Prefunding INR payouts in India

By Polynopsis team · Last updated 29 October 2026

Funding rules and timing in India

• RBI's onshore FCY/INR market hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. IST; dealing outside them depends on an AD Category-I bank choosing to quote, so rupees for night, weekend and holiday payouts have to be bought in advance unless a bank quotes outside those hours. source
• RDA Vostro accounts run on a credit basis with no overdrafts, and banks credit rupees only after the foreign currency reaches their nostro account. Under the Speed Remittance Procedure exchange houses ordinarily prefund through the bank's nostro account before sending payment instructions, and banks set their own collateral policy; under DDA and non-DDA arrangements banks may take collateral of 7 days' projected drawings from exchange houses with under three years of operation. source
• MTSS Overseas Principals keep collateral with a designated Indian bank equal to 3 days' average drawings or US$50,000, whichever is higher; the first US$50,000 is a foreign currency deposit and the rest can be a bank guarantee, reviewed quarterly. source
• On CCIL FX-Retail, USD/INR deals settle cash (same day), tom (next day) or spot (two days after the trade), and a single deal cannot exceed US$5 million. source
• UPI's standard cap is Rs 1 lakh per transaction; from 15 September 2025 NPCI raised limits to Rs 5 lakh per transaction for categories such as capital markets, insurance, travel and business collections, while person-to-person limits stayed unchanged. source

The rails that spend the prefund

Where the prefund sits

Money for India payouts is usually held with one or more of these, each a balance to watch. The full shortlist, with sources, is on the India payments stack page.

Bank closures to fund around

Weekdays in the next 12 months when banks in India are closed. Top up before each one.

Full list and notes: India bank holidays.

Corridors into India

Costs are World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide averages for sending the equivalent of US$200.

Size the prefund

Hold enough INR to cover payouts for your lead time plus every closure in that window, then top up when runway drops below target. The corridor runway calculator does the arithmetic; the glossary explains prefunding, corridor runway and liquidity buffers.

Where Polynopsis fits

Polynopsis shows the INR balance at every partner and account that funds India payouts, next to the payouts expected against it and the top-ups already in flight, and warns before the corridor runs dry, including ahead of India bank holidays.