon India Bill Pay, we’ve recreated the same simplicity of paying bills while in India, but tailored it for NRIs using foreign currency. So stop sending money—just pay the bill directly. We are already planning to bring Beacon India Bill Pay’s revolutionary service to more countries.”
Powered by YES BANK, the service ensures smooth payment processing for Indian billers under the Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA), a framework regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This system facilitates structured and compliant fund transfers from overseas to India, efficiently converting foreign currency payments into Indian rupees and settling them with Indian beneficiaries, including billers on the Bharat Connect network.
Beacon India Bill Pay also leveraged India’s national bill payment infrastructure known as Bharat Connect, previously known as Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), to enable these payments. Conceptualized by the RBI, Bharat Connect provides technology solutions that simplify collections and settlements of bill payments for millions of customers and businesses across India. It ensures convenience, end-to-end encryption for security, and strict adherence to RBI regulations, connecting billers, payment providers, and customers seamlessly.
The unique benefits of Beacon’s India Bill Pay are:
· 100% digital KYC and onboarding process that can be completed within 10 minutes to start paying Indian bills
· Users can pay over 21,000 Indian billers such as utilities, student and home loans, school fees, and hospital charges and more directly using Canadian dollars
· Beacon India Bill Pay can auto-fetch bill due amount and send bill reminders for hassle-free payments.
· 100% secure and compliant with Reserve Bank of India policies, Beacon’s integration with Bharat Connect and YES BANK’s robust infrastructure ensures efficient and secure payment settlements, delivering an enhanced user experience.
Ms. Noopur Chaturvedi, CEO of NBBL, said, “We are pleased to partner with Beacon to extend the convenience of Bharat Connect (BBPS) to users in Canada. This collaboration reflects our commitment to offering a seamless, convenient and reliable platform for bill payments, ensuring Indians abroad can easily manage essential services back home.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ajay Rajan, Country Head – Government, Multinational and International Business, Transaction Banking and Knowledge Units, YES BANK said, “YES BANK is proud to partner with Beacon to introduce this transformative cross-border payment solution. Leveraging the Bharat Connect model and the RDA framework, we are bridging the gap between Indian and international financial ecosystems, simplifying the process for NRIs to manage their obligations back home.”
Beacon’s launch of India Bill Pay marks a significant milestone in cross-border financial services, addressing a crucial need for the Indian diaspora in Canada. By simplifying bill payments and providing a comprehensive financial solution, Beacon is set to transform the way immigrants manage their finances across borders.
