India-Israel Trade in Rupees Possible, SBI to Play a Key Role

Amidst deepening strategic ties and ongoing discussions on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Israel, State Bank of India (SBI), the only Indian lender present in Israel, is working to facilitate bilateral trade in rupees...

Rupee International Trade: Amidst deepening strategic ties and ongoing discussions on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Israel, State Bank of India (SBI), the only Indian lender present in Israel, is working to facilitate bilateral trade in rupees.

Trade to be conducted in Rupees

V. Manivannan, CEO of SBI Israel, told PTI, "Considering the significant trade with India's partner countries and the growing interest in trading in Indian rupees within the global trading community, our banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, has decided to allow Indian banks to settle the exports and imports of their corporate clients in Indian rupees. Under this arrangement, Israel has been chosen as one of the partner countries."

Easier Process for Sending and Receiving Money

The SBI official said that through this arrangement, Israeli entities engaged in exports/imports will receive payments in Indian rupees, which will be deposited into a Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) against the invoice for the supply/purchase of goods or services from the Israeli seller/buyer. The SBI branch recently organized several meetings and webinars in collaboration with the Israel-India Chamber of Commerce to promote trade in rupees.

These discussions were attended by officials from most of Israel's major defense establishments. With over 40,000 Indian workers recently joining the Israeli workforce, SBI's Tel Aviv branch is also working to simplify the process of sending and receiving money by facilitating the opening of Non-Resident Indian (NRI) accounts in India. SBI opened its branch in 2007

State Bank of India (SBI) opened its branch in Israel in 2007 and has successfully maintained a fully operational presence ever since. This demonstrates its resilience, despite the turmoil that lasted for more than two years due to the global pandemic and the ongoing conflict in the region.

It has a presence in 29 countries through 241 "points of presence" outside of India. The official stated that the branch is committed to strengthening relationships with its current and prospective customers and becoming a trusted partner in their business endeavors.