How Do I Use Axis Bank TF Connect for Exports. Login, Registration, OIRM and FIRA?

What is Axis Bank TF Connect and how is it different from neo for corporates and neo for business?

TF Connect (also written TFConnect) is Axis Bank's web trade-finance portal. It is not a separate website with its own login. It is an entitlement reached by logging into Corporate Internet Banking with your Corporate ID and User ID. Inward remittances run through the Neo OIRM (Online Inward Remittance) module inside the same Corporate Internet Banking. If you have seen the older names eTrade (the Trade + Forex tick-box on the CIBE2 application form), iConnect (the legacy Corporate Internet Banking brand) or plain OIRM, those are earlier labels for the same stack.

The confusion most exporters hit is that Axis runs three digital layers with similar names. Here is how they relate:

How do I register for TFConnect (application form, board resolution and indemnities)?

TFConnect is activated at the branch, not online. The entitlement is switched on against your existing Corporate Internet Banking access once the bank receives the signed paperwork. The core document is the TFConnect application form. The Corporate Internet Banking CIBE2 form where you tick the Digital Services you want, including eTrade (Trade + Forex), bulk upload and host-to-host.

What the branch will ask for

• TFConnect / CIBE2 application form with the Trade + Forex (eTrade) services ticked, signed by authorised signatories
• Board resolution authorising the company to use Corporate Internet Banking / TFConnect and naming the users and their roles
• Indemnities as per the bank's Terms & Conditions for Corporate iConnect / TFConnect Internet Banking
• A decision on your maker-checker structure. Which users can initiate trade instructions and which can authorise them (this flows through to Neo OIRM approvals too)

Per the TF Connect product page, no service charges are stated for the portal itself. For onboarding help, Axis lists corporate internet banking support at 1860-500-4971 and corporate.ib@axisbank.com.

How do I settle an inward remittance and declare purpose codes in Neo OIRM?

When an export payment lands, it sits with the bank until you tell it what the money is for (the purpose code), what documents support it, what rate to convert at, and which account to credit. At Axis this disposal happens online in Neo OIRM , found under Corporate Internet Banking → Forex. The authoritative reference is the bank's own Neo OIRM FAQ PDF , which documents the navigation, maker-checker flow, EEFC handling, purpose codes and forward-contract utilisation.

What the FAQ confirms you can do in the module:

Your US buyer wires USD 24,000 against two commercial invoices. The credit shows as a pending inward remittance in Corporate Internet Banking. You hold a running forward contract at a better rate than today's card rate, and you want the proceeds in your current account. The steps below follow Axis Bank's own Neo OIRM FAQ (

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1. Log in to Corporate Internet Banking (neo for corporates) with Corporate ID + User ID and open the Forex section, where Neo OIRM lists pending inward remittances.
2. Open the pending remittance for USD 24,000 and start the disposal instruction as maker.
3. Select the purpose code(s) for export of goods; the FAQ permits declaring more than one purpose code against a single remittance if it covers mixed flows.
4. Upload documents. The two invoices and, where applicable, the shipping bill references.
5. Choose the rate : instead of the online rate, select utilisation of the existing and running forward contract, as the FAQ allows.
6. Choose the credit account. Current account here; the EEFC account is the alternative if you want to hold foreign currency.
7. Submit for authorisation ; the checker user reviews and approves under the maker-checker flow, after which the bank processes the conversion and credit.

How do I get my FIRA or e-FIRC from Axis Bank?

This is the question exporters search most, and the honest answer is: no official Axis Bank page documents a self-serve FIRA download from TF Connect or Neo OIRM (as read 15 August 2026). Third-party guides describe the FIRC/FIRA being requested via the branch or a net-banking request and issued after the inward remittance (IRM) is accepted in EDPMS. Until Axis publishes an in-portal FIRA feature, treat the retrieval route as something to confirm with your relationship manager .

What the bank's own documents do establish:

How do I regularise export bills in EDPMS with Paperless Export on TFConnect?

This is TF Connect's strongest documented export feature. Axis Bank's Paperless Export page describes a "completely digital journey for export bill regularisation without submitting physical papers at branch": you navigate the EDPMS module through TFConnect and use a bulk excel upload facility with minimum data entry (as read 15 August 2026).

In practice, regularisation means telling the bank which inward remittances settle which shipping bills so the EDPMS entries can be closed. The digital journey replaces the physical request letter and document set you would otherwise sign and submit at the branch. For the underlying mechanics of EDPMS (how shipping bills open, match and close) see our EDPMS reporting guide .

Two boundaries to keep in view. First, the Axis pages promise real-time updates on trade transactions, but shipping-bill-level EDPMS outstanding tracking is not explicitly confirmed on any official page. Confirm with your relationship manager what visibility you actually get. Second, the regularisation approvals themselves remain priced services in the schedule of charges: extension of due date for realisation is Rs. 500/- per extension per bill, write-off approval is Rs. 1250/- per request, and EDF (GR) approvals are Rs. 1000/- per bill (as published, effective 10 July 2026).

How do I book a forward contract with Axis Bank online (FX & Markets vs FxConnect)?

Axis offers two documented online routes to hedge your export receivables, and Neo OIRM then lets you utilise the booked forward when the remittance arrives (section 3).

On cost: the schedule of charges prices forward contract booking at Rs. 1000/- flat per contract and cancellation at Rs. 1000/- per contract, with early delivery at swap cost plus interest on inlay/outlay of funds as per FEDAI guidelines (as published, effective 10 July 2026).

Which trade tasks work in TF Connect and which still need the branch?

The table below is built strictly from Axis Bank's own pages and PDFs (each row cites its source and read date). Where the bank has not documented a capability, the row says so. A missing page is not proof the feature does not exist, but it means you should confirm with your relationship manager rather than assume.

Corporate Internet Banking &rarr; Forex &rarr; Neo OIRM: is the remittance listed as pending? </>), soThat: (<> If yes, this is a documented portal task. Purpose codes, document upload, rate choice and account credit all happen in Neo OIRM under maker-checker. No branch visit needed. </>), }, , , , , ]} conclusion= />

And what do these tasks cost? The rows below are transcribed verbatim from Axis Bank's Schedule of Charges for Trade and Forex Transactions. as published, effective 10 July 2026 (read 18 August 2026). These are the standard-schedule charges an exporter using TF Connect most commonly meets; negotiated customer-level pricing, GST, out-of-pocket expenses and correspondent bank charges apply separately per the schedule's own notes. Units differ from row to row (per remittance, per bill, per contract, percentages). Compare like with like and read each unit before comparing with any other bank.

Source: Axis Bank Schedule of Charges for Trade and Forex Transactions. As published, effective 10 July 2026; read 18 August 2026. All charges attract GST at applicable rates per the schedule. Where the bank does not earn an exchange margin, an additional commission of 0.125% in lieu of exchange (CLE) can apply per the schedule's general notes.

What should be on my Axis TF Connect setup and monthly compliance checklist?

One-time setup

• Submit the TFConnect / CIBE2 application form at the branch with the Trade + Forex (eTrade) services ticked
• Attach the board resolution naming TFConnect users and roles, and the indemnities per the iConnect/TFConnect terms
• Configure maker and checker users. The same structure governs Neo OIRM disposal approvals
• Verify the Forex section shows Neo OIRM and that the EDPMS / Paperless Export module is visible in TFConnect
• Ask your relationship manager, in writing: the current FIRA / e-FIRC retrieval route, and what shipping-bill-level EDPMS visibility your entitlement includes
• If you hedge: get FX & Markets or FxConnect access set up alongside, so booked forwards are available to utilise in Neo OIRM
• Software exporters: confirm e-Softex is enabled (auto-enabled for TF Connect users per the e-Softex page)

Monthly compliance loop

• Dispose every pending inward remittance in Neo OIRM with the correct purpose code(s) and documents. A later purpose code change costs Rs. 1000/- per remittance under the current schedule
• Reconcile the month's remittances against shipping bills and submit regularisation through the Paperless Export EDPMS module (bulk excel upload for volume)
• Track every open shipping bill against the FEMA realisation period. Nine months from the date of export for all exporters (15 months only for exports to a warehouse outside India); apply for due-date extension (Rs. 500/- per extension per bill) before a bill goes overdue, not after
• Collect FIRA/e-FIRC for the month's credits via your confirmed route, and keep copies filed against GST refund and eBRC workings
• Self-certify eBRCs on the DGFT portal for newly closed shipping bills. The bank's combined Manual BRC / eBRC row is printed NIL, so the cost here is your time, not a fee
• Review forward contract utilisation: match maturing forwards to expected remittances so they are used in Neo OIRM rather than cancelled (cancellation Rs. 1000/- per contract)

Update history

• 2026-08-18 First published.