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The Federal Bank Limited is a modern Indian commercial bank. This review explores its money transfer services and banking products available to customers.
About Federal Bank
Federal Bank Limited is a major Indian commercial bank that was incorporated in 1931. It is one of the first banks to have computerized traditional banking in recent years, enhancing its customers’ banking experience by integrating online banking.
Today, it is present in 24 Indian states and is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE), and London Stock Exchange.
Can I Use the Federal Bank for International Bank Transfers?
Yes. The Federal Bank offers its customers various money transfer options for international bank transfers.
Other Ways to Send Money With Federal Bank
Aside from transacting at its branches, customers can register with FedNet to access online banking with the Federal Bank. Once registered, they will be able to send money locally to other accounts nationwide.
ATM Banking can also be a way to send money, but only with personal accounts. Local and international money transfer through this option is not available.
Federal Bank Exchange Rates and Fees
This section provides information about the exchange rates and transfer fees at the Federal Bank. This information can be used to compare its rates and fees with other money transfer options to know the best way to send money based on your needs.
Exchange Rates
The Federal Bank has its USD:INR exchange rates for its customers. The Federal Bank also offers conversions to the widely used currencies, such as EUR (Euro) and GBP (British Pound). You can learn more about exchange rates here.
Transfer Fees
Most of the transfer methods that the Federal Bank employs are for inward remittances from abroad to India.
Customers interested in doing outward remittances have to resort to another money transfer service at Federal Bank branches. The transfer fees for are are not available on the Federal Bank website. You can learn more about international bank transfer fees here.
Additional Costs
The transfer fees and the additional costs for the international money transfer options with Federal Bank are not disclosed on its website.
How Do Federal Bank Transfer Fees Compare to Using a Money Transfer Provider?
The Federal Bank does not disclose its transfer fees for its international money transfer options.
Cornerstone FXis an alternative money transfer option that customers can explore. It offers transfers for over 40 currencies and more than 150 countries, and provides competitive rates and low transfer fees. It does not disclose the breakdown of fees or rates on its website. It also does not disclose the estimated duration of its processing times.
Interested customers must first register to determine the exact rates and fees. Cornerstone FX offers different rates for personal customers, business customers, and start-up companies.
Federal Bank SWIFT Codes
The Federal Bank has SWIFT codesthat customers can use to receive money. The format of their code is “FDRLINBBXXX,” where the last three letters are the branch codes.
Federal Bank Pros and Cons
Interested customers may want to weigh some points before banking with Federal Bank. Here are some pros and cons about the bank:
- Accessible information & organized sitemap - Almost all of the information an interested customer would look for in Federal Bank can be seen on the bank's website. Despite the countless internal links, its website uses a user-friendly interface.
- Account opening - Although Federal Bank account opening can be done online, it still requires many documents from its customers to complete the process. The process may be even more difficult for NRI, who might not have all their documents outside India.
- Outward remittance (international) - While the Federal Bank makes it convenient to receive remittances from various countries, its international money transfer options are limited to Western Union and Fed-e-Remit. The latter only has 13 currencies available.
How to Send and Receive Money With Federal Bank
This section is a guide to sending and receiving money with the Federal Bank. Customers can use this guide to initiate money transfers using the bank’s transfer options.
Sending Money
Transfers with the Federal Bank can be done through mobile or Internet banking.
Federal Bank customers have three local transfer options:
National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS).
Transfers done in all of the options happen in real-time. RTGS is used for huge transactions because it has a minimum amount requirement of 200,000 INR (no maximum requirement). NEFT and IMPS are used for interbank transfers within India. NEFT can also pay credit card dues and loans.
Receiving Money
There are many ways to receive remittance with the Federal Bank. For example, senders can remit money to Federal Bank account owners through exchange houses across the Middle Eastern countries (e.g., Bahrain, Kuwait, etc.). A complete list of the exchange houses can be seen on its website.
SWIFT transfersare also used as a primary option for receiving money from abroad.
Although there are various ways to receive money through the Federal Bank, it does not disclose whether the amount immediately gets reflected in a customer’s account or the customer has to visit a branch to receive the money.
Additional Information
The Federal Bank offers remittance services through cash pickup options. These are endorsed to NRIs to remit to India.
The bank does not disclose additional information on the whole process of receiving money, so customers can contact the bank or visit the nearest branch to inquire about these services.
What Customer Support Options Are Available?
The Federal Bank Contact Center can be reached at 1800-425-1199 or 1800-420-1199. Both are toll-free numbers within India. Customers from abroad can contact 080-61991199. Personal information such as address registered with Federal Bank, customer ID, and last three transactions will be requested for verification.
Summary
Federal Bank provides international money transfer services along with its other products and services. Although it attempts to offer money transfer options to make it convenient for its customers, it would help to know other options.
Cornerstone FX is an alternative that customers can use. It caters to over 100 countries in 40 currencies and offers customers lower fees and faster transfer times. These services can be explored more once registered on its website.
You can discover more available money transfer options by reading about the best money transfer companies.
Other Banks
Answers to key questions about Federal Bank
This section provides basic information about the banking services and products of the Federal Bank. Customers can use this to see if they might be interested in the bank’s other services.
