Send Money To India

The fastest way to send money to India is usually via an MTO - in many cases your international money transfer could be complete in hours if not minutes.

The cheapest way to send money to India will depend on the amount and frequency of the money transfer, as well as the sender and recipient. For example, if you both have an account with the same bank, one that operates both in India and in the sender’s country, then a bank transfer may be the cheapest. If your bank doesn’t operate in India, then you may be better off sending money via an MTO, as bank transfers between non-partnered accounts can result in large fees.

The easiest way to send money to India is usually online or via mobile. For example, with many MTOs you can send money through an app or website - meaning you won’t have to visit a branch, sign paperwork or send physical money through the post.

To make a money transfer to India, you will need:

• ID: A government-issued identity document such as a passport or driving licence

• Recipient details: Their name, address, and phone number depending on the method you choose - remember to be as accurate as possible

• Recipient bank details: Their bank name, branch name, account number and SWIFT code for transfers into bank accounts

• Payment method: The details of your debit or credit card used to pay for the money transfer

To collect an international money transfer in India you’ll need:

• ID: A government issued identity document like a passport or driving licence

• Reference number: The reference number on the senders’ receipt

• Amount received: The exact amount of money you’re expecting to receive

• Sender’s details: The name, address and contact details of the sender

Banks in India and across the world use the SWIFT banking system, which means you’ll be able to send money to most banks in India - including Canara Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank and many more.

Mobile money apps are popular in India, and you’ll be able to make a money transfer to India via mobile wallets such as Google Pay, Dhani, BHIM, PhonePe, PayTM, MobiKwik, Amazon Pay and more.

There are thousands of cash pickup agents across the country, belonging to MTOs like Western Union, WorldRemit, Xoom and more. There are also services specific to India such as Muthoot Finance, Manappuram Finance and Ahalia Exchange.

You can send money to India directly via a wire bank transfer. This goes directly from bank to bank, usually via the SWIFT network, rather than through a money transfer operator. While this can be more secure, the fees are often higher and transactions can take one to two days at least.

International money orders are a different way of sending funds abroad, and you can generally carry out an international money order through postal services and some banks and MTOs. They are generally cheaper than wire transfers - however, they can also be slower than other methods.

Be sure to check if recipients need to pay tax on any money received from abroad. If money is sent to family members then this is not taxed unless the money is invested - while money sent to anyone other than family members will be taxed as income if it’s over Rs 50,000 a year.

The rules or limits for sending money to India will depend on where you are sending money from. Be sure to check how much you can send from your country to India via your chosen method before you have to report it to the relevant financial authorities.

The top provider is the money transfer service that we believe is the most suitable for the country you’re sending money to. In order to keep our service free we factor in the commercial agreements we have with partners into this ranking.

We make sure that each table displays the most relevant brands to the country you are sending money to and from. We consider many factors when choosing the providers to display in the table.All of the providers we display are fully regulated to provide money transfer services in the jurisdiction you are searching, relevant regulatory authorities are the FCA, ASIC, Fincen, FINTRAC & AMF. Alongside being regulated the services are manually checked by our team for both quality of service and online trust from such platforms like Trustpilot and Google reviews.We base our rankings primarily on the quality of the service provided, the benefit to the consumer and to keep our service free – the commercial agreements we have.

We are affiliated with some of the partners displayed in the tables. However, the order of the providers is based on the quality of the service for the particular country corridor followed by the commercial agreement in place. You don’t pay any extra and the deal you get isn’t affected by our commercial agreement with the money transfer provider. We may receive a commission when you click through to a listing or when you make a transaction.We aim to find the balance between the quality of the service, customer satisfaction and the commercial agreements we have, and continue comparing services in a transparent way.If you have any questions about our listings, please don’t hesitate to email us at contact@moneytransfers.com

IFSC stands for Indian Financial System Code, an 11-digit alphanumeric code that identifies bank branches in the National Electronic Funds Transfer network. If you are sending money to India, you will need to provide this alongside the recipient’s bank name and account number.

Hawala, also known as Hundi, is an informal alternative to remittance and money transfers still popular in south Asian and Islamic communities, as it doesn’t require a formal banking setup. However this does have some security risks as it is a system that has been used to facilitate organised crime.