SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) | Ministry of Finance
The RBI has launched a major pilot program designed to simplify and make fairer the way common people buy foreign currency. The central bank is linking the FX-Retail platform—which provides honest, direct market rates for foreign exchange—with Bharat Connect, the digital framework that powers many of India’s payment apps. This integration means individual bank customers can now access market-driven rates for purchasing US Dollars directly through their bank’s digital apps or through popular Third Party Application Providers (TPAPs) like CRED and Mobikwik. Starting with participating institutions like State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, this allows customers to easily complete transactions for sending money abroad (remittances), loading travel cards, or getting physical foreign currency notes. The RBI’s goal is to rapidly expand this system to include more users, banks, and types of forex transactions.
This move accelerates the convergence of finance and technology under the Digital India and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiatives, utilizing existing digital rails (Bharat Connect) to democratize access and improve governance in the foreign exchange market.
What is the FX-Retail Platform? The FX-Retail platform is an electronic trading system that provides individual retail customers with direct access to interbank pricing for buying and selling foreign currency. It matters as it increases transparency, reduces mark-ups, and ensures fair pricing for everyday forex transactions.
What is Bharat Connect? Bharat Connect (formerly known as BBPS) is a unified, interoperable digital platform authorized by the RBI and operated by NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. It centralizes the collection of all types of bills (utilities, fees, taxes) and standardized transactions. It matters because it provides a single, secure, and regulated highway for accessing financial services, enabling new integrations—like the link to the FX-Retail platform—to expand reach, enhance transparency, and reduce transaction friction for customers nationwide.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What regulatory steps are needed to rapidly scale up the pilot to onboard all major banks and non-bank payment providers while mitigating security risks associated with third-party forex transactions?
Follow the full news here: Access to FX-Retail Platform through Bharat Connect