Find the Best Money Transfer to India

Millions of NRIs send money back to India every week. With over 30 million Indians living outside India, it's easy to see how a quick and inexpensive way to send rupees back home can significantly benefit our family, friends, and others.

Unfortunately, neither banks in your country of residence nor India offer reasonable fees and exchange rates for converting money into rupees. That's why it's vital to compare your options for sending money back to India so your rupees can go further. Whether you want to make a one-off transfer or you need to send money regularly, we at Monito can help you find the best options every time.

People from India send between USD 65 billion and USD 70 billion back home each year. That's an average of USD 2,300 per NRI! Moreover, our research shows that most people overspend by up to 5% on their transfers. A lower-cost provider could save people up to USD 3.5 billion collectively or USD 100 individually every year.

To find the best money transfer to India in real-time, compare the best-value options on Monito's comparison engine for money transfers or select one of our recommended currency providers.:

What's the Best Money Transfer Service to India?

Over the past 3 months, we compared 45 providers for transfers to India from a wide range of sending countries and found that on average Panda Remit was most often the cheapest provider (in 25.3% of the searches).

But Panda Remit might not be available in the country you're sending money from, and it might not be the cheapest for your transfer to to India as the provider's pricing change depends from country to country and changes over time. You should therefore launch a live comparison now to find the cheapest provider for your transfer.

As you can see, there are plenty of options for sending money back to India. Here at Monito, we've reviewed and compared over 30 specialist money transfer providers and banks to convert your cash into rupees and send it home. We know many ways to transfer currency to India, which is why we compare all of the most popular options side-by-side so you can make an informed choice.

The best money transfer service to India for your needs will depend on several areas, such as how much you are sending, where you are sending from, the currencies you are exchanging, and other factors. We consider all of those details when recommending the best way to send money to India. For example, we compare all services and help you find the best providers for sending money to India from the US or the UK. We also edit an in-depth guide on how to send money to India from the US at the best rate.

For most money transfer providers, you can either sign up through their websites or download their apps, giving you fast and easy access from any smart device. We provide a helpful "Smart Alerts" service that tells you how currency exchange rates change so you can choose the best time to send money back to India.

Non-resident Indians send 3.4 billion rupees to India each year. Together they could save 184 million by switching to a cheaper provider.

Best Money Transfers to India

There are several good currency exchange options, depending on how the person you're sending money to wants to get access to their rupees.

Sending Less Than USD 500 to India

If you want to send money to a bank account, we recommend using a specialist currency provider. If you're transferring under USD 500 or equivalent, your best options include Remitly, Skrill, Wise, CurrencyFair, and Paysend.

Sending Between USD 500 and USD 2,000 to India

If you're sending more than USD 500 but less than USD 2,000, then we recommend Remitly, Panda Remit, and Wise.

Whether you're sending more or less than USD 1,000, Remitly is an excellent option for sending money to India from abroad. Find out more about its transfers to India in our dedicated transfer review here.

Banks With Which You Can Transfer Rupees to India

You can generally arrange to send rupees to any of the following banks: HDFC Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda, and others.

Cash Pick-Up Locations in India

Some banks are also popular locations for picking up the rupees you have transferred. Providers like Xoom, MoneyGram, and Western Union are popular options if your beneficiary wants to collect rupees as cash in India without going through a bank. Xoom, for example, offers cash pick-up from over 13,000 locations, including partners like Ahalia, Manappuram, and Muthoot, while WU and MoneyGram have hundreds of agent locations across India.

While convenient, these options are seldom the best way to send cash for pick-up in India. Instead, we recommend using Remitly, which charges considerably lower fees and sends the funds quickly over a savvy digital platform. You can learn more about Remitly in our dedicated review or visit their website directly to set up your transfer.

Niyo Global Card

Are you a student living abroad? Then we recommend checking out the Niyo Global Card, which offers excellent student exchange rates. Take a look at our complete review below:

What to Avoid When Sending Money to India

Having looked through good providers for sending money to India, let's quickly mention a few services you should avoid.

According to our analysis, PayPal is a very poor way of sending money internationally, snagging thousands of people daily with its high fees for international money transfers. Fortunately, although many NRIs are interested in how to PayPal money from the US or from Canada to India, it's not possible to do so in the first place, as PayPal isn't available for ordinary users in India.

Another poor (but popular) choice for sending money to India is Xoom, which also charges comparatively high fees for bank deposits and cash pick-up transfers. You can learn more about why in our dedicated explainer here.

In general, banks are also a bad bet for sending money to India:

Major Banks in India

Below is a summary of some of the largest and most important banks in India. All of them offer international remittance services, although they're not usually the cheapest options on the market.

• HDFC Bank
• State Bank of India (SBI)
• Punjab National Bank
• Axis Bank
• Canara Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Kotak Mahindra Bank
• Bank of Baroda

Check out how much they charge to send money to India from their US or UK subsidiary.

Information Needed To Send Money to a Bank Account in India

The following pieces of information will be needed whenever you send money to an Indian bank account from overseas:

• Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) Code: An 11-character code uniquely identifying bank branches in India, with the first four characters representing the bank name and the last six representing the branch name. E.g. CORP0000883.
• Bank Account Number: The account number should be between 11 and 18 digits. E.g. 088301601000143
• Recipient's Name: The name of the recipient's bank account holder.

Banks in India do not use the IBAN system to identify bank accounts for international transactions, and SWIFT/BIC codes aren't widely used. This means that the only information you'll need to make a bank transfer to India is the IFSC, which is used to identify a particular branch of all banks in India, as well as the recipient's account number.

These two elements and the recipient's full name are usually the only information you need to set up a transfer with most money transfer providers listed on Monito. Still, some may also ask you to fill in the name and address of the recipient's bank.

You can find the IFSC for any bank in India with this calculator.

In addition, here are some tips for receiving international payments in India from overseas.

Useful Links for Indians Living Abroad

Below, we've provided a few links that expats and NRIs living outside of India often use to keep on top of information and affair.

News From India

News websites are a great way to keep track of what's happening back home. Here are the most popular publications in India:

• The Times of India
• Hindustan Times
• The Hindu
• The Indian Express

Diaspora/NRI Information

NRIs living abroad often face similar challenges, sometimes regardless of their country of residence. Here are a few resources for tips and advice:

• The Indian Diaspora
• NDTV's diaspora section
• NRImatters
• The Indians Abroad

Useful Links

In addition, here are a few more useful links for Indians living abroad:

• Indian Embassies and Consulates Worldwide
• The Government of India's portal for diaspora
• Information from the Reserve Bank of India concerning accounts by non-resident
• Wikipedia's page on NRI (non-resident Indian)