Cross-border payments fintech Skydo has secured final authorisation from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) out of the International Financial Services Centre at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). The licence upgrades the in-principle nod the Bengaluru-based company received in May 2026 and clears the way for a wider set of foreign-currency products aimed at Indian exporters.
According to the IFSCA register, the entity Skydo Payments IFSC Private Limited was registered as a PSP on 21 October 2026 under authorisation number IFSC/PSP/2026-27/012. The company announced the approval on 27 October.
What the GIFT City licence unlocks
With the final authorisation in hand, Skydo plans to roll out a broader cross-border stack from the IFSC, including:
- Multi-currency accounts that let eligible Indian exporters collect and hold foreign currency, use those balances to pay overseas suppliers, or convert them into rupees when needed, subject to regulatory conditions;
- Merchant acquiring and collections for businesses selling to international buyers; and
- Payment infrastructure for exporters, investment platforms and trade finance companies operating within the IFSC.
Building on its RBI licences
The GIFT City approval adds to Skydo’s onshore regulatory footprint. In January 2026, the company received final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a Payment Aggregator – Cross Border (PA-CB) for export collections. In May, alongside the in-principle IFSCA nod, it also received RBI approval to support outward payment flows under the PA-CB framework, allowing it to handle both inbound payments from overseas clients and outbound payments to international vendors, software platforms and service providers on a single platform.
At the time of the in-principle approval, co-founder and CEO Srivatsan Sridhar described GIFT City as an important step in India’s ambition to build globally competitive financial infrastructure, saying the combined approvals would give MSMEs and digital-first businesses better access to global payment corridors, improved currency management and more efficient cross-border transactions. Co-founder Movin Jain has said the framework allows fintechs to build globally aligned payment products as GIFT City matures into an international financial hub.
Why it matters
For India’s export-oriented MSMEs, freelancers and startups, foreign-currency handling has long meant juggling bank wires, conversion spreads and slow settlements. A dollar or euro account housed in GIFT City, usable for both receipts and supplier payments, could reduce repeated conversions and give smaller exporters more control over when they move money into rupees.
Skydo, backed by Elevation Capital and Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, says it serves more than 40,000 Indian businesses across 50+ cities and supports collections from over 150 countries. It joins a growing list of fintechs, including INDmoney, Vested and XFlow, that hold PSP authorisations in the IFSC as GIFT City positions itself as India’s offshore gateway for cross-border finance.
