International Money Transfers for Business in India

Compare international business payment services in India

The choices below handle outward commercial payments, with different approaches to account costs, document submission and the bank executing the transfer.

Repeat payments and internal approvals

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ICICI Bank

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Full-value invoices and future currency cover

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HDFC Bank

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A qualifying import/export account

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IDFC FIRST Bank

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Online instructions and document attachments

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DBS

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Digital import-payment administration

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EximPe

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An account for receiving foreign client payments may have no facility to send your company's money abroad, so my suggestion is to consider those two needs separately.

Business payment services, features and costs

ICICI Trade Online for repeat payments and internal approvals

I'd say consider ICICI when your finance team needs a repeatable payment process, with one person preparing the request and others reviewing it.

Trade Online provides customised multiuser workflows, repeat requests, beneficiary uploads, payment tracking and copies of the payment advice or SWIFT message.

That can reduce the work around regular overseas invoices, particularly when the same suppliers are paid each month.

You can initiate business remittances through Corporate Internet Banking, InstaBIZ or a branch, uploading the documents associated with your payment purpose.

The trade tariff effective from 1 April 2026 uses a percentage commission with a minimum and maximum charge, rather than one flat payment price.

For an Indian wholesaler paying a Chinese manufacturer, the full-value charge can be useful when the contract requires the supplier to receive the complete invoice amount.

I like ICICI mainly for its repeat-payment workflow, but suggest pricing the currency deal and recipient-charge option for each invoice.

HDFC Bank for full-value invoices and future currency cover

HDFC combines trade remittances with a full-value payment option and business forward contracts, making it useful when the invoice amount or future rupee budget needs closer control.

Full Value Trade Remittance covers USD, EUR and GBP payments, helping prevent deductions by foreign intermediaries while leaving the beneficiary's own account charges outside the facility.

For an importer with a large EUR invoice due later, a separately approved forward facility can fix the exchange rate ahead of settlement.

The payment category changes the commission, so a software-service bill and a direct goods-import payment should not automatically be priced using the same tariff row.

I like HDFC for its combination of invoice-payment and currency-cover services, without assuming the full-value option makes every payment cost-free.

A forward must still be settled or closed out, and a cancelled purchase can leave you with a currency contract requiring a separate payment.

IDFC FIRST World Business for a qualifying trade account

World Business is attractive if regular import or export activity justifies maintaining the account, because qualifying Platinum payments have no outward-remittance or SWIFT processing charge.

Gold has a lower balance or trade requirement, with separate flat charges for the payment and SWIFT message.

Before moving supplier payments, I'd say compare those account conditions with your normal cash balance, since tying up additional money has a cost of its own.

The commission in lieu of exchange is a separate tariff item, which should not be read as the ordinary FX markup or automatically added to every converted payment.

World Business is also separate from IDFC FIRST's Zero Forex Markup accounts, which have different balance requirements, charges and currency-deal conditions.

For a trading company that already maintains the qualifying balance, Platinum's waived processing charges offer a clear reason to use the account for repeat payments.

DBS India for online payment instructions and documents

DBS's DigiDocs service lets you attach supporting documents to inward or outward payment instructions within IDEAL, its business banking platform.

I think it is worth considering if your team wants the payment request and its paperwork in the same workflow, with SWIFT tracking for the overseas transfer.

The published outward payment time is one to four days, so I suggest allowing for the recipient's deadline rather than planning around an instant arrival.

The account plan affects the base payment charge, while correspondent-bank costs remain separate even where the online payment fee is waived.

For a business using export receipts to pay a foreign supplier, the foreign-currency-funded tariff is more relevant than the INR-funded account-plan price.

I like DBS for the integrated document workflow, with the chosen account plan deciding whether its payment charges suit your volume.

EximPe for a digital interface to an import-payment bank account

EximPe's AD1 Trade Accounts service helps Indian importers access a trade account with a partner Category I authorised dealer bank, approved for foreign-exchange business, using a digital interface for documents and instructions.

The bank opens and maintains the account, deals the currency and settles the payment, while EximPe supplies the technology and platform support.

I like this option for an importer who wants online trade administration, without assuming a technology platform can replace the executing bank's approval.

A complete importer tariff needs a commercial quote covering the platform, bank and currency transaction, rather than the fees advertised for receiving export income.

For a Pune wholesaler importing components, the benefit is managing the bank-account application and invoice documents online alongside the payment instructions.

My suggestion is to obtain the actual bank-account terms before onboarding, because the commercial agreement determines the cost and the bank determines account access.

What can you do with an international business payment service?

Pay overseas suppliers and close the import paperwork

An Indian importer paying a Chinese factory needs more than the supplier's account number, particularly where an advance payment precedes the shipment.

You can submit the invoice, payment purpose and relevant trade documents through a digital bank workflow, then retain the payment record against the purchase.

When the goods enter India, the Bill of Entry provides evidence of the import and helps the bank match the shipment to the payment.

ICICI's repeat-payment tools are useful for established suppliers, while EximPe's trade-account interface concentrates on online bank and document administration.

If the supplier requires an exact net amount, use a full-value payment facility or an agreed charge option rather than simply increasing the invoice payment yourself.

Pay overseas contractors and business software bills

A Bengaluru software company may need to pay an overseas contractor, a cloud provider and a specialist consultant in the same month.

Those invoices can have different service purposes and tax treatment, even when all the recipients request USD bank payments.

Keep the contract and invoice linked to each transfer, with the finance team confirming any withholding and remittance reporting before approval.

HDFC's non-import payment tariff illustrates why the category affects pricing, instead of treating every overseas business bill as a goods import.

Domestic bulk-payment tools should not be assumed to provide an international contractor batch, so establish the actual overseas workflow before building your payroll around it.

Collect foreign client and marketplace income

If your design studio invoices a UK client, local GBP receiving details can make paying you easier than asking the client to arrange a foreign bank transfer.

Wise Business offers receiving details for Indian businesses, but the funds are converted into INR and paid to your verified Indian bank account.

You cannot use that Indian business product to hold the currency or send supplier payments abroad, so it complements an outward payment service.

Its electronic foreign inward remittance certificate costs the equivalent of USD2, with conversion fees and applicable GST also included in the receiving cost.

For international business accounts, I suggest starting with where your customers pay and how you need the receipts documented, then deciding whether local receiving details solve that problem.

Accept international cards through your website

A Jaipur ecommerce seller or Indian travel company may want overseas customers to pay at checkout, instead of sending money to bank details.

HDFC SmartGATEWAY is a separate merchant payment product that supports international card acceptance and a multi-currency converter with more than 22 currencies.

That gives the customer a checkout method, while your merchant agreement determines acceptance costs, settlement and the handling of refunds or disputes.

An ordinary trade-remittance account does not provide those functions, and a collection product intended for foreign merchants selling into India is a different service again.

Compare international payment gateways when card acceptance is the job you need to solve, rather than choosing one from the supplier-transfer tariff.

Reuse export currency for permitted business payments

An Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency account, usually called an EEFC account, lets an eligible Indian exporter receive foreign-currency earnings without immediately converting all of them into rupees.

For an exporter that also buys overseas materials, using those receipts for permitted foreign payments can avoid converting into INR and buying the currency again.

This is subject to India's EEFC rules, with monthly accruals generally converted by the end of the following calendar month after approved use or forward commitments are allowed for.

It is not an indefinite currency-holding account, so your bank needs to know about the payments and commitments affecting the balance.

I suggest considering business multi-currency accounts alongside the actual Indian account rules, rather than importing the holding features of an overseas fintech product.

Plan a future invoice with a forward contract

A Mumbai importer ordering machinery for delivery in three months may want to know the rupee cost before committing to the purchase.

A forward contract fixes the exchange rate for a future settlement, helping you budget that invoice while giving up the benefit of a later favourable currency move.

HDFC assesses the business and facility individually, with margin, collateral or further security agreed before the currency commitment is established.

The booking and cancellation commissions are only part of the cost, because early use, cancellation or an extension can create a separate market settlement amount.

If the machinery order changes, speak to the bank about the currency contract at the same time rather than assuming it disappears with the supplier invoice.

Connect payment records with approvals and accounting

When several people handle a payment, a saved invoice, approval record and payment advice help the accounts team see what was authorised and what was sent.

ICICI's customised multiuser workflows and repeat requests can support that process, while DBS DigiDocs attaches documents to instructions inside business banking.

Trade APIs, which connect software systems, and business-management integrations can help at larger volumes, but need to cover your bank account and transaction type.

An integration should reduce repeated data entry and improve reconciliation, with permissions and rejected-payment handling agreed before it becomes part of your routine.

Manage business travel spending separately from supplier invoices

If employees travel abroad, a business card can cover everyday spending without creating a trade-remittance request for each hotel or taxi payment.

World Business includes a debit card, but a card purchase and an invoice bank transfer use different payment methods and can have different charges.

Match the product to the employee's spending needs, including limits, receipts and who approves an expense, rather than assuming every trade account includes a full expense-management platform.

For international business cards, the useful comparison is the actual card tariff and control features available to your Indian company.

What do international business transfers from India cost?

I'd say compare the final rupee debit for the same supplier amount, separating the exchange rate from bank commission, SWIFT, correspondent charges and tax.

As an illustration, HDFC's standard commission on a ₹5 lakh direct-import payment is the ₹1,250 minimum, plus ₹500 SWIFT before other applicable costs.

For a ₹5 lakh non-import telegraphic payment, the published minimum commission is ₹1,000, again with ₹500 SWIFT before the remaining costs.

Those are tariff calculations, not live currency quotes, and neither tells you the exchange-rate margin or guarantees the supplier's net receipt.

With OUR, you pay the foreign-bank charges, while SHA shares charges and BEN allocates them to the beneficiary under the payment arrangement.

At higher payment volumes, a lower processing fee can help, but I suggest counting the cash required to qualify for the account and any negotiated currency terms.

How to make international business payments from India

For your next overseas invoice, compare how much the recipient receives before deciding which business payment service to use.

Questions about international B2B payments from India