The International Financial Services Centres Authority (“IFSCA” or “Authority”) via press release dated February 13, 2026 announced the hosting of Payments Forum 2026, GIFT-IFSC to strengthen the global payment and settlement ecosystem (“Press Release”).
The key highlights of the Press Release are as below:
- The Payments Forum 2026 (“Forum”) brought together representatives from banking, capital markets, insurance, fund management entities, Payment Service Providers (PSPs), fintechs, and academia to deliberate on strengthening the payments and settlement ecosystem at GIFT-IFSC.
- Shri K. Rajaraman, Chairperson, IFSCA, highlighted two key pillars of the payment ecosystem:
- The IFSCA (Payment Services) Regulations, 2024, enabling authorized PSPs to offer payment services and related infrastructure to diverse users.
- The Foreign Currency Settlement System (FCSS), an RTGS-style inter-bank settlement mechanism within IFSCA that enables settlement of USD obligations among IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) within approximately 5–6 seconds.
- The Chairperson stated that a resilient and efficient payment infrastructure forms the backbone of any international financial centre. Progressive regulatory reforms across various sectors have resulted in registrations exceeding 1,100 entities, including IBUs, fund management entities, finance companies, and PSPs, reflecting growing global participation in the IFSC ecosystem.
- The Chairperson emphasized that Ease of Doing Business, promoting innovation, and expanding retail product offerings to serve bottom-of-the-pyramid financial users will remain key focus areas of IFSCA.
- In this regard, IFSCA has published a consultation paper on Tokenisation and encouraged fintechs and innovators to utilize the GIFT International Fintech Institute (GIFT IFI) and GIFT International Fintech Innovation Hub (GIFT IFIH) for innovation and collaboration.
- IFSCA noted increasing interest from global PSPs in offering payment account issuance and e-money services to exporters and NRI/OCI investors, thereby facilitating seamless cross-border flows and improving access to capital market and insurance products at GIFT-IFSC.
- Over USD 19 billion in External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) flows were routed through IFSC channels during FY 2024–25. Domestic SMEs and micro enterprises are also witnessing improved access to trade finance through ITFS platforms, factoring arrangements, and credit insurance mechanisms.
- The Forum also discussed innovations and payment offerings by authorized PSPs, which may currently undertake the following payment services under the IFSCA (Payment Services) Regulations, 2024:
- Account issuance service.
- E-money issuance service.
- Escrow service.
- Cross-border money transfer service.
- Merchant acquisition service.
- PSPs showcased various product offerings including multi-currency accounts, global collection and payout rails, partnerships with fund management entities and banks to facilitate NRI investments, and foreign currency management solutions supporting compliant cross-border payments for Indian exporters.
- Since its launch in October 2025, the Foreign Currency Settlement System (FCSS) has significantly enhanced settlement efficiency by reducing reliance on traditional correspondent banking arrangements, which typically take 24–36 hours. Settlements are now completed within seconds, and the system is functioning smoothly.
- Regulated entities yet to onboard the FCSS have been encouraged to participate. Discussions are also underway to expand the system by:
- Allowing indirect participation.
- Onboarding banks from onshore India and other jurisdictions.
- Including additional permitted foreign currencies.
- IFSCA highlighted ongoing initiatives to strengthen digital onboarding infrastructure, including:
- Video-based Customer Identification Process (VCIP).
- Integration with e-KYC Setu.
- DigiLocker (passport access).
- CKYCR 2.0.
- PAN verification through the Protean portal.
- The Forum served as a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation, reaffirming IFSCA’s commitment to developing a world-class, technology-driven payments and settlement ecosystem at GIFT-IFSC.
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