RBI adds five currencies to FX Retail platform as it flags fintech risks

The RBI has expanded its FX Retail platform beyond US dollars to include EUR, GBP, CAD, CHF and AED for forex purchases, remittances and card reloads. Deputy Governor Rohit Jain also warned fintechs about speed, vendor concentration and opacity risks, stressing accountability to customers.

— Source publishedWed, 9 Sept, 2026, 19:53 IST·First seen Wed, 9 Sept, 2026, 20:08 IST·Source ET Small Business

What happened

Reserve Bank of India · RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain warned fintechs of speed, vendor-concentration and opacity risks, stressing customer accountability. At

Key facts

  • 3 key technology risks: speed, concentration and opacity
  • 5 additional currencies: EUR, GBP, CAD, CHF and AED

Why this matters

Prioritize partnerships or acquisitions that add multi-currency distribution and compliance capabilities, while diligencing third-party concentration, accountability frameworks and customer-protection readiness.

What to watch

  • RBI circulars, inspections or enforcement actions covering fintech outsourcing, disclosure, operational resilience or customer grievance liability.
  • Transaction-volume growth by newly added currency and evidence of migration from bank branches, authorized dealers or competing forex apps.
  • Expansion of FX Retail into additional currencies, real-time pricing features, card integrations or broader remittance corridors.
  • Changes in FX spreads, fees, transaction limits, KYC requirements or settlement timelines on the platform.
  • Vendor outages, cyber incidents or customer complaints that make fintech concentration and transparency risks tangible.
  • FX platforms and banks promote multi-currency travel, student-remittance and expatriate-use cases, especially for AED, GBP and EUR corridors.
  • Fintechs review third-party dependencies, outage protocols, customer-disclosure language and escalation processes before supervisory expectations become formal requirements.
  • Regulated banks may bundle FX Retail access with prepaid cards, travel cards and mobile banking journeys to retain cross-border transaction volume.
  • Smaller forex and remittance fintechs seek bank partnerships, additional liquidity sources and compliance investments to preserve customer trust and distribution.