LEXI Money IFSC Pvt Ltd, an AI-powered trade and payments platform, has received in-principle approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) at the GIFT International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The approval places LEXI among a select group of fintech firms authorised to offer cross-border payment services from within India’s only international financial hub. The company will now work towards obtaining a Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) from IFSCA, the final regulatory clearance needed to commence operations.
What Is IFSCA and GIFT-IFSC?
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is a statutory body established on 27 April 2020 under the IFSCA Act, 2019 passed by Parliament. It is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Before IFSCA was created, financial activities in India’s International Financial Services Centres were regulated by multiple domestic regulators: the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA. IFSCA consolidated all these powers into a single unified regulator, providing a one-stop regulatory framework for banking, insurance, capital markets, and fintech activities within IFSCs.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) is India’s first operational smart city and the country’s only designated International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Spread over 886 acres along the banks of the Sabarmati River, it is located between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. GIFT City has two zones: a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) and a Multi-Service Special Economic Zone (GIFT SEZ), which has been notified as India’s IFSC. Entities operating within the IFSC are treated as non-residents under foreign exchange regulations, and all transactions are conducted in foreign currency. Over 1,030 entities spanning banking, capital markets, asset management, fintech, insurance, and leasing are currently set up at GIFT City. The IFSC is designed to bring back to Indian shores the financial services transactions that are currently carried out in offshore hubs such as Singapore, Dubai, and London.
What Does the Approval Mean for LEXI?
The in-principle approval from IFSCA, granted through a letter dated 15 June 2026, authorises LEXI to offer three specific categories of payment services: account issuance including e-money, cross-border money transfer, and merchant acquisition. This is the first regulatory stage. LEXI must now satisfy the conditions set by IFSCA to obtain the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA), the final licence required before it can begin operations at GIFT-IFSC.
The IFSCA PSP framework gives LEXI structural capabilities that onshore-only payment providers cannot access. These include multi-currency settlement, access to global correspondent banking networks, and a regulatory regime aligned with international standards. For Indian exporters, this translates to faster settlement times, greater currency flexibility, and the compliance credibility that enterprise buyers and banking partners demand before committing payment flows to a platform.
The approval is strategically timed. India’s cumulative merchandise and services exports for FY2025-26 were estimated at approximately USD 860 billion by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The government has set an ambitious export target of USD 2 trillion by 2030. To reach this goal, India needs modern payment infrastructure that can handle the scale and complexity of cross-border trade efficiently.
How LEXI’s Platform Works
LEXI is an AI-powered platform purpose-built for Indian exporters dealing in physical goods. Its core offering, LexiTrade, is an AI and machine learning-driven documentation engine that covers the entire export workflow from invoice to e-BRC (electronic Bank Realisation Certificate). The platform automatically digitises trade documents, validates fields against bank requirements, and detects mismatches in values, dates, HS codes, and line items before they reach the bank.
A separate compliance module, LexiComply, provides real-time regulatory intelligence by tracking updates from the RBI, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) , and Customs. It matches exporters’ HS codes and destination countries with applicable incentive schemes and rebates, and alerts users about pending EDPMS (Export Data Processing and Monitoring System) entries and compliance risks. With the IFSCA PSP approval, LEXI can now integrate payment processing directly into this workflow, creating a unified platform for documentation, compliance, and cross-border payments.
The company, incorporated as LEXI Money IFSC Pvt Ltd on 11 November 2025 and registered with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) Ahmedabad, is headquartered in India. Its co-founders are Dipender Bhamrah (CEO) and Ankush Mittal (COO).
India’s Export Ambition: The Bigger Picture
The approval of fintech platforms like LEXI at GIFT-IFSC is part of a broader strategy to build a robust financial ecosystem that supports India’s export growth. The government has been actively positioning GIFT City as a competitive alternative to global financial hubs. Recent initiatives include allowing direct listing of Indian companies on international exchanges at GIFT IFSC, establishing a subsidiary of EXIM Bank for trade re-financing, and creating a favourable tax regime for IFSC units.
For small and medium exporters, who form the backbone of India’s export sector, access to efficient cross-border payment infrastructure is critical. Delays in payment realisation, document mismatches leading to bank queries, and lack of clarity on compliance requirements are among the most frequently cited challenges. Platforms that combine AI-driven compliance automation with regulated payment processing directly address these problems.
GIFT City ranked 47th in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) as of March 2026, reflecting its growing stature. Cumulative banking transactions at GIFT City have crossed USD 1.5 trillion, with an asset size of over USD 100 billion held by banks operating out of the IFSC. With 18 foreign banks and 17 domestic banks already present, the ecosystem is steadily attracting fintech innovators that can provide specialised services to complement traditional banking.
Key Takeaways
- LEXI Money IFSC Pvt Ltd received in-principle approval from IFSCA on 15 June 2026 to operate as a Payment Service Provider at GIFT-IFSC.
- The approval covers three service categories: account issuance including e-money, cross-border money transfer, and merchant acquisition.
- LEXI must obtain a Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) from IFSCA, the final licence, before commencing operations.
- The IFSCA was established on 27 April 2020 under the IFSCA Act, 2019 as a unified regulator for India’s International Financial Services Centres.
- GIFT City, India’s only IFSC, is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, spanning 886 acres.
- India’s export target is USD 2 trillion by 2030, up from an estimated USD 860 billion in FY2025-26.
