IFSCA chairman K Rajaraman said that the pilot is currently being conducted in the UAE for people who have Aadhaar, primarily NRIs. The objective is to solve one of the biggest friction points in cross-border financial services — getting customers sitting overseas digitally onboarded while meeting KYC requirements. This initiative builds on IFSCA’s efforts to create a completely digital onboarding and documentation framework for overseas investors. Last year, the regulator notified a protocol for assisted video customer identification (VCIP) for NRIs. The next step is to test whether face authentication can allow eligible customers to complete the process themselves, without human assistance.
The IFSCA chairman told the businessline on Friday that the pilot is also meant to test the technology in an international environment. An app connector has already been developed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), but the system needs to be tested from overseas jurisdictions because the domestic Aadhaar ecosystem has restrictions on access from foreign IP addresses. “There is already an app connector that has been developed by the UIDAI. It has to be tested in international jurisdiction because the domestic regulator has got constraints because the system does not allow foreign IPs to access it,” he said.
Security testing
The international pilot will therefore examine how foreign IPs can access the Aadhaar application without compromising its security. Data generated during the exercise will be used to identify potential vulnerabilities before the system is rolled out more widely. The system is expected to be in place by the end of the current financial year, he added.The pilot is expected to be extended to three more international jurisdictions, including the US, as IFSCA tests the feasibility and security of Aadhaar-based face authentication for overseas investors.
For IFSCA, the technology push is part of a larger strategy to turn GIFT City into a hub through which the Indian diaspora can access global investment opportunities while also investing into India. India has an estimated 36 million-strong diaspora worldwide, including about 16 million NRIs and 19 million persons of Indian origin, according to the chairman. IFSCA sees this community as a significant pool of potential investors, particularly high-net-worth individuals, family offices and globally dispersed Indian-origin businesses.
To tap this market, the regulator has been encouraging banks operating in the International Financial Services Centre to establish wealth-management units. “Banks such as HSBC and SBI have already set up such operations, catering to HNI clients and family offices with global footprints,” the IFSCA chairman said while speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai.
Global investing
The broader opportunity, however, goes beyond bringing money into India. IFSCA wants GIFT City to become the platform through which NRIs can invest globally as well as invest in India, effectively allowing the IFSC to function as a cross-border wealth-management hub for the diaspora.For that ambition to work, two pieces need to fall into place, the chairman said: cross-border KYC and cross-border payments. The regulator’s initial focus had been on bringing back financial businesses that had moved overseas over the past several decades — from fund managers operating out of Mauritius to ship lessors based in Dubai and aircraft lessors in Dublin. “That part of the problem has been solved,” the chairman said. “The focus now is to ensure how to attract high quality investors and people with deep pockets to look at India in a bigger way,” he said.
Published on September 11, 2026
