At the just concluded sixth edition of the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai, IFSCA (International Financial Services Centres Authority) chairman K. Rajaraman said that IFSCA was collaborating with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to introduce an unassisted face authentication system for NRIs. The initiative will enable the onboarding of NRI customers seamlessly from locations such as Dubai or San Francisco. UIDAI had already implemented this system domestically.

In the next few months, IFSCA will focus on streamlining the KYC process, following directions from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who chairs the Financial Stability and Development Council.

The video-based KYC process will be efficient and flexible for onboarding NRI customers by November.

Rajaraman said, “A consultation paper on video KYC was released a few months ago and now we are likely to notify (guidelines) by, say, November, which means that now paper-based applications for opening a deposit account or an investment account and gift would not be required. If we can implement this (unassisted face authentication system) within the next three to four months, NRIs will find it much easier to open accounts, invest, and transact through GIFT City in a fully digital, unassisted manner.”

IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centres.

Commenting on the newly launched foreign currency settlement system by Nirmala Sitharaman at GIFT IFSC, Rajaraman said it would enable real-time settlements, ensure regulatory compliance, and improve liquidity management. – editor@nrifocus.com