India and New Zealand conclude Financial Services Annex of FTA with 18 articles
India and New Zealand concluded negotiations on the Financial Services Annex of their Free Trade Agreement on 22 December 2025, with provisions on fast payment systems, fintech sandboxes and financial data.
Summary
India and New Zealand concluded negotiations on the Financial Services Annex of the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement on 22 December 2025, the Finance Ministry said. The Financial Services Annex, negotiated from May 2025, grew to 18 articles and goes beyond standard GATS commitments, with cooperation on real-time cross-border payments through Fast Payment Systems such as UPI, learning from each other's regulatory and digital sandboxes, and rules on transfer of financial information. The annex also protects Indian financial institutions from discriminatory credit assessment in New Zealand, giving them parity with New Zealand domestic institutions.
Key facts
- Concluded
- 22 December 2025 (last round 10 December 2025)
- Talks began
- May 2025
- Size
- 18 articles; beyond standard GATS commitments
- Payments
- Fast Payment Systems interoperability; UPI and NPCI expertise
- Fintech
- Learning from regulatory and digital sandboxes
- Non-discrimination
- Parity with NZ institutions in credit assessment
Practice MCQs 2 questions
How many articles does the Financial Services Annex of the India–New Zealand FTA, concluded in December 2025, contain?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 18
PIB 2207641: the annex text evolved into 18 articles, a notable advancement over standard GATS commitments.
Consider the following statements about the Financial Services Annex of the India–New Zealand FTA: 1. Negotiations on the annex began in May 2025. 2. It provides for cooperation on cross-border payments through Fast Payment Systems. 3. It requires India to allow unrestricted transfer of all financial data abroad. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 and 2 only
PIB 2207641: annex talks began in May 2025 and cover Fast Payment Systems cooperation. On financial information, each party keeps the right to maintain its own rules on transfer, processing and storage, so statement 3 is wrong.