New Delhi: Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarawal on Wednesday said India discusses the alignment and harmonisation of payment systems with its trading partners as part of FTA negotiations, particularly with countries that have a large Indian diaspora.
Addressing a session at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, he said one of the key areas of negotiations under free trade agreements (FTAs) is trade in services.
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"And as part of trade in services, one of the key areas that we negotiate is financial services, wherein we are taking mobility commitments under mode one (cross-border supply of services like architecture) and mode three (foreign commercial presence like banks)," he said.
The secretary said that in the last five years, India has finalised nine trade agreements, which cover USD 60 trillion of GDP across the world, and it opens up huge opportunities for Indian goods and services.
"Every FTA we negotiate there is also a discussion around how we can align our payment systems and harmonise our payment systems to talk to each other, especially in countries where India has a huge diaspora," Agarwal said.
In these pacts, he said, while India is allowing their (FTA partner) banks to come here, India is also leveraging space for its banks to go to their geography.
He sought views of stakeholders on policy level to create the right pathway for domestic startups, and entrepreneurs to provide fintech solutions and services across the world.
"Because that is one area where the trade is growing and if we can partake even 10 per cent of the trade we are talking a journey of USD 8 billion to maybe USD 60 to 80 billion," the secretary said.
The government understands that the fintech ecosystem does not work in silos, he added.
A digital payment device will simultaneously involve financial regulation, telecommunication, infrastructure around telecommunication, cloud computing, data flows, cyber security, AI investments, and movement of professionals.
"When we try to do a free trade agreement...we try to see that we are able to clear hurdles in as many of these domains as possible," he said, adding that regulations are the most difficult ones to align and move in the right directions.
The secretary suggested that fintech firms look at working with countries which are facing similar challenges in financial inclusion, payments, small business finance, public service delivery, and trade finance to develop affordable, interoperable and locally appropriate digital ecosystems.
"Working together based on your experience to find similar solutions or better solutions in their economy is the path forward," he said.
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As digital services become more international, trust will become even more important.
"Global customers and regulators will expect assurance around cyber security, data protection, privacy, resilience, AI explainability and accountability. Responsible technology should therefore not be viewed as a constraint on competitiveness. Increasingly, it is a prerequisite for global competitiveness," Agarwal said.
The government, he said, is looking to create institutional gateways to facilitate and scale services exports, with the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City emerging as one such platform.
The objective is to bring financial services that India currently imports from centres such as Ireland and Singapore onshore, while building domestic capabilities.
GIFT City has already expanded into areas such as aircraft and ship leasing and other financial services.
He suggested leveraging this experience, scale and cost efficiencies to make GIFT City a global gateway for exporting financial services, attracting business currently handled by other international financial centres.
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