India-New Zealand FTA Unlocks Cross Border Digital Finance Opportunities

By siliconindia  |  Tuesday, 30 December 2025, 11:47:00 AM IST

India-New Zealand FTA Unlocks Cross Border Digital Finance Opportunities
  • India-New Zealand FTA allows Indian digital payment platforms, including UPI, to operate in New Zealand.
  • The agreement enables real-time cross-border transactions, reduces remittance costs, and ensures data protection compliance.
  • FTA also includes higher FDI limits, flexible banking and insurance norms, and broader trade benefits.
India and New Zealand have agreed to expand cooperation in financial services under their recently concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA), aiming to integrate banking, insurance, and digital payment systems between the two countries. The move is expected to create new opportunities for Indian fintech companies and enhance cross-border financial transactions.
The FTA includes a dedicated chapter on financial services that allows Indian digital payment providers, including Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and other NPCI-backed platforms, to operate in New Zealand. Both nations will also collaborate on real-time cross-border transactions, which could reduce remittance costs and improve settlement efficiency for businesses and individuals.
The agreement ensures compliance with data protection norms while enabling cross-border digital operations. Indian financial institutions will receive non-discriminatory treatment in credit ratings in New Zealand, addressing concerns for lenders seeking global expansion. It also provides higher foreign direct investment limits and more flexible branch licensing norms in banking and insurance.
Currently, only two Indian banks operate in New Zealand, while Kiwi financial institutions have no presence in India. The FTA aims to bridge this gap, encouraging New Zealand firms to explore India’s market, while giving Indian players access to a developed regulatory environment.
Experts said the agreement offers Indian fintechs a structured entry point to deploy mature digital payment systems internationally. Rohit Mahajan, Founder & Managing Partner at plutos ONE, said, “The India–New Zealand FTA is built on proven fundamentals of digital finance. Through institutions like NPCI, India has already demonstrated cross-border UPI linkages and payment interoperability with multiple international markets”.
For New Zealand, the partnership provides access to India’s established digital infrastructure, enabling faster real-time remittances, merchant payments, and cross-border bill settlements. With the Indian diaspora driving significant remittance flows, faster payment rails could cut settlement time from days to seconds while lowering transaction costs.
The FTA also includes broader trade provisions, including the removal or reduction of tariffs on about 95% of New Zealand exports to India, further strengthening economic ties between the two countries.

ON THE DECK