The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been operating a foreign exchange retail platform for small business owners by the name of FX-Retail for almost a year now. It is being managed by Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL).
It works as an exchange where several banks offer and bid on currency prices. Customers can buy and sell currency through the platform. On confirmation of the trade, the settlement occurs outside the platform, in-person at the bank.
The portal has helped bring down the premium rates charged by banks on forex by ~2% as the rates are competitive and market determined due to transparency.
The lower rates, which may otherwise be available only to big corporate houses, are also on offer to the smallest of businesses. This ensures low volume customers are not disproportionately penalized.
The portal can be accessed at https://fxretail.co.in
The portal will soon also have the feature of currency forwards, and businesses may be able to hedge their forex risks through this platform.
As for the charges of the platform, trades up to USD 50,000 a day are free. Above this, a fee is charged @0.0004% of the traded amount.
