IFSCA Mandates IFSC Banking Unit or SNRR Accounts for All Payments
IFSCA has amended its AML exemption circular to require all financial institutions, including exempt entities, to route business-related monetary transactions through an IFSC Banking Unit or SNRR account. The amendment takes immediate effect while all other provisions remain unchanged.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has issued a circular dated 19 June 2026 amending its earlier Exemption Circular of 18 November 2024 relating to the applicability of the IFSCA (Anti Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Know Your Customer) Guidelines, 2022. The amendment revises Clause 3 to mandate that all Financial Institutions operating in the IFSC, including those exempted from the AML/CFT/KYC Guidelines under Clause 2 of the Exemption Circular, must transact or receive all monetary consideration arising from business transactions only through an account maintained with a Banking Unit in the IFSC or through a Special Non-Resident Rupee (SNRR) account. All other provisions of the 2024 Exemption Circular remain unchanged. Issued under Sections 12 and 13 of the IFSCA Act, 2019, read with Rule 9(14) of the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, the amendment comes into force with immediate effect. International Financial Services Centres AuthorityCircularNo. IFSCA-BDev0FSSC/2/2023 | Dated: 19 June, 2026ToAll Regulated Entities in the International Financial Services CentreSubject: Amendment to the Circular titled“Exempting certain entities/activities from the applicability of International Financial Services Centres Authority (Anti Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Know Your Customer) Guidelines, 2022”. Sir/Madam,Reference may be drawn to the Circular titled “Exempting certain entities/activities from the applicability of International Financial Services Centres Authority (Anti Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Know Your Customer) Guidelines, 2022” (hereinafter referred to “Exemption Circular”), dated November 18, 2024, issued by the Authority. 2. In this regard, upon review, it has been decided that clause 3 of the Exemption Circular shall be modified as follows:“All Financial Institutions, including those exempted under clause 2 above, shall transact or receive the monetary consideration (i. e. funds/fees/amount etc. ) emanating from the business transactions only through an account maintained with a Banking Unit in IFSC or an SNRR account. ”3. All other provisions of the Exemption Circular shall remain unchanged. 4. This Circular is issued in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 12 and 13 of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019, read with rule 9 (14) of the Prevention of Money- Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, and shall come into force with immediate effect. A copy of this Circular is available on the website of the International Financial Services Centres Authority athttps://ifsca. gov. in/Legal/Index/TCce8MyOmco=. Ankit Bhansali,General ManagerDivision of AML & CFT, IFSCA