Simplifying Payments for Canadian NRIs, Beacon Launches Indian Bill Pay in collaboration with Bharat Connect (BBPS) and YES BANK in India

Beacon breaks new ground as the only mobile app empowering users to pay India bills directly with Canadian dollars. Open a Beacon Money account and pay over 21,000 India bills directly.

New Delhi, India (February 4, 2025)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.

About My Beacon

Beacon is a purpose-built financial solution to help immigrants in Canada settle with ease and build their future with confidence. Based in Toronto and Montreal, Beacon was founded in 2023 by Stuart Szabo and Aditya Mhatre. The organization’s mission is to simplify the path to a new life in Canada by delivering resources, guides and financial products through its Super App to ensure immigrants have all the tools they need to build their brightest possible future.

To learn more and to download the My Beacon app, visit www.mybeacon.ca

About Yes Bank

YES BANK is a full-service commercial bank providing a complete range of products, services, and technology-driven digital offerings, catering to retail, MSME, and corporate clients. YES BANK operates its investment banking, merchant banking, and brokerage businesses through YES SECURITIES, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has a Pan-India presence including an IBU at GIFT City and a Representative Office in Abu Dhabi.

For more information, please visit the Bank’s website at http://www.yesbank.in/

About Bharat Connect

About NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited: Incorporated in December 2020, NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) is responsible for driving the RBI conceptualised Bharat Connect, formerly known as the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

Bharat Connect serves as an integrated platform offering an interoperable and accessible “Anytime, Anywhere” bill payment service for customers and facilitating B2B payments and collections through Bharat Connect for Business across India. The platform ensures transactions are processed with certainty, reliability, and safety.

For more information on NBBL, visit www.bharat-connect.com

For media inquiries, please contact:
For more information, please contact:

Bhoomika Sharma, Account Manager, Value360

+91 9999281932, bhoomika@value360india.com