SBI, Axis, ICICI, Federal, Yes Bank customers can now buy US Dollars via CRED, Mobikwik: FAQs inside

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started a pilot for bank customers where they can access FX-Retail through CRED and Mobikwik applications for purchasing US Dollar against Indian Rupee on a 'value cash' basis.

To make the above possible, the RBI has linked the FX-Retail Platform of Clearcorp Dealing Systems (India) Ltd with Bharat Bill Payment System (Bharat Connect).

"The FX-Retail platform of the Clearcorp Dealing Systems (India) Ltd. (Clearcorp) has been linked with Bharat Bill Payment System (Bharat Connect)," the central bank said in a release dated October 7, 2025.

Here are key FAQs you should know about the new facility:

How will the FX-Retail and Bharat Connect linkage help customers?

According to RBI, the FX-Retail-Bharat Connect linkage will enable individual customers maintaining bank accounts with participating banks to register and transact on the FX-Retail platform via enabled digital channels of participating banks and through Third Party Application Providers (TPAPs).

Moreover, for existing customers of FX-Retail, the linkage will provide another option to access the platform.

What are the participating banks?

The central bank launched a pilot on the linkage on October 7 at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai.

The participating banks in the pilot are Axis Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Yes Bank.

How can customers access FX-Retail?

The customers of the above-mentioned banks will be able to access FX-Retail through CRED and Mobikwik applications.

"The customers of these banks can access FX-Retail through CRED and Mobikwik applications to purchase US Dollar against the Indian Rupee on a ‘value cash’ basis...," RBI said.

What are the purposes for which the FX-Retail and Bharat Connect linkage can be used?

Customers can use the new facility to purchase US Dollar against the Indian Rupee on a ‘value cash’ basis for the following purposes:

• Foreign exchange outward remittances

• Loading of foreign exchange cards

• Physical delivery of foreign currency notes, as offered by the respective participating banks

Apart from the above, "customers of Federal Bank and State Bank of India can also access FX-Retail through the internet banking applications of these banks," RBI said.

The central bank plans to gradually expand the scope of the pilot to include more user categories, channels, banks, and TPAPs and a wider range of forex transactions.

What is FX-Retail?

The FX-Retail platform operated by Clearcorp was launched in 2019 to bring "greater transparency and fairness in the pricing of foreign exchange for its users."

"With a view to expand the reach of FX-Retail platform, enhance user experience and enable a larger number of customers to access the FX market transparently and with fairness, it was announced in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated December 06, 2024, that the FX-Retail platform will be linked with Bharat Connect operated by NBBL, in phases beginning with a pilot enabling individual customers to purchase US dollars against the Indian Rupee," the central bank said.