PayPal, world’s leading payments platform, has digitized the FIRC application process for the ease of Indian sellers and freelancers. With the new process, PayPal sellers receiving payments from across the globe can apply for an FIRC online by filling a form on the PayPal website and paying the FIRC fee via NEFT as opposed to the previous process of a Demand Draft (DD), reducing tedious paperwork.

A Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) is a document that acts as a testimonial for all the inward remittances entering India. Most of the statutory authorities accept this document as proof that an individual or a business, such as a limited company, partnership firm, sole proprietorship firm and others, has received a payment in foreign currency from outside the country.

Previously, Indian sellers and freelancers had to visit the beneficiary bank branch to request an FIRC, get a demand draft for the FIRC fee and then apply for an FIRC to Citibank. Now, with the online process, sellers can simply fill an application form on the PayPal website and pay the FIRC fee by NEFT. PayPal will directly share the details with Citibank for the FIRC. The certificate can be directly collected by the sellers and freelancers from their beneficiary banks.

Narsi Subramanian, Director, Growth, PayPal India said, “A key objective at PayPal is to let sellers and freelancers focus on providing services while we simplify the payment process for them in the background. Indian online sellers and freelancers are expected to contribute as much as 40% towards future revenue generation and economic growth. We see immense potential in the India SMEs, freelancers and merchants, and aim to streamline the payment process for them as they chase their aspirations. The revised FIRC process is hassle free and cuts down the time and efforts taken to process and formalize payments. By simplifying the process of accepting international transactions, we want to encourage sellers to tap the global marketplace.”