Send money overseas with Bancoli to take advantage of bank-beating exchange rates

How to Send Money to India

Follow the below steps to find the most competitive rates for money transfers to India.
Step

Track exchange rates regularly to ensure you are up to date with market trends

Exchange rates fluctuate by the minute, and swings in economy and other factors may also influence the interbank rates up or down. To be able to maximize your yield, it is important to stay updated with current exchange rates. You can automate this by signing up for our free rate alert for your money transfers to India. Let us do the hard work of searching and comparing various service providers for you so you don't have to!

Step

Search and compare money transfer providers before sending money

We have partnered with the best money transfer companies so you have maximum choice when it comes to choosing the best option to send money home to India to your loved ones. We support Dollar to Rupee (USD to INR), Pound to Rupee (GBP to INR), Euro to Rupee (EUR to INR) and numerous other currency combinations. Take advantage of various options to pick the one that suits your needs the best.

Step

Pick the remittance service that has the best rates, reviews or deals and coupons

Evaluate various providers on various criteria like remittance exchange rates, ratings and reviews, transfer fees, transfer speed as well as the availability of promotions and deals. One you select the provider that meets your needs, click through to go to their website.

Step

Sign up on provider site and complete your money transfer

Once you are on the provider's website, create an account and configure various options like funding and receiving accounts, and follow their process to complete the money transfer. You will likely be asked for proof of identification like national ID, passport or driver's license, so keep these handy as you configure your account.

The best money transfer providers to send money to India

We have partnered with the best money transfer operators and companies to provide you accurate information in one spot, and help you make quick decisions for your remittance needs. All of our partners work hard to provide RemitFinder customers the best service possible.

Best practices to maximize your yield

You work hard for your money, so it is natural that you should strive to maximize the yield on your INR money transfers.

The first thing to consider is automating the searching and comparison of remittance exchange rates. This is important given rates fluctuate virtually every minute, and keeping track of even changing rates manually is next to impossible. One way you can do this by setting up your free exchange rate alert for your INR money transfers. Let us do the hard work of searching and comparing various service providers for you so you don't have to.

Next, some best practices that we always recommend - keep an eye on both rates and fees vs just one or the other. Since you want to maximize your yield, sometimes a high rate but an accompanying high fee may actually give you a lower return. So, it's always better to look at the full picture. Sometimes you may also need to account for the delivery time - for urgent needs, it might be acceptable to compromise on rate or fee but get the money to your loves ones as quickly as possible. We also recommend to use a few providers vs just using a couple or so. This way, you can tap into best ongoing rates and offers without having to quickly register accounts just in case a provider is offering a great but limited time offer. You can read much more in our comprehensive guide to send money to India.

Where to save and invest your money

You have sent your money successfully to India. Now what? Where should you save it? How should you invest it? After all, this is your hard earned money, and you don't want it to just sit there earning nothing for you.

When it comes to Non Resident Indians (NRIs) sending money to India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permits holding your money in various types of accounts. These are classified into the following categories - Non Resident External (NRE) Accounts, Non Resident Ordinary (NRO) Accounts and Foreign Currency Non Resident (Bank) – FCNR (B) Accounts. All of these are great vehicles to put your money into, but there are also subtle yet important differences in each one of them. Depending on your situation, you will want to choose the best type(s) of accounts to hold your money in. We have done a detailed and easy to follow comparison of these various types of Non Resident Indian (NRI) Accounts; this should give you all the important information you need to help make your decisions.

In addition to taking advantage of various savings options available with the Non Resident External (NRE), Non Resident Ordinary (NRO) and Foreign Currency Non Resident (Bank) – FCNR (B) Accounts, the Government of India permits a very generous spectrum of other investment options available to NRIs. These include, but are not limited to, investments in Government dated securities and Treasury bills, mutual funds, bonds issued by a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in India, as well as immovable property. For further reading, you can check out this detailed list of various investment options available to Non Resident Indians (NRIs).

A popular and highly competitive market

Given the massive presence of Indian diaspora overseas, as well as the significant income and savings the community sustains, it is no surprise that India is one of the most popular global remittance destinations. As per recent data, India is the world's leading receiver of remittances, claiming more than 12% of the world's remittances in 2015. Remittances to India stood at US$68.968 billion in 2017 and remittances from India to other countries totaled US$5.710 billion, for a net inflow of US$63.258 billion in 2017. Remittances to India totaled US$62.70 billion in 2015–2016, US$65.30 billion in 2016–2017 and US$80.00 billion in 2017–2018. Based on 2017 data, the top countries from where Indians sent money home included UAE, United States, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Kingdom, Nepal, Canada, Australia, Bahrain and Sri Lanka, with each one of these aforementioned countries sending more than a billion USD in outbound remittances to India. Of these, UAE, United States and Saudi Arabia topped the list with US$19.823 billion, US$11.715 billion and US$11.239 billion respectively (Source - Wikipedia on Remittances to India). This report from the World Bank points to similar statistics, noting that remittances to South Asia grew 12 percent to US$131 billion in 2018, outpacing the 6 percent growth in 2017. Based on the above data points, it is clear that India is a top global destination for international money transfers.

"As per recent data, India is the world's leading receiver of remittances, claiming more than 12% of the world's remittances in 2015. Remittances to India stood at US$68.968 billion in 2017 and remittances from India to other countries totaled US$5.710 billion, for a net inflow of US$63.258 billion in 2017"

Given the above, the remittance ecosystem for outbound money transfers to India is super competitive with umpteen players vying for your business. This is a good thing. When money transfer operators fiercely compete, it is great for consumers. The rates tend to be higher, and fees less. In addition, we also see deals, offers and promotions offered as a means to attract new customers and protect existing ones. As an example, for the USD-INR corridor, it is not uncommon to see up to 10 or more service provider rates within the span of a single Rupee!

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