A recent report by the Ministry of External Affairs revealed that there were 31 million NRIs and PIOs residing out of India in December 2018. Furthermore, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs revealed that in 2019, India became the leading country of origin of international migrants with 17.5 million diaspora, out of 272 million migrants worldwide. Thus, it comes as no surprise that India is the leading receiver of remittances in the world with $78 billion, and claimed over 14 percent of global remittances in 2018. As such, there is a greater emphasis on finding cheaper ways to transfer money to India.
According to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), approximately 35 million individuals of the Indian diaspora send remittances to their families and friends in India. NRIs and expatriates rely on fast, reliable, and cheap services to transfer money to their loved ones in the country, and look for transfer services through which they can send as much money as possible, with less transaction fees and charges.
While sending money through banks may seem like an obvious solution, the fact that banks charge high transfer fees, especially if one is transferring amounts greater than US$ 10,000, and often provide poor exchange rates can deter individuals from pursuing that option. Furthermore, it usually takes 3-4 working days to transfer money through this method, while customers also often have to stand in long queues, making it an inefficient method for transferring money. Alternatively, there are several online and in-app money transfers that not only transfer the amount relatively quickly, but also charge less transfer fees, making them extremely convenient.
That said, here are a few secure, cheap ways to transfer money to India.
Paysend: With over 1.4 million users, Paysend app has quickly become the preferred option for customers to transfer money. Furthermore, India is one of the top destinations on Paysend platform for money transfers, and individuals can send the amount directly to Indian bank accounts.
Unlike other money transfer services, Paysend does not levy transfer fees or take a percentage of the amount being transferred, and is completely free. Regardless of the amount being transferred, there are no hidden charges, and the service uses mid-market exchange rate, thus making it one of the cheapest ways to transfer money to India. Moreover, it only takes a few seconds for the amount to be transferred, and depending on the beneficiarys banks processing times, it will reflect in their account within 3 days.
Wells Fargo: One can transfer amount to India through Wells Fargo ExpressSend Service, by going to a Wells Fargo branch location. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank are Wells Fargos Remittance Network Members, and the amount can be credited to the beneficiarys account, provided they have an account with any one of the three financial institutions mentioned. Furthermore, it takes anywhere between 12 hours to 3 days for the amount to reflect in the beneficiarys account.
However, the exchange rate provided is set by Wells Fargo at its sole discretion, and includes a markup over the banks cost of sourcing the currency, and hence could prove to be an expensive affair. Furthermore, Wells Fargo also has a daily transfer limit of US$ 5,000, and the total amount one can send during any consecutive 30-day period is US$ 12,500.
Bank of America: One can also transfer money to India through Bank of America, which uses the SWIFT system. Furthermore, Bank of America charges US$ 35 for outgoing international wire transfers, if the amount is being transferred in foreign currency, and US$ 45 if the amount is being transferred in U.S. dollars. In addition to their standard wire transfer fee, the intermediary banks may also charge fees, which will be deducted from the amount being transferred.
If Bank of America assigns an exchange rate, it will be set by the bank itself at their sole discretion, and the markups associated with the conversion shall be included in the exchange rate. It can take anywhere between 1-2 business days for the amount to reflect in the recipients account.