Bluevine launches US banking platform for India founders, sees country among top global growth markets

US fintech Bluevine on Monday launched its digital business banking platform for India-resident founders operating US-registered businesses, betting on the rapid growth of Indian entrepreneurs building companies for the American market and positioning India as one of its most important international growth markets.

The launch enables eligible India-resident founders and operators of US-incorporated businesses to open and manage US business checking accounts digitally without travelling to the United States, addressing what the company describes as one of the biggest operational hurdles faced by startups and small businesses expanding overseas.

In an exclusive interaction with Fortune India, Aditya Narula, general manager – India and general manager, global lending & credit at Bluevine, said the company is entering India at a time when the number of Indian entrepreneurs incorporating businesses in the US is accelerating rapidly.

"We're bringing the largest business banking platform in the US to Indian founders, or Indian founders and operators who have revenues in the US," Narula said.

According to Bluevine's internal estimates, more than 100,000 India-related companies are incorporated in the US every year, while nearly 350,000-450,000 India-linked entities have been created over the past five years. The company estimates that roughly 25% of these businesses are already generating revenues.

For the context, Bluevine isn't entering an empty market. India-based founders with US entities already have access to digital banking platforms such as Mercury, Relay and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Bluevine believes it can differentiate itself by offering higher interest on business deposits, a smoother onboarding process and customer support from India—factors that, it says, have already prompted some early beta users to switch.

Betting on India's global entrepreneurs

Narula said the company sees India as a strategic long-term market rather than simply another geography for expansion.

"Indian founders are among the world's most ambitious builders. Our commitment is simple: let the builders build. Entrepreneurs should be spending their time serving customers, launching products, hiring teams and expanding into new markets—not losing momentum to banking friction, paperwork and operational headaches," he said.

Bluevine expects international markets to contribute around 20% of its business over the next three to five years, with India emerging as one of its top three international markets.

"India would be amongst the top three. It could be top one, could be top two or top three, but it is a core market for us," Narula said.

While Narula heads Bluevine's global lending and credit business, he said the company is not introducing lending products for India-resident founders at launch. Instead, the immediate focus is on providing digital US business banking, with additional financial products likely to be evaluated based on customer demand.

"Not at the moment," Narula said when asked if Indian founders would get access to business loans or credit lines. "It's very clear from our customer interviews and the early cohorts that one of the biggest needs that has come out is... when I travel to the US, my credit card does not work there, or I pay US subscriptions and my card doesn't work there. It might be in the form of some sort of a card product that we would launch if we were to launch, but we don't have it right out of the bag."

The company said its focus extends beyond venture-backed startups to include IT services firms, SaaS companies, AI startups, exporters and e-commerce businesses that operate in the US but are managed from India.

Competing beyond cross-border payments

Narula argued that Bluevine is not directly competing with cross-border money transfer platforms, saying the company's offering is centred on providing a full-fledged US operating bank account rather than merely facilitating international payments.

"We're going after Indian residents who have businesses in the US. They need an operating account—a real bank account—which they can now access sitting here in India," he said.

The platform offers business checking accounts with interest of up to 3% APY, free ACH transfers, bill payments, cross-border payment capabilities, virtual cards, sub-accounts and integrations with platforms such as Wise and Stripe. Customers also receive dedicated support during Indian business hours from Bluevine's Bengaluru office.

According to Narula, the company's early beta programme has already onboarded around 30 India-based customers, with many citing higher interest on deposits, smoother onboarding and India-based customer support as key reasons for choosing the platform.

"The businesses that came to us have consistently told us our onboarding experience is much smoother. If you're sitting in India, you can't walk into a branch. Digital onboarding becomes extremely important," he said.

Bluevine said most eligible customers can complete account opening in less than 24 hours, enabling founders to begin receiving customer payments, paying vendors and managing cash flows digitally.

India becomes a strategic hub

Alongside the commercial launch, Bluevine is also expanding its India footprint.

Its Bengaluru office, established in 2021, has grown into the company's largest global location, employing more than 230 people across engineering, product, operations, customer support, sales and go-to-market functions.

Narula said the India centre has evolved beyond a traditional global capability centre and now plays a central role in serving customers.

"It is not only a place where we build for the US. It is actually where we go to market. We serve Indian customers," he said.

He added that having product, engineering, onboarding, risk and customer support teams based in India allows Bluevine to tailor its services to local founders.

"We know how to integrate into DigiLocker. We know how to do KYC and KYB of an Indian company because we have engineers, product, operations and risk teams here. Feature-wise the product is the same as the US, but the experience and support are very Indianised and resonate with Indian business owners," Narula said.

Founded in 2013, Bluevine says it has served more than one million customers, originated over $17 billion in loans, and currently manages more than $2 billion in deposits. The company is backed by investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, 83North, Citi Ventures and Nationwide Insurance.