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Dodo Payments

Dodo Payments is an Indian financial technology company that provides global Merchant-of-Record (MoR) payment services for digital businesses. It offers an end-to-end platform for cross-border payment processing, handling multiple currencies and local payment methods, automated tax and compliance, billing and subscription management, and fraud prevention on behalf of merchants.

This enables companies selling software, online services, and other digital products to accept international payments without setting up local entities or worrying about local tax regulations. Dodo Payments operates as an MoR platform helping digital-first businesses expand globally without establishing foreign subsidiaries.

Merchant of Record (MoR) and Its Key Responsibilities

A Merchant of Record (MoR) is the legal entity that processes transactions and assumes financial, regulatory, and compliance liabilities on behalf of other businesses. Its core responsibilities include:

Global Payment Gateway & Cross‑border Payments

The MoR manages international payment processing, handling currency conversion and settlement across multiple countries. It integrates with diverse payment gateways and supports local and regional payment methods, ensuring a seamless global payment solution.

Payment Processing & Chargebacks

It controls payment flows end-to-end, authorising transactions, issuing refunds, and managing chargebacks. Customers dispute payments with the MoR, which then represents the merchant in these disputes

Global Tax Compliance

Automatically calculates, collects, remits, and files applicable taxes such as VAT, GST, and sales tax across jurisdictions. It ensures adherence to local tax laws, relieving merchants of complex compliance burdens

SaaS Billing Solutions & Subscription Management

Offers advanced billing systems tailored for SaaS and subscription-based businesses: recurring billing, invoicing, proration, trial periods, renewal workflows, dunning management, and revenue reporting.

Fraud Detection and Risk Management

They incorporate fraud screening, compliance with PCI-DSS, KYC/AML regulations, and dispute resolution processes, mitigating risk and ensuring regulatory integrity

History Of Dodo Payments

Dodo Payments was founded in 2023 by Rishabh Goel and Ayush Agarwal.

Based in Bengaluru, the startup was established to help digital-first companies manage international payments efficiently. Its platform manages the technical and regulatory aspects of cross-border sales, including;

Currency conversion, local payment methods (such as Apple Pay, Klarna, UPI, etc.), automated tax calculations, subscription billing, invoicing, and fraud detection – on behalf of its customers.

Dodo Payments claims that by early 2025, it was processing transactions in over 150 countries with success rates exceeding 90%.

In February 2025, Dodo Payments announced a $1.1 million pre-seed funding round led by Antler, 9Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts. The round also included participation from several notable angel investors, such as Nitin Gupta (Uni Cards/PayU), Maninder Gulati (former Oyo CSO), Raymond Russell (ex–Boom Supersonic), Preethi Kasireddy (former a16z partner), and Nishant Verman (former Flipkart CorpDev).

The company said it would use the new capital to enhance its technology stack (adding modules for subscriptions, billing, fraud detection and risk management) and to build local payment rails in over 30 countries, focusing on regions like the EU, UK, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Brazil, and Australia.

After its funding round, Dodo Payments expanded rapidly. It plans to support payments across more than 100 countries and 300 local payment methods over the following year.

The company reports it supports over 25 local payment methods and provides checkout in 14 languages, and covers roughly 86% of the world’s population. By mid-2025, Dodo Payments had onboarded about 1,000 merchants in roughly 30 countries and aimed to grow its merchant base to over 10,000 by year-end.

Services

Dodo Payments operates as a full merchant-of-record solution, meaning it processes transactions on behalf of its clients and assumes the tax and compliance obligations. Its key services include:

Global Payment Processing – Supports transactions in over 150 countries with multiple currencies. It provides access to 25+ local payment methods (e.g. credit cards, UPI, Cash App, Klarna) to maximize approval rates for digital product sales

Automated Tax and Compliance – Calculates, collects, and remits sales tax (VAT, GST, etc.) automatically based on customer location. This ensures compliance with international tax laws for merchants selling across borders

Subscription Billing & Revenue Management – Offers tools for managing recurring subscriptions and one-time sales. This includes automated invoicing, dunning (payment retries), renewal management, financial reporting, and analytics to help companies manage and grow their digital revenues

Localized Checkout Experience – Provides customizable checkout pages tailored to each region, supporting 14 languages and multiple currencies. This localization aims to improve customer trust and conversion rates in different markets

Fraud Detection and Risk Management – Includes built-in fraud prevention, chargeback protection, and dispute handling features. These measures help reduce chargeback losses and protect merchants from fraudulent transactions during cross-border sales

Market and Competition

Dodo Payments is positioned in the growing market for international payments and software monetization tools. Its target customers include SaaS vendors, app developers, and creators of digital content

The company competes with other merchant-of-record and all-in-one payment platforms serving this segment, for example, Paddle, FastSpring, and Lemon Squeezy. Dodo differentiates itself by focusing on:

• Faster customer onboarding and support

• A broader range of localized payment options

• Transparent and affordable pricing

• Extensive coverage of compliance for emerging markets

It specifically targets early-stage to mid-market SaaS businesses, creators, and B2B digital platforms looking for scalable global infrastructure without legal and tax complexity.

Media Coverage

Dodo Payments has been featured in prominent publications such as:

The Economic Times, which covered its pre-seed funding and global ambitions,

Outlook Business and VCCircle, which highlighted its Merchant of Record capabilities and founder background.

Entrackr, Indian Startup News, and TapstartX, which profiled its role in enabling global payments and tax automation for digital-first companies.