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Digital money transfer specialists are the best way to send money to India, offering stronger rates and lower fees than your local bank. Compare providers like Remitly and InstaReM for bank transfers, or WorldRemit and MoneyGram when sending cash. Xoom and Western Union are often more expensive options, while TransferWise offers the strongest rates.
Enter the amount you want to send and click Calculate to compare fees, exchange rates and total sending amount for your money transfer to India.
To help you narrow down the “best,” we sent live transfers through 13 of the most notable providers to see who rose to the top in cost, trust, speed, convenience and user experience.
Compare these providers to find which fits your needs best when you remit to India:
Best for | Winner | Why we picked it | Good for | Go to site |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cash & speed | WorldRemit | At speeds that often beat its own estimates, you can get cash to India quickly for pickup or deposit. | Limits vary by country, but good for $500 or more | |
Most locations | Western Union | It’s not the cheapest, but fast and effective for same-day pickup. | Cash & convenience – More than 50,000 agents in India | Learn more |
Convenience | Xoom | Intuitive site, allows for signup and sending in minutes with clear rates and fees. | Cash pickups in 15 minutes at more than 100,000 agent locations and deposits to all major banks | Learn more |
Exchange rates | TransferWise | Offers the mid-market rate on transfers to 74 countries worldwide. | Supports 40 currencies |
You’ll need to give your recipient the transaction reference number to allow them to pick up your funds – they’ll also need to bring along a photo ID. For larger transfer amounts, phone ahead to an agent location to make sure it has sufficient cash available for your recipient to collect.
An exchange rate determines how much one country’s currency is worth in another currency. When a currency is strong, it yields more money when exchanging it for a weaker currency. India’s exchange rate is flexible which means it can change from moment to moment due to factors such as interest rates, economic stability and inflation.
Western Union and MoneyGram provide the largest money transfer networks in the world, with thousands of agent locations around the globe, but it’s always smart to compare your options and see what works best for you.
Let’s say you need to send $1,000 to family in India. Here’s what you might face as far as fees and exchange rates as of March 9, 2020.
Digital money transfer service | Cash transfer | Bank transfer | |
---|---|---|---|
Fee | $0 | $5 | $25 + additional correspondent bank fees |
Exchange rate | 1 USD = 74.086 INR | 1 USD = 72.969 INR | 1 USD = 73.286 INR |
Transfer speed | 1-2 day | Minutes | 2-5 days |
Amount received | INR 74,086 | INR 72,604 | INR 71,454 |
Verdict |
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The bank option ends up being both the slowest and gets the smallest amount of money to your recipient. If you go with the digital money transfer service, your recipient ends up with INR 2,632 more than the bank offers. If speed is crucial, a cash transfer can typically have your transfer to India in as little as 15 minutes.
Today’s exchange rate USD to INR
Nonresident Indians — or NRIs in remittance lingo — sending money to India are required to pay a 12.36% government service tax on any commission or fee paid to an agent to facilitate the exchange. Some banks and providers conveniently factor this service tax into your totals, but ask if you don’t see it listed. Sending cash to India may be limited by the Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS), which is created by the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of India and enforced by the Reserve Bank of India. Transactions sent to banks typically fall under the Rupee Drawing Arrangement, but cash transfers are classified under the MTSS. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s website, MTSS transactions are capped at $2,500 USD per transaction, with a 30 remittance receiving cap per calendar year.
Laws and legal documents when transferring large sums of money into India
To send money to India from the US, you’ll need government-issued ID and other documents, while documents needed to pick up money in India may be different by company.
To send money from the US to India, you’ll need documentation and details that include:
To pick up money in person, documentation can include:
Sending your hard-earned money to India shouldn’t cost a fortune. Compare money transfer companies that specialize in foreign transactions for the strongest rates, lowest fees and flexible delivery. For transfers to other countries, rely on our country specific guides the next time you need to make a transfer.
Learn more about using Indian rupee in India
In our experience, the cheapest way to send money to India is typically either through InstaReM, WorldRemit or TransferWise.
No, unfortunately not. Google Pay can be used domestically within the United States or domestically within India, but it cannot send money between these two countries. Compare a variety of services to send money to India.
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