Why some countries are being excluded from learning Business English

The online course, Learn Business English (www.learnbusinessenglish.net) (LBE) is proving hugely successful, especially in India. Agents are used, and these agents, in turn, pay LBE after receiving payments from students who are registering for the course. The problem is that the agents are unable to pay- not because they don’t want to, but because the banks in New Zealand don’t accept the transfers. For example, one agent in India has tried to get payments into the country- first through a corporate account, then into personal accounts- for 12 months, with no success. The last reason given by the banks for the delay was a “technical issue,” whatever that is. Moreover, banks do not accept any liability for lost business or delays.

It seems incongruous to have a government that touts the success of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, in areas such as education, in which Learn Business English operates, and yet for banks in New Zealand to see doing business in India as too risky. The mix of India and education is too toxic a mix for banks in New Zealand.

Why do we want to do business with India?

“India presents major opportunities for New Zealand exporters, with a huge market for consumer products and services. The country offers a viable location for large-scale, high-tech manufacturing, and a rich source of offshore talent,” according to an article on the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise website.

New Zealand signed a FTA with India on 22 December 2025. The response to it has been mixed. The leader of the NZ First party, Winston Peters, has said the agreement is “terrible.” Some other parties and commentators disagree with Peters’ analysis, however. The deal will see 95 per cent of tariffs being eliminated or reduced gradually.

“Services exporters, particularly in key sectors like fintech, tertiary and private education, professional and environmental services, will benefit from a level playing field with competitors, advantages that build on existing WTO commitments” says the NZ government. It adds: “Importantly, New Zealand’s position in the Indian services market is future-proofed, ensuring New Zealand companies will automatically benefit from any future improvements to services access extended to other Indian FTA partners.”

The aim of the deal is to expand the market for New Zealand exports. India ranks as New Zealand’s 12th largest goods and services export market, representing 1.5 per cent of New Zealand’s exports, with two-way trade accounting for NZD3.68 billion annually (year ended June 2025).

Problems with getting the banks to credit your account

However, it’s all very well to “future-proof industries” in the Indian market, but exporters need paid, and the government isn’t doing anything to ensure exporters are credited payments from India by banks in New Zealand. In fact, not only is India considered “high risk” but many industries fall into this category, especially education. Yes, it’s a double whammy for us at Learn Business English.

The New Zealand government cites many reasons why it believes the countries’ exporters should be tapping into the growth opportunities that India offers.

India is the fastest-growing G20 economy, and by 2030 is expected to become the world’s third-largest economy (with GDP of USD7 trillion) and to have a middle class of more than 700 million, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). “This leaves huge potential for growth not only for our premium food, beverage, and consumer goods exports but also for tech and services exporters in sectors like gaming, education, tourism and fintech, ” the website says.

It adds that India is “on its way to having the world’s largest working-age population by 2100, making it an ideal source of offshore talent for New Zealand businesses”.

India is also seen as “a viable high-tech manufacturing hub with a stable workforce” particularly for customers in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and with New Zealand in particular.

Since people in India, tend to hold jobs for longer than in many markets- often for a lifetime compared to 2-3 years in other markets, “New Zealand businesses stand to benefit from local talent and manufacturing opportunities,” MFAT says. Therefore, India, with its lower labour and production costs, is considered to be a good re-export base to countries in the Middle East, Africa or wider South-East Asia. compared to New Zealand. There are also several tax exemptions for exported products.

It might sound good to have a FTA with India, but it’s all puff if banks in New Zealand are not prepared to credit the accounts of exporters. Therefore, is it time that the banks in New Zealand put in place restrictions that are less harsh than they are currently for companies which receive payments from India who bank with them? In this way, the banks would align more with government norms of doing more business with India and they would accept that a free trade agreement can benefit some companies. They assume that all companies and individuals are high risk. They are no.