← State of Embedded Finance 2026

Cashfree

Can Cashfree become the definitive payments and embedded finance infrastructure layer for India's digital economy and Indian businesses going global?

Founded2015
HQBengaluru, Karnataka, India
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story

Founded as a payments gateway for Indian merchants, Cashfree quickly expanded into API banking and payouts, positioning itself as a full-stack payments and financial infrastructure provider. By 2022 it had moved into card issuance and BaaS for fintechs, and by 2023 it launched embedded lending as a service. Securing India's first PA-CB licence solidified its cross-border payments position, and the 2025 launch of FlowWise signals a strategic move toward becoming a payments orchestration layer for other businesses rather than just a direct processor.

Last 12 months
2025-04
2025-01
2025-01
Product timeline
2015
Founded as a payment gateway focused on collections and payouts for Indian businesses.· pivot
2020
Expanded into API banking and payouts product suite, targeting neo-banks and fintechs.· banking
2022
Launched 'Issuance' — a prepaid card and wallet issuance API stack enabling fintechs and platforms to issue co-branded cards.· card
2022
Obtained ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 certifications alongside existing ISO 27001 certification.· pivot
2023
Launched Embedded Lending product (Lending as a Service) enabling platforms to embed personal loans, business loans, and credit lines.· lending
2024
Received India's first PA-CB (Payment Aggregator – Cross Border) licence from RBI, enabling compliant international payments.· pivot
2025
Launched FlowWise, a payments orchestration platform for multi-gateway routing, refunds, and reconciliation.· pivot
Regulated entities
Payment Aggregator – Cross Border (PA-CB E&I)
India (RBI)
Cashfree Payments India Private Limited
The stack
Payments / PSP
Cashfree Payments (self-operated)FlowWise Orchestration (self-operated)
Banking / BaaS
Cashfree Payments India Private Limited (in-house)
Card issuing
Cashfree Issuance (self-operated)
Lending
Advances (working capital loan for Cashfree merchants)Embedded Lending (personal loans, business loans, short-term loans, credit lines for platforms)Pay Later / BNPL checkout optionsTerm Loans for individuals and businesses (NBFC solution)Buy Now Pay Later (NBFC solution)Co-lendingInvoice DiscountingSupply Chain FinanceCredit Line
FX & payouts
Cashfree Payments PA-CB (self-operated)
Accounting gap: significant