Money Transfer to India – Comparison Pays Off

With many options available, it is imperative to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of various modes and conditions of money transfer before choosing the right service. Every Indian living abroad looking to send money to their loved ones back home essentially looks for money transfer charges and exchange rates, transfer time and security of money.

Earlier, Wire transfer and agent based transfer were the only possibilities to send money abroad for a long time. In the meanwhile, many customers prefer the way of online money transfer.

Wire transfer

Transferring money from your local bank account to a bank account in India is done via wire transfer – also known as SWIFT transfer. Usually this requires a visit to your local bank branch filling in the money transfer form and giving the transfer instruction to your remitter bank. Money transfer charges are significantly high starting from Euro 20 per transaction and exchange rates are usually not competitive. Many a times, the charges are not known at the time of instruction as it depends on fees charged by third parties (such as correspondent banks). While bank services promise high safety levels, the time taken to transfer money is not confirmed at the time of transfer and it often takes more than a week for the money to reach the beneficiary in India.

Agent Based Transfer

Another way to transfer money is through agent based transfer. For that the remitter needs to find a local agent to which he is giving the money in cash along with other necessary documents. The same is then sent to the beneficiary in India within a few hours. The exchange rates offered by these services are usually less attractive and the remittance charges quite high. There is also a disadvantage in terms of risk because the transfer is cash based and the supervision and safety of the agents is difficult to assess.

Online money transfer

Online money transfer allows people to send money from the comforts of home, without the need of visiting any banks. Nevertheless it is important to check the exchange rates, fees levied, transfer time and reputation of the online service, before deciding which service to opt for. Usually services claim to be free but they have some service charges in India and service tax is applied to transfers. Also, it is useful to check if the service provider has dedicated toll free customer service support either by phone or email.

Offer from ICICI Bank, Money2India Europe

ICICI Bank UK PLC, Frankfurt Branch has launched a new online service called Money2India Europe (www.money2india.eu) to enable money transfers to India for all residents of Eurozone countries. This service offers competitive and transparent exchange rates, the high safety standards of the banking system, no processing fees or service charges, a fast processing time and support through toll free telephone and email. Money2India Europe can facilitate transfer from any bank in Europe to any bank in India. For using this service you do not need to have any special account in Germany or India.

Just follow these three easy steps necessary to transfer money via Money2India Europe:

Registration online at www.money2india.eu

Entering remitter bank account and beneficiary bank account and initiate an online transfer instruction

Transfer Euro money from your bank account via European SEPA transfer to ICICI Bank Frankfurt. Transferring money via SEPA is as convenient as a domestic transfer.

ICICI Bank then converts the money into Indian Rupees and sends it to your loved ones in India. To register on Money2India Europe, please click here.

Article sponsored by ICICI Bank.