Best way to send money to india - Money2india.com
In the last year i have visited india 3 times and going back there again in early august. My needs to send US dollars to india (for my expenses and family expenses) increased a great deal compared to before. India is getting more expensive and i noticed that i was sending decent sums of money to india.
What took me a few transactions to notice is the extra charges credit cards charge and how various banks give a conversion rate that’s much much lower than what’s quoted on yahoo! finance. There is a huge difference in rate citibank offers to what’s quoted as a exchange rate in the market (almost off by 1 rupee!).
Since then i looked at different ways to send money. Overall, I love money2india.com and i have been using them consistently. It is a service offered by ICICI bank. They can send money to any bank in india, or deliver it by Demand Draft. You can wire money or transfer by ACH. You can send to various types of accounts (NRE , NRO, local etc)!
To top it all off, i have found they had the best rates and they are transparent. The conversion rate is still a tiered structure - you get a better rate if you send more money - but even along all the tiers, the rates are much better than citibank.
Overall, great service, easy to use and sends money quickly!!!
September 13th, 2006 at 7:19 am
That’s surprising, I have used the Citibank remittance service and I found it pretty good. The exchange rates offers were also good.
February 8th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Citibank sucks. The rate they offer is 1 rupee lower than current exchange rates. That is about 2% of total amount you are sending.
You can never be sure which day’s exchange rate they will use. The choose a day to mark your transaction on which they have the lowest rates. For remitting large amounts, this is really lot of money they are pocketing.
March 11th, 2007 at 12:51 am
that was a useful info. Just let me know if you are aware of any site from where i can get the latest currency rates of popular banks. Currently i have account in ICICI and CITI rupee checking one, even i do not have 100% confi on rupee checking
April 18th, 2007 at 11:28 am
That was indeed useful. What will be more useful for me, to know whether I will get a good rate on remittance on an existing ICICI Bank Savings A/c or Citibank NRO Account(both based in India)? The money is being transferred from abroad into these accounts. Can someone help me about that?
April 25th, 2007 at 3:48 am
Lets see I have used Citibank to transfer $5000 4 times in last month
Date - Amount Recd - Exch. rate - Exch rate on ratesfx.com
1. Mar 27 - Rs 2,10,260.25 - Rs 42.05 - Rs 43.06
2. Apr 02 - Rs 2,09,722.63 - Rs 41.94 - Rs 43.08
3. Apr 17 - Rs 2,04,248.63 - Rs 40.85 - Rs 41.95
4. Apr 23 - Rs 1,99,116.75 - Rs 39.82 - Rs 41.13
Thats a difference of more than a rupee. I am losing Rs 5000 everytime or $120 almost. That’s steep. I will have to try something else.
April 30th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
How about HDFC’s quickremit?
Today they are showing their exchange rate as 40.97, but the actual exchange rate is 41.04. Not a big deal? Isn’t it?
But the only worst part is, they’ll apply the exchange rate when the money actually gets deposited in indian a/c. So you never know, what exchange rate they are going to apply.
BTW, did you ever try to send money through ‘QuickRemit’? How’s it? Any feedback on QuickRemit?
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
I have been using Citibank for all my wire transfers - mainly because of the ease of online wire xfer. I used to get pretty good rates when I sent big amounts > 50K. ALSO, IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO SEND DOLLERS DIRECTLY TO THE RECEIVING BANK, IN MY CASE, ICICI, AND LET THEM DO THE CONVERSION. If converted here and sent, then the rate is very very poor.
May 26th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Dear Friends, Here I have something totally different to share (my personal experience with ICICI)
I am a victim of ICICI NRI banking service. I have been using this service since March 2006 and have experienced delays in remittance to beneficiarys account. Normally the amount should reach into the account within 5 working days through electronic transfer. But sometimes, they do the payment through a DD (which isnt too bad,though slows down the process).
This month, I transferred the money on 4th and on the 10th May recieved an email from a Customer Service Officer calle Mr. R.Promod Kumar informing that the amount was sent through NEFT to the beneficiarys bank and they should recieve it within 7 working days. Its 25th may and there is no sign of this money.
I have been trying to contact the customer care everyday -through emails and phones,which is quite expensive. But, the numbers never seem to work and if picked up by any chance nobody seems to have any solution, always saying thats not the right service. One Mr. sayed Masood Ghori also replied saying they would update me within 3 working days and this is the end of 3rd day, I still havent recieved this promised update!!
I send this money to help my retired parents to support them and due to this delay they have been suffering so much, their cheques have bounced (they will have to pay some penalties) and their general health is suffering too.
Could someone help and guide me?
June 11th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Yeah I agree ICICI provides good service. I used PowerTransfer service and it was easy to do. I really liked that allowed me to select bank. Once I selected bank, they showed the list of cities where bank is available and from city they allowed me to select the branch.
I have a blog on this topic. Do visit it. http://sendingmoneytoindia.blogspot.com/
July 10th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Dear Greg,
If I were in your situation, I would have used Westernunion Money transfer facility to get the funds in India within minutes. It might cost me little more but certainly it would have reduced the tension and frustration for me and my parents.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Dear Greg,
If I were in your situation, I would have used Westernunion Money transfer facility to get the funds in India within minutes. It might cost me little more but certainly it would have reduced the tension and frustration for me and my parents.
My view on this topic, it is fact that Bank’s make money from buy-sell spread on currency rate. Even if I get the best deal in the world, it would still cost me 60 to 70 paise as spread. That means I am paying 40 to 50 paise extra to ICICI. That’s fine with me.I will rather spend my time to find ways of getting better return and recover this 50 paisa.
I use ICICI money2india to feed my ICICIdirect trading acct in India and spend the available time to scan the stock market and find fast moving stock.
It is unfortunate that many NRIs, even after earning very good salary in $ , still like to hold on the mindset of saving 40 / 50 paise.
In short, rather then worrying too much about bottom line, think about growing topline and focus on what you are doing with 40 Rs. which has reached your accout in India or that 1 $ which is sitting in saving account in US earning 2% per annum.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:07 am
I sent money to India recently through Citibank and SBI. (SBICalifornia.com) I was also planning to send some though ICICI. I got the best exchange rate with SBI. They don’t have online remittance feature like Citi or ICICI, but the exchange rate is unbeatable. I got 39.7 at Citi and 41 at SBI. I agree with Anup’s view above, but when you send a large sum, the exchange rates do matter, especially when the difference is Rs. 1.3 as was in my case. I would rather have SBI benefit from the exchange spread than Citibank. (Though in the face of globalization that may mean nothing.
August 27th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
the best way to send money to india is http://www.onlinesbi.com/glsus/
this is sbi’s version of money 2 india.
you get the best rate and wide reach
August 31st, 2007 at 6:21 am
QUICK REMIT - the are a fraud.
Do NOT use them. They publish one rate and give you much lower rate. They wait for INR to print a low number and then they give you something even worse.
It also take a long time for them to deliver the monies. I used them three times and each time I had a problem.
Steer clear of them.
September 4th, 2007 at 11:09 am
I believe SBI gives the best rates. Check their website for exchange rates to compare with other banks.
September 22nd, 2007 at 11:40 am
Hi All,
I started my remittance with money2india end of last month and more than 3 weeks have passed and they haven’t transfered the money to my account in India. Their customer service is worst on this planet and have no clue and experience. Everytime they do open Service Request and ask for 5 more working days. I have sent more than 10 emails and spoke to more than 5 different customer rep and still no resolution on my transaction. I am running out of ideas what I can do legally against them for the pain and frustration they have been causing to me.
One request to all of you, please careful in sending money thru them as it is a BIG SCAM and bunch of clueless people are sitting in customer service who has no clue how to deal with customers.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
November 1st, 2007 at 6:36 am
I have been sending money to India on regular basis. Lately I noticed that SBI is giving the best exchange rates when compared to ICICI and Citi. ICICI used to offer the best but not anymore.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I do Agree with Mr. Naresh… I have used Remit2India money transfer services to remit money to my parents and i got the best excnage rates (best excnag rates that all established/popular banks)
I do suggest to use this site -http://www.timesofmoney.com/remittance/jsp/rmtSearchMoney_welcome.jsp?creative=worldleader&recommendID=google_search
to all NRI folk’s!!!
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:32 am
What is the best way to send money to India? I have a Citibank NRI and IOB NRI account. I have not sent money to india in over 7 years. Now, I have to send a large sum of money (50K) and what is the best way?
From reading these blogs, It looks like ICICI and SBI gives the best rate. Since I do not have an account with either of them, do i need to open one (BTW, I do not have Pan number. When I left India 13 years back, there was no PAN number). My beneficiary (father) has an account with ICICI. Please let me know where I can get the best exchange rate and how it works?
December 9th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
I have sent money to india through citi, then ICICI and SBI. The best way to send money to india is http://www.onlinesbi.com/glsus/
SBI gives best rates compared to any other financial institution in India.
December 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm
the best way avoid paying commission for these third party companies is to write a personal check to someone in india.
the person in india can go and deposit that check and get that days rate. best rate, but again you are never going to get the exact exchange rate its going to be slightly less since they do that for their safety since the currency rates keep changing every minute. its their way of assuring they don’t lose their money.
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
How is SBI the best rate? If I look at the rates today, here’s what I get (for $10000):
SBI: 39.11
remit2india: 39.27 (for NRE transfers) and 39.23 (for others). Looks like the transaction fee is waived now.
money2india: 39.12
quickremit: 39.15 (there are limits to the amount that can be sent)
Am I missing any hidden fees?
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
For today, 3rd Jan, comparing ICICI and SBI:
SBI:
Currency From Amount To Amount Exchange Rate (INR) -
USD 50 to 1000 39.07
USD 1001 to 3000 39.12
USD 3001 to 5000 39.17
USD 5001 to 7500 39.17
http://www.onlinesbi.com/glsus/#
ICICI:
1000 - 38.84019
2500 - 38.92665
5000 - 38.9463
https://m2inet.icicibank.co.in/m2iNet/calculateCharges.misc
There could be days when one can provide better than other but it seems overall, SBI provides better rates than anyone else.
January 7th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
As of now, Money2India has become crap, first they have started charging 2$ and the exchange rate is worse. SBI remittance takes a longer time, but gives a better rate on transfer > 1000$. With online SBI you also risk entering their dreaded bureaucracy if the transfer doesn’t go thru. So there are pros and cons of both of them.
January 14th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Greetings everyone, I was going through all your comment, suggestion, frustration etc. Got to appreciate you guys for sharing your experiences. I see every body is comparing apple to apple with rates, I want to know who can send the money fast ( ICICI, SBI, CITI, etc). I don’t regularly send money to India, but I do send every 3 months or so.
Each time I send, it will be some sort of expenses or emergency. I don’t earn much so I cann’t afford sending money on monthly basis. Any suggesstions on sending money fast are greatly appreciated. BTW I don’t have my personal account in SBI, ICICI, or HDFC. I generally send money to my friends account ICICI. I would like to open one, any info will be helpful.
My experience withWells Fargo (Remitance Account) in collaboration with ICICI did helped me couple of times. I was able to send the money with in 20 to 24 hrs. I was ammazed by the service. On the other hand I got a lesser rate (differance of Rs 1.20). No regreats. It helped me a lot at each instance. But lately I see there were lot of unseen charges some from bank and couple from Remitance. I came to know later that there is $5 charge per transaction. I finally closed my account because of Wells Fargo Bank misceleneous charges were going beyound the limits. I finally closed my account with them. I am in search of a money transfer process. I don’t know when I need to send money. TTYL, Vinay.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:28 am
Never use remit2india.com , they do not deliver the correct amount which they show up during tranaction processing also their claim to give best exchange rate is not correct because you actually loose more money with this trick , if you go with other companies then even with poor exchange rate you might get goot amount so be carefull.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Thanks for the info. I think it comes down to SBI and remit2india. ICICI and citibank are certainly not good.
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Hi,
I have a question about the reverse case; what is the best way to transfer money from India to US? Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Thanks.
Rama.
February 9th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Is SBI offers online money transfer? How many days it takes and how much it will charge me to transfer 4k CADs to SBI account in india?
Citi is offering rupee checking account with no minimum balance required for 10 yrs. But we need to open account before Feb 29th,08. And its also offering No remittance charge and no service charge.
So, which bank is better (SBI or Citi or ICICI) to transfer 4k CADs to ICICI/HDFC account in india?
February 16th, 2008 at 3:47 am
In reponse to Rama’s question :
18. How much foreign exchange can a resident individual send as gift / donation to a person resident outside India?
Limit of USD 200,000 per financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme would also include remittances towards gift and donation by a resident individual. Accordingly, under the Scheme, any resident individual, if he so desires, may remit the entire limit of USD 200,000 in one financial year as gift to a person residing outside India or as donation to a charitable/educational/ religious/cultural organization outside India. Remittances exceeding the limit will require prior permission from the Reserve Bank.
Reference : RBI : http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=53
February 20th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I have worst experience with Citibank and plz tried to avoid
citibank. You can easily compare, they always give worst rate.
If you have account they have so many hidden charges, you will
be surprised with their hidden cost.
Why should somebody should give free money to them, it is really
not making sense.Atleast give it charity even if it is as little as RS 100.
If you have home lone withthem u will have lot of hidden charges..
Plz do not use citibank for loan or remitance or for any reason.
Remember you no need give ur hard earned money for free,atleast
give it to charity.
Never never use citibank,soon I will be closing account,once my
home loan is over.
Best of luck..
March 31st, 2008 at 12:33 am
Prakash, you should avoid city bank at any cost. It is giving almost 80Paise less than ICICI. Check this comparison: http://sendingmoneytoindia.blogspot.com/2008/03/city-bank-vs-icici-remit2india.html
April 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
SBI will give you best value. Their online service is pretty good. You can compare the rates they are offerring with other banks. e.g. today remit2india is giving 78.38, SBI gives 78.69 and remit2india chage you GBP5 per transaction. (try onlinesbi.com/glsus or glsuk etc.).
I have an account in UK (Natwest) and one in India (with SBI) so it’s was easy for me to send money. Transfer to other bank accounts is as easy, but has a small charge (Rs50/).
ICICI/Citi may offer you better service (mostly cosmetic in my opinion) but they have hidden charges and traps that will surprise you later, when you don’t have a choice.
HTH
April 29th, 2008 at 4:00 am
I think the best way to send money is REMIT2INDIA by times group . this is the best service which i ever experienced. latest and best exchange rates, quick and safer transactions, online tracking of your money and a good customer support and what else you required?
evrything is under one roof me and my family both are happy with remit2india
here is a quick link:
http://www.timesofmoney.com/remittance/jsp/home.jsp
Enjoy Every Moment