Building on a Problem He Had Seen Before
For Ankur Choudhary, the idea behind Belong grew out of a challenge he encountered while building his earlier venture, Goalwise, a wealth technology platform that was later acquired by Niyo. The experience showed him how technology could make investing simpler for people living in India, while also revealing that non-resident Indians (NRIs) continued to face barriers when accessing and managing investments linked to the country.
Global Indians often earn in one country, support family in another and maintain long-term financial goals in India. Yet managing these needs can mean navigating multiple institutions, documentation requirements and fragmented processes. Drawing on more than 12 years of experience in financial services, Choudhary saw an opportunity to build a digital-first platform designed around the circumstances of people living and working overseas.
Addressing Fragmentation in NRI Financial Services
Belong is being developed as a financial platform for NRIs rather than a single-product investment app. Choudhary says one of the key gaps in the existing ecosystem is fragmentation: customers may need separate providers for banking, deposits, investments and tax filing, while onboarding and eligibility requirements can become more complicated when a customer lives abroad.
The aim is to bring relevant India-linked financial products and services into a more integrated digital experience. The platform began with US dollar fixed deposits and has expanded to include GIFT City mutual funds, Alternative Investment Funds, GIFT Nifty futures and Indian tax-filing services for NRIs. The broader proposition is to help customers access relevant services without having to manage every step through disconnected platforms.
Why Belong Chose GIFT City
A key early decision was to build from GIFT City, which provides a regulatory and financial infrastructure for serving international customers through India-linked financial products. That choice required the company to consider regulation, product availability, onboarding and institutional partnerships from the outset.
Choudhary says Belong secured broker, payment service provider and distributor licences under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), and later obtained a depository participant licence. In his view, building these capabilities internally gives the company greater control over the customer journey, from onboarding and payments to execution, while providing a foundation for adding products over time.
Making Cross-Border Onboarding Simpler
Serving customers across borders involves identity checks, residency details, tax documentation, eligibility requirements and source-of-funds verification. Belong’s approach is to make these steps easier to complete digitally without removing the checks required by the applicable regulatory framework.
Choudhary says customers can complete onboarding through the app, including submitting identity documents and establishing their NRI or OCI status, without physical or in-person verification at any stage of the process. The objective is to make compliance feel like part of a well-designed customer journey rather than a separate obstacle.
Building Trust Through Transparency and Control
Trust is particularly important when customers are managing money from thousands of kilometres away. Belong says it focuses on clear information about products, terms, eligibility, charges and the institutions involved. Choudhary also points to the importance of data protection, access controls, verification processes and responsive customer support.
He says that when a customer books a US dollar fixed deposit, the deposit is created directly in the customer’s name and the booking confirmation comes from the bank. Investments made through partner banks and fund houses can also be accessed independently of Belong, so customers are not locked into the platform to reach their money. The company is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified for information security and publishes its schedule of charges and terms upfront.
Early Traction Across Global Markets
Belong has crossed $20 million in assets under management, according to figures shared by Choudhary, with AUM growing at more than 30% month on month since launch. The company has reached customers across more than 40 countries, with a concentration in the Middle East and a growing presence in the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.
For the company, progress is not limited to sign-ups. Choudhary says the team also looks at whether customers activate their accounts, return to the platform, invest more over time and use it for a wider range of financial needs. The emphasis is on building lasting relationships rather than focusing only on customer acquisition.
Partnerships as a Foundation for Growth
Belong’s model relies on partnerships with financial institutions and product providers. Choudhary says these relationships help the company make a wider range of products available while meeting regulatory and operational requirements. The company’s ecosystem includes fund houses such as Tata, DSP, Sundaram, Parag Parikh, HDFC and Edelweiss through their GIFT City operations, NSE International Exchange for GIFT Nifty futures, and RBL Bank for US dollar fixed deposits.
Partnerships also allow Belong to focus on customer needs and the digital experience instead of building every capability from scratch. As the platform expands, the depth and reliability of these relationships will remain important to delivering a consistent service.
Customer Education, AI and Responsible Automation
Belong’s customer acquisition strategy includes communicating with specific NRI communities and helping customers understand products, eligibility and how different options may fit their financial goals. Choudhary says the company also uses platforms such as YouTube to educate and tell stories about the global Indian community.
AI and automation are another area of opportunity. Choudhary sees potential in helping customers organise documentation, understand their financial position and navigate processes with less friction. He says AI tools are already used internally for a large share of the company’s code, while an AI assistant handles the first layer of customer queries and resolves around 60–70% of them. He adds that any use of AI in financial services must remain transparent, secure and subject to appropriate controls.
The Road Ahead: A Broader Platform for Global Indians
Over the next five years, Belong aims to build a more comprehensive financial platform for global Indians, centred on access and trust. Its longer-term direction includes bringing together savings, investments, tax filing and cross-border money movement in one digital experience.
Choudhary says the company is in the process of rolling out access to US stocks, ETFs and options through GIFT City for NRIs, with resident Indians expected to follow at a later stage. The aim is to make India-linked and global investment opportunities easier to access while maintaining the regulatory and operational foundations required in financial services.
Lessons in Building for an Underserved Market
For Choudhary, an underserved market is not necessarily one without existing solutions. Often, the products are available, but the experience is fragmented or not designed around a particular customer’s needs. Identifying that gap requires listening closely and understanding where people lose time, clarity or confidence.
His experience has also reinforced that trust is earned through execution. In financial services, a convenient interface is not enough; customers need transparency, reliability and confidence in how their money is handled. Sustainable growth, he says, depends on solving a genuine problem while paying attention to repeat usage, retention and the cost of serving customers.
Building a Financial Home for Global Indians
Belong’s ambition reflects the changing financial lives of Indians who live and work around the world but continue to have financial ties to India. By combining digital onboarding, a growing product range, institutional partnerships and a focus on trust, the company is working to reduce the friction involved in managing India-linked financial needs from abroad.
As Belong expands, its challenge will be to maintain a simple customer experience while navigating different regulatory requirements and serving a diverse global audience. Its long-term opportunity lies in becoming a platform that global Indians can return to as their financial needs evolve.
Interview By : Palak
