Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday launched foreign currency settlement system in GIFT City, aiming to boost international trade, investment, and ease of doing business.
Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2025, Sitharaman said, "Foreign currency settlement system to solve the problem of facilitating seamless transactions on real-time basis, enhance liquidity management, and ensuring compliance."
The FCSS will be a payment system within IFSC designed for settling transactions in foreign currency on a real-time basis or near real-time basis.
"GIFT IFSC joins select group of financial centres that include Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila, and so on, having infrastructure to settle foreign currency transactions locally," she added.
Transactions in foreign currency by entities and IFSC are currently settled through the correspondent banking arrangement which is routed through different participants and multiple banks. Such transactions are not settled on a real-time basis.
"FCSS facilities seamless and efficient settlement of foreign currency transactions within IFSC on a real-time basis, not 36-48 hours, enhancing liquidity management and operational resilience, ensuring compliance with regulatory oversight under PSS Act," the finance minister said.
Banking major Standard Chartered's India unit has been selected for U.S. dollar clearance.
Speaking about India's fintech ecosystem, Sitharaman said, “India now ranks 3rd in the world for the number of fintech companies and also leads in digital payment volumes, having processed over 18,580 crore UPI transactions worth Rs 261 lakh crore in 2024-25.”
Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2025, Sitharaman said, "Foreign currency settlement system to solve the problem of facilitating seamless transactions on real-time basis, enhance liquidity management, and ensuring compliance."
The FCSS will be a payment system within IFSC designed for settling transactions in foreign currency on a real-time basis or near real-time basis.
"GIFT IFSC joins select group of financial centres that include Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila, and so on, having infrastructure to settle foreign currency transactions locally," she added.
Transactions in foreign currency by entities and IFSC are currently settled through the correspondent banking arrangement which is routed through different participants and multiple banks. Such transactions are not settled on a real-time basis.
"FCSS facilities seamless and efficient settlement of foreign currency transactions within IFSC on a real-time basis, not 36-48 hours, enhancing liquidity management and operational resilience, ensuring compliance with regulatory oversight under PSS Act," the finance minister said.
Smt @nsitharaman launched the Foreign Currency Settlement System (FCSS) of GIFT IFSC during the Global Fintech Fest 2025 (@GffFintechfest) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) October 7, 2025
The FCSS will serve as a payment system within IFSC, designed to settle transactions in foreign currencies on a… pic.twitter.com/33WuzZyzEI
Banking major Standard Chartered's India unit has been selected for U.S. dollar clearance.
Speaking about India's fintech ecosystem, Sitharaman said, “India now ranks 3rd in the world for the number of fintech companies and also leads in digital payment volumes, having processed over 18,580 crore UPI transactions worth Rs 261 lakh crore in 2024-25.”
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