Indians are sending more money abroad; here’s why!

Along with the rise in the value of the rupee and the remittance limits, the number of Indians who transfer money abroad has also increased. In fact, in 2016 remittance amount from India touched a new high with Indians sending a record $4.6 billion abroad as overseas remittances.

What’s puzzling though is that most Indians remit amounts in the range of a few thousand dollars and that very few actually go the limit of $250,000; thus this rise in remittance cannot be directly attributed towards the increased remittance limits. So what then is driving this surge in outward remittance?

Most financial experts explain that more and more Indians have settled abroad or choose to pursue an education overseas and that this could have led to this record remittance figure. Backing this is the fact that the study also stated that among the major reasons for Indians to send money abroad, ‘education’ & ‘family maintenance’ ranked the highest. These two remittance reason put together made up for half of the $4.6 billion sent overseas from India.

The study went on to show that Indians are also sending money abroad for various other reasons such as investment and even purchase of property. Another major reason why Indians transfer money abroad is to cover medical expenses. Healthcare abroad is growing in leaps and bounds. This has resulted in more and more Indian looking to foreign hospitals for treatment, thus this is another reason why the remittance amounts have shot up in the past couple of years.

Another factor influencing this figure could be the rise of online forex portals. These portals allow Indians to transfer money abroad with a fraction of the effort traditional remittance methods called for. There is no complicated paperwork or tedious documentation and sending money abroad has become as easy as shopping for a pair of shoes online. These sites have also made it very affordable to send money by providing completive exchange rates and very minimal commission charges. This is in stark contrast to the hidden charges & fat margins involved when sending money abroad through traditional modes of forex.

If you were one who shied away from or were hesitant to transfer money abroad before, you shouldn’t any more. These latest developments prove that technology is bridging the gap between countries and that we now live in a world with virtually no boundaries. If you have friends or family living abroad, join the trend and surprise them with a money transfer! The world is changing, India is moving forward and you can be a part of this revolution.

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