How do you transfer money to India as an NRI online?

India has the largest number of people living abroad – standing at 16 million or 1.6 crores! Considering the large expat population, it’s no surprise that there is a high demand for money transfers or remittances to and from India. A few of the top countries with the greatest number of transaction requests are – the US, UK, Qatar, UAE, China, Oman, Germany, France, Canada, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. Living abroad is not easy, especially when you have dependent loved ones still living in India. If you are an NRI or planning to move to another country soon and are worried about money management or have limited knowledge about online money transfers for NRIs, then this post is for you. A lot of us have divided opinions about whether to carry cash every few months to India and get it converted here or transfer it online – so which method saves you more money and is convenient? Let’s find out.

Factors To Consider Before Transferring Money To India

One of the biggest obstacles in transferring money by NRIs is not knowing which factors should impact your decisions. Consider the following before deciding how would you transfer the money to India –

Speed: When you are an NRI looking to remit money to India, you value the ‘prompt’ services. Although you could go to a bank and send a personal check for an international transfer, it would take between 7-20 business days to arrive in India – which is not a convenient process at all. So, if you want to transfer money to your parents or dependents, you need to look at the fastest means of money transfer for NRIs.

Convenience: There is a big difference between going to a bank to sign a check and sending payment electronically. It’s also not ideal to go to your bank every time you have to send money home in India. If it’s not an on-off payment, then you’d be better off choosing the online money transfer mode for NRIs as it offers convenience and can transfer your money to virtually any part of India!

Transfer Money to India

Banks: NRIs can easily do money transfers online from their country of residence to India. These are called wire or SWIFT transfers and are the most secure, transparent, and reliable remittance mechanisms in the world. Living abroad isn’t easy and worrying about sending money safely to your parents is something that banks handle for you. All you need is the recipient’s bank account number and the SWIFT code. Some of the banks like the IndusInd Bank process the payment within 24 hours after receiving the funds in the recipient’s account.

Demand drafts and cashier checks

This is a not-so-popular and slow way of transferring money to India from abroad but nonetheless, you can buy physical demand drafts in foreign countries, which can then be posted to a receiver in India. These can be cashed in their respective bank accounts. This mode of payment is slow and not a recommended option when you have to send money regularly and promptly to your family in India swiftly.

Online money transfer Agencies

Today, there are also many money transfer agencies today that provide the facility of transferring money to and from India. Although the money is quickly transferred with less paperwork, there is usually a high fee associated with the transfer and it comes with a limit to one-time transactions. For instance, if you are contributing towards building a home, then you’d be better off choosing the SWIFT route for online money transfer for NRIs for sending a larger amount, say $10,000 or more.

Many banks, including the IndusInd Bank, provide the option of fast remit. The process is fairly simple as you have to browse the website, add a beneficiary to your account and the bank takes care of the rest. To ensure peace of mind, you can track the progress of your money transfer online and get notified as soon as the money transfer is complete.

If you are looking for a fast and secure way to transfer money to India online, click here.