---
title: How Cross-Border Import Payments Works
slug: international-payments/import-payments/how-it-works
excerpt: >-
  End-to-end payment flow for cross-border import transactions — from checkout
  initiation to INR settlement.
hidden: false
sidebar_order: 2
sidebar_label: How it Works
metadata:
  title: End-to-end payment flow for cross-border import transactions
  description: >-
    Understand the complete lifecycle of a Pine Labs cross-border import payment
    — checkout, authorization, FX conversion, settlement, and reconciliation.
---
The Pine Labs Cross-Border Import payment journey follows a structured cross-border flow.

## Cross-Border Import Payment Flow

```mermaid
flowchart LR

    A["Merchant Onboarding"] --> B["Customer Checkout"]
    B --> C["INR Payment"]
    C --> D["Pine Labs Processing"]
    D --> E["Compliance Review"]
    E --> F["Foreign Settlement"]

    style A fill:#003434,color:#fff
    style B fill:#36CC8B,color:#000
    style C fill:#003434,color:#fff
    style D fill:#36CC8B,color:#000
    style E fill:#003434,color:#fff
    style F fill:#36CC8B,color:#000
```

### 1. Merchant Onboarding
The overseas merchant is onboarded by Pine Labs after completion of applicable checks, including:

- KYB/KYC verification
- Country eligibility checks
- Business category checks
- Bank account verification
- Purpose-code mapping
- Compliance review

Onboarding approval is subject to Pine Labs, AD bank, and applicable regulatory requirements.

### 2. Customer Checkout
The Indian customer selects a product or service on the merchant’s website, app, payment link, or hosted checkout flow.

The merchant can use Pine Labs payment capabilities to present a localized checkout experience to Indian customers.

### 3. INR Payment Experience
The customer is shown the payable amount in INR and completes the payment using supported payment methods enabled for the merchant.

This helps create a familiar payment experience for Indian customers.

### 4. Payment Processing by Pine Labs
Pine Labs processes the transaction under the applicable PA-CB Import / outward cross-border payment framework.

The transaction is processed based on the merchant’s approved business category, transaction type, and purpose-code mapping.

### 5. AD Bank and Compliance Processing
Required transaction information, merchant information, invoice details, and purpose-code details are made available for AD bank processing and regulatory reporting wherever applicable.

Processing is subject to applicable compliance checks and AD bank requirements.

### 6. Foreign Settlement to Merchant
After successful processing and checks, funds are settled to the merchant’s approved overseas bank account.

Settlement is subject to transaction eligibility, compliance review, purpose-code mapping, and AD bank processing.