Skydo vs Stripe for freelancers

For Indian freelancers, there are differences between Skydo and Stripe. Stripe is a global payment gateway primarily built for software and e-commerce checkouts, whereas Skydo is a dedicated cross-border remittance platform.

• Fees and Exchange Rates: Stripe charges percentage-based fees for international cards and currency conversion, often totaling an effective cost of 6% or more per invoice.
• Compliance and Documentation: Stripe does not issue Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA) directly; you must request it manually through partner banks, which can take days and incur extra fees.
• Onboarding and Availability: Stripe operates on an invite-only beta in India, making direct sign-ups difficult for many individual freelancers.
• Payment Methods: Stripe is focused more on digital card checkouts, recurring subscriptions, and app/website integrations rather than traditional B2B wire transfers.
• Skydo: Skydo, an RBI-authorised cross-border payments platform, charges a flat fee using live mid-market exchange rates with zero forex markup. It generates free, instant FIRA automatically for every transaction to satisfy RBI and GST requirements. Skydo is fully open for self-serve onboarding in India using standard KYC details (PAN, Aadhaar, GST). It is tailored for B2B client invoice payments via virtual account wires and ACH transfers, allowing Indian freelancers, exporters, and small businesses to receive payments from international clients directly into their Indian bank account.