India and Canada are working on measures to make cross-border payments and remittances easier, a move that could benefit more than 400,000 Indian students studying in Canada and their families back home in India.

Key Highlights

• India and Canada work to simplify cross-border payments benefiting over 400,000 Indian students studying in Canada.
• Remittances per student estimated at CAD 45,000, as both countries target CAD 70 billion bilateral trade by 2030.

The issue was discussed during the first Economic and Financial Dialogue between the two countries in Toronto, where Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her Canadian counterpart, François-Philippe Champagne. The discussions focused on digital payments, financial services, and ways to make it easier for people to send money between India and Canada.

Ministers Discuss Digital Payment Innovation

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, FM Sitharaman said the two countries had discussed how digital technology could be used to improve payment systems. She also shared India's experience with direct benefit transfers, which were used to send government payments directly to beneficiaries during the Covid-19 pandemic. "We have had conversations on how digital technologies can help each other," she said.

Champagne said financial services could become a major area of cooperation between the two countries, including easier payment options for Indian students and their families. "We are talking; our teams are going to be talking further, and adopting everything which helps in easier payment, cross-border remittances, and also within the country, multiple choices for digital payments so that citizens can benefit from it," he said.

Focus on Indian Students in Canada

The large population of Indian students in Canada was a key consideration in the discussions. Champagne said around 400,000 Indian students are currently in Canada and highlighted the significant amount of money families may need to send to support them during their studies.

"We know we have 400,000 Indian students. We know that the remittance could be around 45,000 Canadian dollars per student. So, we are committed, both myself and the Minister of Finance of India, to facilitate that, because that, I think, will be a great benefit to the Indian students that are living in Canada," he said.

Champagne added that simpler and more efficient remittance channels would also provide greater peace of mind to parents in India supporting their children overseas. He said the two governments were considering several ways to make cross-border payments easier, including having more financial institutions operate within the Indian market.

The measures under discussion could give students and their families more options for transferring money, while potentially making such transactions faster and more convenient.

Also Read: India and Canada Relaunch CEPA, Target $50 Bn Trade by 2030

Wider Financial Cooperation Between India and Canada

India has also expressed readiness to begin Bilateral Investment Treaty talks with Canada, as both countries seek to deepen economic ties and raise bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion (around Rs 4.65 lakh crore) by 2030.

The two sides welcomed the growing role of Canadian pension funds and institutional investors in India, and explored ways to boost their continued participation. This development comes alongside ongoing negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which both countries are targeting to conclude by the end of 2026.

FM Sitharaman arrived in Toronto on Tuesday at the start of an eight-day official visit to Canada and the United States. During the US leg of her trip, she is scheduled to attend the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, alongside a series of bilateral and business engagements.