GIFT City is considering expanding its foreign currency settlement system to include Euro, GBP and more

The Foreign Currency Settlement System (FCSS), recently launched at GIFT City, will soon expand, with plans to roll out multiple global currencies such as the euro and the British pound in phases, according to official sources.

“Based on future market demand, the newly launched FCSS will now look at clearing other currencies such as Euro or British Pound and a few other currencies,” K Rajaraman, chairman of the International Financial Services Authority (IFSCA) – the unified regulator in GIFT City – told the business line.

Launched by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the opening day of Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai, the FCSS currently supports only US dollar transactions, with Standard Chartered Bank as settlement partner, enabling near real-time settlement without relying on traditional correspondent banking routes. However, the USD-based transactions are limited to IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) in GIFT City in Gujarat.

Kamal Singhania, Senior Vice President of Clearing Corporation of India – the entity mandated to set up the FCSS in GIFT City – echoed a similar sentiment. “We have started with dollar as currency and in future we will add other major currencies as well,” Singhania said during a panel discussion at GFF on Wednesday.

Speaking about the expansion of the FCSS during a panel discussion on the topic ‘Evolving Fintech Landscape in GIFT City’, the official said, “We can expand to the jurisdiction of India so that all banks in India can participate. Perhaps after consultation with regulators, we can also expand to other countries and settle transactions generated or required in other Asian countries.”

“Currently, if an entity in GIFT City wants to send a dollar to another entity in GIFT City, it does so through a nostro account — an account that a domestic bank maintains with a foreign bank. Both entities must have separate nostro accounts in the United States. I was told that the maximum time it took to transfer money from one customer to another — both located in GIFT IFSC — 48 o’clock was. With a near real-time gross settlement system in place, a customer can transfer money from GIFT City to another at the same location in just three seconds,” Singhania added.

Published on October 9, 2025