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best way to transfer money from india to australia

Best Way To Transfer Money From India To Australia

There are quite a few ways to transfer money from India to Australia, the quickest is Instant Money Transfer, also known as IMT. It is a fast, secure, and reliable method to send money overseas. Best Way To Transfer Money From India To Australia

There are several banks and online remittance companies that offer these services. With regard to sending money from India to Australia, the IMT service is not yet available with Indian banks. This may be due to the fact that the business transaction between India to Australia may not very voluminous as compared to India to Australia or India to Europe.

Now, let me tell you that the IMT services are not something which is instant, meaning the money will not be transferred in minutes. It can take several hours to a day.

RBI Rules On Money Transfer

RBI’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme (also known as LRS) allows resident individuals (Indian nationals and expatriates) to remit foreign exchange of a maximum of US$250,000 (or equivalent) per Indian financial year. Resident individuals can usually send foreign exchange overseas for one of the following purposes:

  • Overseas education expenses
  • Employment
  • Medical treatment
  • Care for a close relative
  • Emigration fees
  • Visa fees
  • International visits for private purposes

The individual needs to hold an appropriate account at an RBI authorised dealer, generally a bank having international branches. He or she needs to designate a specific branch of the particular bank, using which he or she will be making all foreign exchange remittances under the LRS. The individual can also make overseas remittances through an entity which is not a bank (but has appropriate permission from the RBI to deal in foreign exchange), but the remittance has to be funded from a bank.

Earlier, it was not necessary to produce PAN card for money transfer transactions abroad up to USD 25,000 or its equivalent. However, in April 2018, this rule was amended. Now, it is mandatory to produce the PAN card for all remittance transactions from India to Abroad regardless of the amount being transferred. This is to ensure that a resident individual is being compliant to the LRS limit of USD 2,50,000 in a single financial year.

What Are The Options

There are many ways you can use to send money from abroad to India or otherwise. These are

  • Demand Draft
  • Transfer Via International Beneficiary
  • Transfer Using Forex Card
  • Using Online Remit Service from Banks
  • Online Remittance companies

Now, let me tell that sending money using a Demand Draft or International Beneficiary is not a good option. As it may takes longer time and due to elevated exchange rate, you will end up loosing a good amount of money.

Transferring using Forex card can be a better option as if you opt for a Forex card then you do not have to pay for the cross-currency fees which banks usually charges if the transfer is via a debit card or credit card. You can load your forex card in the currency you want to send and then transact the same currency. But again, the loading and reloading of forex card can have additional charges and also the exchange rate of Forex card will be little expensive then the other two options.

In recent years, several banks have started the online remittance services. The process is not that lengthy as 2–3 years earlier, but again the problem is with the bad exchange rate. If you opt for a bank to transfer the money you may need to open a bank account, visit the bank to do this transfer.

The last option using the online remittance companies is the best option. The entire process is online and you will see that the exchange rate is much better than banks. As the market has become competitive, there are fierce competition among them which has resulted in a good exchange rate. Sometimes the exchange rate is almost the same as the real exchange rate you would find in Google or Xe.

What To Look Out For

There can be many reasons for you to transfer money from India to Australia – living expenses, college fees, business purposes. So depending on your requirements, you shall also look out for the below criteria when using an online remittance

  1. Reliability – How reliable is the money transfer service, you are choosing?
  2. Speed – How soon do you need it to get there? You may end up paying more if speed is a priority.
  3. Exchange rate – Are you getting the best rate or are you paying more for convenience or speed?
  4. Hidden Fees – Are you paying more than you should? Sending money using a debit or credit card may have fees attached.
  5. Convenience – How easy was the experience from start to finish? Could you do it online or did you have to go to a location to complete the transfer? Is there an app that makes it even easier?
  6. Tracking – Are you be able to track the process online? Or you need to call the customer care or visit the branch

Sending Money Then Vs Now

Sending money internationally was a daunting task earlier. It used to take multiple visits to banks, waiting for hours, arranging documents and then after everything is fine, it would take 3–4 days for the money to be sent. But thankfully, this is not the case anymore, now this process has become convenient and affordable and you can complete the process in 2–3 minutes, without comprising the security.

Banks had been one of the most reliable ways to send money. But there are many disadvantages to choosing banks

  • inflated exchange rate
  • takes longer to process
  • high fees – while sending and/or receiving
  • requires more documentation

Because of these issues, people have now shifted to online remittance companies. There are now plenty of online companies that offer very attractive exchange rates and joining offers.

Process For International Money Transfer

The money transfer process in online remittance companies are quite simple and mostly follow these steps

  • Create an account (Email, PAN card, Passport may be required)
  • Provide bank information of receiver
  • Transfer the amount using bank transfer/credit card/debit card

 

All the current money transfer option of sending money to Australia from India usually within the same day or it can also take 1–2 days. Here I am going to compare all the available option so as to find out which is the cheapest way to transfer money from India to Australia.

I will be using 50,000 INR as the transfer amount.

1 – Transferwise (Avail Free Transfer Offer)

TransferWise is an online money transfer service, which lets you transfer money up to eight times more cheaply than with a bank. It is one of the most popular apps/sites and has the highest customer satisfaction ratings on Google play and Trustpilot. TransferWise was founded in 2010 by two financial gurus and its system is beautifully simple. It bypasses pricey international payments entirely by using two local transfers instead of one international transaction.

Is Transferwise Reliable?

 

Trustpilot Score

Transferwise TrustPilot

 

Google Play Ratings

It is also one of the fastest growing online remittance companies (more than 7 million customers) having more than 50% over last few years. You would see that their profit has not increased as much as their revenue. This is because the company is expanding and growing its customer base, and another most important thing is its attractive exchange rate and low transfer fees as compared to its peers.

 

How Transferwise Works?

Transferwise works in three different steps (in this case, India to Australia transfer)

      • You send money from your Indian bank to their Indian bank
      • Transferwise transfers money from their Indian bank to their Australian bank
      • Transferwise sends money from their Australian bank to your Australian bank

For safety purposes, Transferwise might ask to verify your address when you use TransferWise. They are a financial institution and it helps them combat money laundering, and keep everyone’s money safe.

Now let me show you where does Transferwise stand when you compared it with other options for sending money from India to Australia. There is a current offer going on Transferwise for relaxation on Transfer Fee. So you can avail of this offer by following the link I shared above. Using this you would see no transfer fee is charged on the low transfer amount and the reduced transfer fee at a large amount.

How much can I send?

You can send up to 1.5 million GBP per transfer to a private individual. You can send up to 15 lakhs per day to businesses. However, the minimum amount is 20,000 INR.

How long does it usually take for the money to arrive?

Once TransferWise receives and converts your money, it usually takes 1 working day to arrive in your recipient’s bank account. Conversion can take up to 2 working days. The first transfer can take longer time but the successive transfer is usually quicker.

Tranferwise has more than 7 million customers worldwide. It was the cheapest option of all when you want to send money from India to Australia. The best thing is that it is entirely online and you have options of paying by a bank, debit card, or credit card.

It also gives an option to lock in your rate, which means that if you won’t complete the process on day 1. You can send the money up to day 3 using the same exchange rate.

Another important feature to note that they are currently offering no transfer fee up to a certain amount which can be availed using the link I shared above.

Pros

  • Cheap because of the real-time middle-market exchange rates.
  • Convenient (online or in-app), no visit to the branch required
  • The minimum payment amount is £2 (or the equivalent in other currencies).
  • The maximum payment amount is £1 million.
  • Lock-in rate available for 24-72 hours
  • Highest customer rating on all platforms – Google Play, TrustPilot, Monito, etc.

Cons

  • The first transfer can take 2-3 business days
  • A large amount of money may require to verify the address.
  • A credit card may not always be approved
  • Not all countries are included, for example – India-China, Israel-India, etc.
  • No flexibility on margins for larger transfers.

2 – BookMyForex

The second-best options were BookMyForex. BookMyForex is a fully-fledged money changer (FFMC) licensed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It started operations in November 2012 and has tied up with major Indian banks and foreign exchange providers to offer its customers preferential rates and seamless service.

BookMyForex does not charge any fees to its users for transferring money, but there is a bank fee of INR225 and Goods and Services Tax (GST) as per Indian laws which the customer is responsible to pay.

Pros

  • You can lock the exchange rate for up to three days by paying 2% of the order amount.
  • Low transfer fees/bank charges in comparison to banks and other competing providers.
  • Foreign nationals can transfer money overseas subject to verification from BookMyForex.
  • Carry out money transfers to most countries across the world.
  • No minimum transfer amount.

Cons

  • BookMyForex does not support all currencies, so you may have to consider an alternative provider if you’re looking to transfer money in an exotic currency.
  • The entire process cannot be completed online since the partner branch must verify KYC documents. Alternately, you can opt to have the partner branch pick up the KYC documents from you (free for amounts greater than INR 50,000).

3 – Western Union

Pros

  • Low minimum transfer amount of $1.00
  • Option to send money in minutes
  • Transfer to a wide range of countries

Cons

  • Not the cheapest option depending on transfer location
  • You may need to visit the nearest branch

4 – ExTravelMoney

ExTravelMoney is an online aggregator for foreign exchange services in India. Launched in December 2014, ExTravelMoney claims to have tie-ups with more than 4,000 foreign exchange outlets across India, so their customers can get the best rates.

Since ExTravelMoney acts as an aggregator for foreign exchange providers, they display rates from reputed forex providers located in the area of your choosing. For example, if you would like to transfer money from Mumbai, you can filter the search results to show providers in different locations in Mumbai.

Pros

  • Get access to a wide range of foreign exchange providers in your preferred location.
  • Get access to competitive exchange rates and low fees since there are multiple providers competing to serve you.
  • Lock in an exchange rate for 2 days by paying a refundable deposit of INR1,000.

Cons

  • A number of currencies around the world are not supported, so you may need to use an alternative provider if you’re sending a more exotic currency.
  • Must send at least US$250 (or equivalent).
  • Have to be physically present to complete the formalities for the wire transfer.

5 – Skrill

With the innovative solutions it offers, Skrill has gone a long way since it first started its services in 2001; capturing the global market and having some of the world’s top brands from various fields as its customer. It has become one of the most trusted names when it comes to money transfer services and payment processing.

Pros

  • Wide availability in 200 countries
  • Both Personal and Business options available
  • Ability to work with forex and online gambling accounts
  • No fixed transfer fee when you send money directly to a bank account
  • Send money easily to an email address or phone number linked to a bank account
  • Buy and sell crypto currency
  • Offers a prepaid card powered by MasterCard
  • User-friendly mobile app

Cons

  • Getting fully operational can be tedious
  • Complex fee structure
  • High currency exchange fees for “Skrill to Skrill” international transfers

6 – Banks

As of now, SBI, ICICI or HDFC bank do not offer any remittance services to send money from India to Australia under IMT. But you can transfer the money using the International beneficiary option available. Please note that this can be expensive as the bank offer low exchange rate.

Final Remarks

Transferwise came on top of all these options. I have also been using Transferwise for quite some time and I strongly recommend you opt for it.

The first transfer at Transferwise may take a longer time, but the successive transfers are performed within a few hours or the same day.

Moreover, you can save the transfer fee using the link I shared.

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