Stripe is scaling back its ambitions in India due to the regulatory landscape

Stripe, the world’s most valuable fintech startup, said on Friday it will temporarily move to an invite-based new account registration model for new account registrations in India, calling the move a “difficult decision” given the country’s changing regulatory landscape .

In a statement posted on its website, Stripe said that businesses in India will no longer be able to create new accounts through the company’s website and will instead have to request an invitation. The startup, which competes domestically with Cashfree and YC-backed Razorpay, will now focus on supporting a select number of companies, particularly those focused on international expansion.

“The regulatory landscape in India is constantly evolving, and our goal is to provide the same experience in India that we aim to offer to all our users around the world,” Stripe said in a statement. “For example, enabling all new users to get up and running quickly and easily onboard is a core feature of Stripe that we can’t promise in India today.”

Stripe did not specify what regulatory change affects the company. The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, has introduced a series of stringent policy changes over the past two years that have impacted several companies and start-ups in the financial services industry.

This change is unlikely to have a material impact on Stripe’s financial results, given that the startup has limited operations in India and, by extension, many Asian markets.

Stripe said it remains committed to the Indian market for the long term and is working to build the necessary infrastructure to support more users in the country by the second half of 2025.

Businesses in India that were planning to use Stripe for payment processing will have to explore alternative options in the meantime. Stripe said there would be no impact to existing users.

This is a developing story. Check for updates.