When you are living abroad and want to send money back to India, there are many ways to do it. However, as exchange rates of currencies keep on fluctuating in these uncertain economic times, it becomes necessary to choose the right financial institution to get full value of your hard earned money. It also becomes important to choose the right time when the value of Indian Rupee is at its highest against the currency that you may have in your hands. The other important point to consider while choosing the right agency to send money to India is to find one with minimum transfer fees. You also want the money transfer to be fast, reliable and secure so that money reaches in the hands of the intended recipient.
You can send money to India from abroad through wire transfer, net banking, online transfer, ACH or by sending cheques or demand drafts at the mailing address of the recipient. The following is a brief description of each of these different methods of transferring money from abroad to India. These services are provided by many banks and financial institutions such as Western Union, ICICI bank, HDFC bank, PayPal, Money2India, etc. You can choose the bank or the financial institution after comparing their features and transaction fees.
Automatic Clearing House or ACH
This is a very popular way to send money to India from a US account in your name. The bank deducts the amount in US dollars from your account and remits it to the bank account of your relative or friend back in India. The entire transaction takes 6-7 days as 2-3 days are taken by the bank in US to deduct the amount from your account while another 2-3 days are required for the money to be deposited in the account in an Indian bank. This is a good way to send money in a safe and secure manner if it is not an emergency.
Demand Draft
Demand draft is made by the bank abroad using your money in your account. This draft can be cashed at any bank by the recipient in India. You can mail the draft at the address of your friend or relative and he should receive it in 7-10 days depending upon the mailing service you use.
Instant Money Transfer
If there is an emergency back home, transfer has to be fast to meet the exigency. This is well-achieved by a method called Instant transfer though you get a poor exchange rate and you also pay higher fees to the bank. There is also a ceiling on the amount of money you can send using this method. However, this is a very fast and efficient method of sending money to India as the recipient can see the money in his bank account in a matter of minutes. In this method, the bank in US provides you with a PIN that you have to give to the recipient. The bank in India hands over the money upon disclosing this PIN and after verifying the identity of the person.
Online Transfer of Funds
This is a very easy way to send money to India. If your bank account allows you to use this facility, you can send money to a bank account in India provided you know the SWIFT and IBAN code of the bank. You can conduct a financial transaction form the comfort of your home if you have an internet connection.
PayPal
PayPal is an e-commerce site that allows you to open an account with it, and you can receive and send money from this account to any individual around the world. You can send money to your relative in India with the help of this account. However, this service is costly as it charges 3.9% of the transaction amount as its fee and the exchange rate offered by it is also not very high.
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