Fintech

NRI-Focused Fintech Startup Belong Raises $5M Seed Round Led by Elevation Capital

• ByStartupStory     |    July 9, 2025

Belong, a fintech startup built to serve the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) community, has raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by Elevation Capital, marking its official market launch. The round also saw participation from Relentless Ventures and a group of prominent angel investors including Urban Company co-founders Abhiraj Singh Bahl and Varun Khaitan, Zomato CFO Akshant Goyal, Mamaearth CEO Varun Alagh, PayU SVP Vineet Sethi, and McKinsey Partner Aditya Sharma.

Founded in 2024 by Ankur Choudhary, Sai Sankar M, Ayush Singh, and Savitri Bobde, Belong is positioning itself as the first fintech platform to offer USD Fixed Deposits to NRIs through India’s GIFT City, an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) aimed at facilitating seamless cross-border transactions.

The company is initially rolling out its services in the UAE, which hosts the largest NRI population globally. By operating through Betafront Technologies Pvt Ltd and its GIFT City subsidiaries, Belong has obtained both a Payment Services Provider (PSP) license and a Broker Dealer license under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), enabling it to offer a wide range of regulated financial products.

“Being away from India comes with its own challenges—from complex cross-border banking to managing investments remotely,” said Ankur Choudhary, Co-founder and CEO of Belong. “Every NRI has built a global identity through hard work and ambition, but financial services haven’t kept up. We’re building Belong to be the trusted financial home for Global Indians.”

According to Belong, India received $129 billion in remittances from NRIs in 2024, up from $82 billion in 2019. However, the share of NRIs in Indian mutual fund AUM has decreased from 2.9% to 2.3% due to regulatory hurdles and poor digital experiences.

Belong aims to address these pain points with features like:

• Doorstep KYC

• No need for NRE/NRO accounts

• Simplified repatriation process

• Tax-free returns in India

• A secure USD FD product that shields against INR depreciation

The platform has also built digital tools tailored for NRIs, including a fixed deposit rates explorer, GIFT Nifty tracker, tax residency calculator, currency tracker, and NRI compliance guides. In the pipeline are services such as mutual fund investments, Indian and US equity access, international insurance, globally valid financial cards, and an affordable tax filing solution.

“NRIs have long been underserved when it comes to modern, digital-first financial solutions tailored to their unique needs,” said Vaas Bhaskar, Partner at Elevation Capital. “Belong is uniquely positioned to serve this massive, underserved market by combining deep fintech expertise with GIFT City’s regulatory framework.”

Belong plans to expand from the UAE to other key markets including GCC countries, the UK, and the US in the coming quarters, with a vision to evolve into a full-stack financial platform purpose-built for the global Indian diaspora.

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