NPCI seeks nod for 'techfin' unit at GIFT City to take UPI, RuPay rails cross-border
NPCI has applied under IFSCA's 2025 TechFin rules to set up a 474 sq m unit at GIFT City staffed by 25 professionals, extending India's payment rails beyond domestic operations into cross-border financial innovation alongside IT majors like Infosys, Wipro and HCL.
What happened
NPCI, operator of UPI, RuPay and Bharat BillPay, has applied to set up a techfin unit at GIFT City under IFSCA's 2025 TechFin regulations, expanding India's
Key facts
- 474 square metres
- 25 professionals
- 18 entities
- 5,600 jobs
- 50,000 high-skilled jobs
Why this matters
The move creates partnership and co-location openings alongside Infosys, Wipro and HCL at GIFT City, worth scoping for cross-border payments integration plays.
What to watch
- IFSCA approval confirmation and license scope disclosure
- New country corridor MoUs (UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius) referencing GIFT City
- RBI/FEMA guidance on cross-border UPI settlement and data flows
- Card network (Visa/Mastercard) or SWIFT competitive response on remittance pricing
- Transaction volume or corridor go-live announcements from NIPL
- IFSCA grants TechFin registration and NPCI staffs the 25-person unit with compliance and settlement talent
- NPCI International (NIPL) routes new bilateral corridor deals through GIFT City for regulatory arbitrage vs domestic setup
- IT majors (Infosys, Wipro, HCL) pitch integration/middleware layers for cross-border reconciliation
- Banks and fintechs establish GIFT City nodes to plug into the diaspora remittance and merchant acceptance flows