Deepanshu Shokeen is an Indian technology entrepreneur known for founding the fintech platform PayBridge and serving as a mentor for several accelerator programs. He launched PayBridge in 2018, raising INR 45 crore (≈ $5.4 million) in Series A funding by 2021, and has since been recognized by the Economic Times as a top 30 under 30 innovator.
Deepanshu Shokeen was born on March 12, 1992, in Gurgaon, Haryana. After earning a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Delhi in 2014, he joined a multinational software firm before leaving to pursue his own venture. His early work focused on mobile payment APIs, which later evolved into the comprehensive B2B payment solution offered by PayBridge.
During this period, Shokeen worked as a senior developer at Infosys, contributing to the development of cloud‑based ERP modules for banking clients. He authored two internal patents on secure transaction routing, which laid the groundwork for his later startup.
Seeing a gap in seamless B2B payments for SMEs, Shokeen drafted the initial product roadmap and assembled a core team of three engineers. The prototype was demonstrated at the 2017 India Startup Conclave, attracting seed interest from AngelList investors.
Beyond PayBridge, Shokeen mentors startups at the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups program and serves on the advisory board of the Indian FinTech Forum. He regularly speaks at conferences such as FinTech India 2023 and has published three white papers on digital payment security.
| Feature | PayBridge | Competitor X | Competitor Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instant settlement | Within 5 seconds | 30–60 seconds | 15 seconds |
| API latency | ≤ 20 ms | ≤ 45 ms | ≈ 30 ms |
| Supported currencies | 30+ (incl. INR, USD, SGD) | 12 | 18 |
| Compliance | ISO 27001, PCI‑DSS, RBI‑approved | PCI‑DSS only | ISO 27001 only |
The table highlights PayBridge’s speed, broader currency support, and stronger compliance framework, which are frequently cited by analysts as competitive advantages.
In 2020, Shokeen was named “Young Innovator of the Year” by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The following year, Economic Times listed him among the “Top 30 Under 30” in the technology sector. In 2023, he received the “FinTech Pioneer” award at the Global Payments Summit in Dubai.
Three practical lessons emerge from his story:
As of 2024, Deepanshu continues to serve as CEO of PayBridge, overseeing a team of 220 employees worldwide. He resides in Bangalore and is actively involved in policy dialogues with the Reserve Bank of India on open banking standards.
Beyond his corporate responsibilities, Shokeen founded the PayBridge Foundation in 2022, a non‑profit aimed at financial inclusion for micro‑enterprises in rural India. The foundation partners with NGOs to provide free access to PayBridge’s API sandbox, enabling small merchants to accept digital payments without upfront costs. By the end of 2023, more than 4,500 village‑level vendors had integrated the platform, collectively processing over ₹120 crore in transactions. The initiative earned the “Social Impact Award” at the 2023 Indian Startup Awards, highlighting Shokeen’s commitment to bridging the digital divide.
Looking ahead, Shokeen envisions PayBridge evolving into a “one‑stop‑shop” for embedded finance. The roadmap for 2025‑2027 includes:
These strategic moves aim to cement PayBridge’s position as the backbone of cross‑border trade for small and medium enterprises.
Shokeen has become a frequent guest on business‑focused podcasts such as “FinTech Pulse” and “Startup Stories India.” In a 2024 interview with The Economic Times, he emphasized the importance of “regulatory sandboxes” for rapid innovation, a viewpoint later echoed in RBI’s 2025 policy paper. His op‑ed titled “Why APIs Will Redefine Indian Payments” garnered over 150 k reads and is now part of the curriculum at several Indian B‑schools.
Every growth phase presented hurdles. During the 2020 pandemic, PayBridge experienced a 40 % spike in transaction volume, straining its cloud infrastructure. Shokeen’s response—migrating critical services to a multi‑region Kubernetes cluster—cut downtime to under 0.2 % and set a new reliability benchmark. Another obstacle was navigating the RBI’s 2021 “Payments and Settlement Systems” amendment, which required extensive compliance re‑engineering. By establishing an internal compliance task force early, PayBridge achieved certification three months ahead of schedule, turning a regulatory risk into a market advantage.
When coaching at NASSCOM’s 10,000 Startups program, Shokeen stresses three core principles:
His mentees credit these insights for securing follow‑on funding and achieving product‑market fit within twelve months.
Deepanshu Shokeen was born on March 12, 1992, in Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
PayBridge provides a B2B payment API suite that enables instant settlement, multi‑currency support, and real‑time transaction monitoring for enterprises.
He received CII's Young Innovator of the Year (2020), Economic Times' Top 30 Under 30 (2021), and the FinTech Pioneer award at the Global Payments Summit (2023).
PayBridge employs approximately 220 staff members across offices in Bangalore, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.
He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from IIT Delhi, graduating in 2014.
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