Xflow, a cross-border payments platform for businesses, earlier this year launched #XflowDash, a gamified awareness campaign designed to highlight the hidden costs and operational challenges businesses face while collecting international payments. At the heart of the campaign is Xflow Dash, an interactive browser game that illustrates these real-world payment challenges in a simple and interactive way.
For many Indian businesses receiving international payments, the cost of a transaction often extends beyond the amount transferred. Banks typically apply a 1.5-3.5% spread above the mid-market foreign exchange (FX) rate on inward remittances, while SWIFT transfers can take between 2 to 5 business days to settle. Hidden charges, intermediary bank fees and compliance-related delays can further impact settlement timelines, cash flow and the final amount businesses receive.
As more Indian businesses expand into global markets, understanding these payment challenges has become increasingly important. Through #XflowDash, Xflow aims to raise awareness of these common payment friction points by presenting them through an interactive browser game.
At the centre of the campaign is Xflow Dash, an arcade-style infinite runner game where players navigate obstacles such as hidden fees, poor FX rates, compliance delays, SWIFT holds and intermediary bank charges while collecting Xflow Shields, representing protection against these common payment frictions.
Instead of simply talking about cross-border payment challenges, Xflow Dash recreates them through gameplay. The campaign gives businesses a chance to experience familiar payment hurdles in an interactive way, helping raise awareness of the hidden costs and delays that can impact international payment collections.
The campaign was supported by a coordinated social media activation across X and LinkedIn under the hashtag #XflowDash. On 29 June 2026, the hashtag ranked No. 1 in India’s Business & Finance category on X, generating more than 2,700 mentions and a reach of 781.9K, while remaining on the trending list for over 4 hours. The campaign also saw organic participation from founders, fintech professionals and members of the startup ecosystem, who shared gameplay scores, screenshots and reactions across social media. Influencers like Ali Solanki, with over 47k followers, also shared the video on their channel, appreciating the initiative.
Medianews4u.com caught up with Deepakshi Dawar, Head of Marketing Xflow
Q. Why did you choose a browser game like Xflow Dash to explain complicated cross-border payment issues instead of using traditional business advertisements?
Cross-border payments are inherently complex. They involve multiple intermediaries, regulatory requirements, foreign exchange considerations, and operational challenges that aren’t always easy for businesses to understand through conventional advertising.
We wanted business owners to experience these challenges rather than simply read about them. A browser-based game like Xflow Dash allowed us to translate real-world payment challenges into an interactive experience, helping users understand common pain points in a much more intuitive way .
Gamification is a powerful way to capture attention and encourage participation. Instead of asking people to read about cross-border payments, we wanted them to experience the journey firsthand. It not only makes the subject easier to grasp but also creates stronger recall and engagement than traditional business advertising.
Q. How are you measuring business conversions from this campaign beyond the social media numbers and trending hashtags on X?
This is primarily a brand-building campaign aimed at increasing awareness and engagement around the challenges of cross-border payments in a way that’s interactive and memorable. Our immediate goal is to encourage more people to discover the game, play it, and engage with the underlying message.
While social engagement and participation are important indicators, we’re also tracking business metrics such as website traffic, product interest, and inbound enquiries. We’ve already started seeing an encouraging uptick in inbound leads and conversations following the campaign. However, it’s still early, and we’d prefer to evaluate its long-term business impact before sharing specific numbers.
Q. Did you work with an outside creative agency to design this arcade game, or did your team build everything in-house?
Everything, from the concept and creative execution to the game’s development, was done entirely in-house. Our team leveraged AI to design and develop the game, while ensuring the final experience stayed true to Xflow’s brand and messaging.
It also reflects our belief in using technology creatively—not just in our product, but in how we engage and communicate with our audience.
Q. What brief did you give the creators to make sure that the game did not lose its core message about banking fees?
We didn’t need to give creators an elaborate brief because we chose to work with people who already use Xflow and genuinely understand the product.
Their firsthand experience meant they naturally understood the pain points around cross-border payments and banking fees, allowing them to communicate the message authentically. We believe the best advocacy comes from creators who genuinely believe in and can vouch for the product.
Q. A lot of business owners do not know how much banks charge them for foreign transfers. How can a video game fix financial illiteracy in India?
The objective of the game isn’t to educate users on exactly how much banks charge for foreign transfers. Instead, it’s designed to highlight the common roadblocks businesses face in cross-border payments, such as delays, multiple intermediaries, compliance hurdles, and lack of transparency, which are the very challenges Xflow helps solve.
For businesses looking to understand the actual costs involved, we’ve already built a calculator that provides greater visibility into cross-border payment charges. The game serves as an engaging entry point, while our tools help users make more informed financial decisions.
Q. How does predictive analytics help your team figure out the best time to push these marketing campaigns to busy startup founders?
Like most industries, cross-border payments also have seasonal peaks driven by business cycles, export activity, and key industry events. These patterns help us identify when businesses are most likely to be thinking about international payments and financial operations.
Rather than relying solely on predictive analytics, we combine these seasonal insights with audience behaviour to time our campaigns when they’re most relevant. This helps ensure our messaging reaches founders and businesses when they’re most likely to engage with it.
Q. How does your FX AI Analyst tool protect small Indian exporters from sudden losses when the rupee swings sharply against global currencies?
Our FX AI Analyst is designed to give businesses greater visibility into currency movements so they can make more informed decisions around international payments.
Instead of reacting after a transaction is complete, exporters can better understand exchange rate trends, evaluate the impact of FX fluctuations, and time their conversions more effectively. For small exporters, this translates into better planning, improved cash flow visibility, and reduced exposure to unexpected currency-related costs.
Q. What prompted major global investors like General Catalyst, Stripe, and PayPal Ventures to invest $16.6 million into your company during this funding environment?
We believe our investors recognized both the scale of the problem we’re solving and the long-term opportunity in cross-border payments. As more businesses expand globally, there is a growing need for faster, more transparent, and compliant international payment infrastructure.
Our focus has always been on simplifying this experience for businesses through technology, and that vision strongly resonated with our investors. The funding reflects their confidence in our team, our product, and our ability to build the infrastructure that enables Indian businesses to operate seamlessly across global markets.
Q. With your top line growing tenfold, what are the primary international markets you plan to target next using your new capital?
Our focus is on strengthening Xflow’s global payments infrastructure by expanding our regulatory footprint in key international markets. Currently Xflow is registered as a Money Service Business (MSB) in the US and Canada, which gives us a strong foundation across some of the world’s most important payment corridors. As we continue to grow, we’re evaluating expansion into markets such as the UK, Ireland, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
These are strategic markets for global trade and align well with the needs of businesses that operate across borders. Beyond geographic expansion, we’re also investing in broadening our product suite, strengthening our AI capabilities, and continuing to build a robust compliance and risk infrastructure. Our goal is to make cross-border payments faster, more transparent, and seamless for businesses wherever they operate.
Q. When will you launch these marketing campaigns abroad now that you have your new Series A funding?
Our international marketing efforts will be closely aligned with our product roadmap and expansion strategy. As we introduce new products or offerings tailored to specific geographies, we’ll roll out targeted marketing campaigns in those markets to ensure they’re relevant and impactful.
For now, our focus is on building the right products and entering new markets thoughtfully, with marketing initiatives supporting each phase of that growth.
Q. Many tech companies are facing a big pushback from users who hate creepy tracking. How do you personalise marketing without crossing the line?
We believe that effective personalisation doesn’t require intrusive tracking. Instead of a broad “spray and pray” approach, we focus on high-intent signals—engaging with businesses that have actively shown interest in cross-border payments or are looking for relevant solutions.
This allows us to deliver more relevant communication while respecting user privacy. Our goal is to provide value through timely, contextual engagement rather than relying on excessive data collection.
Q. Can you explain how your AI Analyst tool helps customers get more money per dollar during volatile market shifts?
Our AI Analyst helps businesses gain better visibility into foreign exchange movements and market trends, enabling them to make more informed decisions around international payments.
Rather than reacting to currency fluctuations after they occur, businesses can use these insights to plan the timing of their transactions and benefit from better exchange rates.
The objective is to help businesses make smarter, data-driven decisions that can improve the value they receive from international payments while reducing uncertainty in a volatile market.
Q. Your business relies heavily on the PA-CB licence from the RBI. What happens to your growth if regulations suddenly change again?
Regulatory compliance has always been central to how we build our business. While the PA-CB licence is an important part of our offering, our capabilities are not dependent on a single regulatory framework. We also support cross-border payments through our Vostro and correspondent banking network, which gives us greater operational flexibility.
As the regulatory landscape evolves, we remain committed to working closely with regulators and banking partners to ensure our solutions continue to be compliant, resilient, and adaptable. Our focus is on building a robust payments infrastructure that can evolve alongside the industry’s regulatory requirements.
