onlineSBI international money transfers

The State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank in India. It’s a government-owned public sector organisation with more than 18,000 branches all over the country. It offers its customers various banking and financial products/services, including foreign exchange services. Indian residents can make online overseas money transfers through SBI’s onlineSBI portal if they have held a savings account with SBI for more than a year and have transaction rights in their Internet banking accounts.

SBI foreign exchange rates

SBI displays its forex rates on its website. Their rates are updated every working day (Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays). The following exchange rates for the three currencies you can transfer using onlineSBI are listed below. These are indicative in nature and are accurate as of 15 May 2018.

For overseas remittances, the applicable exchange rate will be the prevailing rate when the equivalent INR amount is debited from your SBI account. The rates displayed on SBI’s website don’t include any money transfer charges and applicable taxes.

How much does it cost to transfer money with onlineSBI ?

For each international remittance through onlineSBI, you will be charged the equivalent of US$10 in Indian rupees, rounded off to the nearest rupee. You will also have to pay the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the foreign exchange conversion. These costs do not include the beneficiary bank charges, which will be collected from the beneficiary.

How does onlineSBI compare to other money transfer providers?

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Name	Product	Minimum Transfer	Transfer Time	Transfer Fee
Skrill		INR 80	1 day	None	Skrill offers easy transfers to many popular destinations, but keep an eye out for added fees.	Go to site		loading Fetching your data...
InstaReM		INR 4,000	1-2 days	1%	Quick and simple international money transfers with a flat 0.5% transfer fee for most transfers. Zero-margin rates on some currencies.	Go to site		loading Fetching your data...

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Transfer limits and available countries

While there is no restriction on the minimum transfer amount, there are restrictions on the maximum amount you can transfer. According to the onlineSBI website, you can remit a maximum of US$2,000 per transaction, subject to a maximum of 4 such transactions in a calendar month.

So, in a calendar year, you can transfer a maximum of US$96,000 using this service. Furthermore, within 5 days of activation of a new beneficiary, you can only transfer a maximum of the equivalent of INR50,000. To remit amounts greater than US$2,000 per transaction (or a total of US$96,000 per year), visit your SBI branch to make the overseas money transfer. You should be aware that all international remittances from India need to follow Reserve Bank of India regulations.

The countries you can transfer money to are:

What types of transfers can you carry out with onlineSBI overseas money transfers?

• Wire Transfers.

You can make international remittances using a wire transfer (TT Transfer/Swift Transfer) through this service.

The registration and transfer process

In order to make a transfer, you need to have held a savings bank account (in an individual capacity) with SBI for a minimum of a year. You should also be registered for SBI Internet banking with transaction rights. The steps to making a transfer are as follows:

• Step 1. Add an international beneficiary after logging into SBI Internet banking by clicking on “Manage beneficiary” and then clicking on “International beneficiary”.
• Step 2. Enter the details of your beneficiary, such as name, address, bank name, SWIFT code etc. Then click on “register”.
• Step 3. You will get an one time password (OTP) on your mobile phone, which you need to enter in the form and then click on submit.
• Step 4. Click on the “approve now” link. You will have to choose between 1 of 2 options for approval – either OTP approval or branch approval. OTP approval can take anything between 4 hours to a day. For branch approval, you must go to your bank branch, but approval may take place quicker. If you’re not in a hurry, select OTP approval which will save you the time and effort of going to your bank branch.
• Step 5. If you select OTP approval, then enter the OTP sent to your mobile phone and click on the “Approve” button.
• Step 6. To check the approval status of your beneficiary, log in to your Internet banking account and check the status under “International beneficiary”.
• Step 7. After your beneficiary is approved, log in to your account in onlineSBI and select “International funds transfer” under payments/transfers.
• Step 8. Fill in the remittance application form and complete submission of the funds transfer request.

The wire transfer usually reaches the beneficiary’s bank account in 2 to 7 working days.

Customer Service

You are able to speak to a customer service representative through SBI phone banking. Alternately, you can go in person to your nearest SBI branch and talk to a bank representative.

Pros and cons of using onlineSBI

• Can a non-SBI account holder use this service?

  No. Only Indian residents who have held an SBI savings account for more than a year (with transaction rights in their onlineSBI account) can use this service.

• What is the maximum number of beneficiaries I can transfer money to?

  The maximum number of beneficiaries you can add to your account is 7.

• Can I add multiple beneficiaries to my account at a time?

  No. You can only add a single beneficiary in a day.

A final word

onlineSBI international money transfers is a facility for SBI account holders to carry out online international remittances. You can send upto US$2,000 overseas in a single transaction. Since SBI has a vast banking network across India, you can send money overseas even if you live in a small town or village as long as you have access to this facility. However, since online SBI transfers money overseas in only 3 currencies, you may have to look at competing providers if you want to remit money overseas in other currencies. Furthermore, you should make it a point to compare exchange rates as well as transfer fees offered by competitors before you make any overseas remittances.