World First, the international FinTech payments and currency experts, today announces the launch of its award-winning service in India as the business accelerates its international growth strategy with the aim of helping to facilitate cross-border trade to and from the country.

The announcement comes as World First joins the Government’s latest trade mission to India alongside Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and Mark Garnier, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade. 

World First has established a Wholly Owned Subsidiary, headquartered in Bangalore, and is set to begin operating from early autumn 2017, in a move that will allow the business to leverage its experience, expertise and technology platform to support growing cross-border e-commerce trade. It will also support the aims of both governments in accelerating the digitisation of payments and commerce in the region, and opening up cross-border trade. World First has an ambition to manage £500m of transfers to and from the country by 2020 on behalf of Indian and global businesses.

International sellers based outside India will be able to take advantage of one of the world’s fastest growing e-commerce markets, forecast to be worth £25bn by 2020. The World First service will provide unrivalled access to the leading Indian online marketplaces, enabling Indian consumers to buy products online using convenient payment methods and local currency, whilst allowing sellers to remit their funds quickly and securely. 

With a complementary service to local businesses, World First will offer Indian sellers access to its international network of 137 countries in order to take advantage of global consumer demand across Asia, the Americas and EMEA, at lower cost and complexity. Indian sellers will be able to use World First’s cross-border expertise and speed to remit their revenues earned overseas with competitive and transparent foreign exchange rates and no hidden fees. 

All sellers will be fully supported by the business’ market-leading online, self-service, account management system, as well as local customer service teams.

World First’s expansion into India will see them partner with AD CAT 1 Bank under the Online Payment Gateway Service Providers (OPGSP) Scheme in order to offer cross-border collection and payment services from both local and global marketplaces. It forms part of a wider global expansion plan that is set to create more than 400 jobs. 

Commenting, Jonathan Quin, CEO of World First, said:

“Launching our market leading proposition in India is an exciting milestone in the business’ growth and we’re immensely proud at being able to announce this key milestone as part of the UK Government’s trade delegation. There has never been a more important time for businesses to think beyond borders and embrace the opportunities that technology has created for global trade. 

“India is a market of huge potential and ambition and we’re confident that our proposition will help businesses do more, both locally and internationally in their search for growth. We look forward to providing a service that drives job creation, strengthens supply chains, and supports the development of the next generation of mini-multinationals in India and the UK.” 

Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, comments:

“I am delighted to be leading a delegation aimed at strengthening our trade and investment relationships beyond the borders of Europe as we enter an exciting new phase for our country. India has one of the world’s most vibrant economies and we are fully committed to supporting business’ like World First as they enter this market to provide a platform that promotes and facilitates the opportunities presented by global trade.”