You have money in one country and someone who needs it in India. Maybe it’s rent for your parents, a tuition instalment, or payment from a client. The first question is simple: do you use the bank you already have, or a specialist transfer service? The honest answer is that it depends on a few numbers you can check in about ten minutes. This guide walks through them in order.
Step 1: Know what you’re actually paying
Sending money abroad rarely costs just one thing. There are usually three layers, and only the first one is easy to see.
The first is the transfer fee, a flat charge or a percentage that the provider shows upfront. The second is the exchange rate markup. Every currency has a mid-market rate, the midpoint between buy and sell prices that you see on a converter. Providers often give you a slightly worse rate and keep the difference. It doesn’t appear as a fee, which is why it gets missed. The third is any fee taken along the way, which we’ll get to in Step 3.
The World Bank tracks this. Its Remittance Prices Worldwide site says that globally, sending remittances costs an average of 6.36 percent of the amount sent (page last updated August 2025). The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target is to bring the average cost of sending $200 below 3 percent by 2030. So if your total cost lands well under 6 percent, you’re doing better than the typical sender. If it’s over, there’s usually room to shop around.
Step 2: See how your bank sends money
Most banks send international payments over SWIFT. SWIFT is a messaging network. It carries the instructions (“pay this account in India”) but doesn’t move the money itself. Your bank and the Indian bank settle up in the background.
When the two banks don’t have a direct relationship, the payment goes through one or more intermediary (also called correspondent) banks. Think of them as stops on a route. Each stop can take a cut.
What will your bank ask for? Typically the recipient’s full name exactly as it appears on their account, the account number, the bank’s name, the branch address, the SWIFT/BIC code and the IFSC code. Some banks also want a stated purpose, such as family support or education. Indian rules allow inward remittances for defined purposes only, and prohibited ones include online gaming and other speculative or illegal activity. A bank wire has no fixed upper cap from the Indian side for ordinary personal use, though your own bank may set one.
The speed question comes next. One major Indian bank says these transactions take anywhere from one to five days to be credited. Plan for that.
Step 3: Watch for the fee nobody quotes
Here’s the question most people don’t think to ask: will the full amount arrive?
When you send a wire, you pick (or your bank picks for you) who pays the charges along the way. The three common codes are OUR, SHA and BEN.
- OUR: you pay all the fees, so the recipient should get the full amount you send. Their own bank may still charge them something.
- SHA: shared. You pay your bank’s fee, and the recipient pays the intermediary and receiving bank fees out of what arrives.
- BEN: the recipient pays everything, deducted from the amount received.
Published figures vary. One transfer provider’s guide says each intermediary can charge 15 to 50 USD per transaction, while a travel-money site puts the usual intermediary charge around 15 to 30 USD. Sources disagree because the real number depends on the route, and your bank usually can’t tell you the exact amount in advance. That uncertainty is the point. If you’re sending a small amount, a couple of surprise deductions can take a noticeable bite.
What to do: ask your bank whether it offers OUR, what it costs, and whether it will state a fixed total. Then tell your recipient to expect either the full amount or a slightly smaller one.
Step 4: See how transfer services work
A specialist transfer service takes a different route. You pay in using a local method, such as a bank transfer, debit card or sometimes a wallet. The service pays out from a balance or partner it already has in India. Because the money often doesn’t travel through a long chain of banks, there may be fewer or no intermediary deductions, though you should read the quote to confirm.
It helps to think of providers in four broad groups:
Banks. Familiar and convenient, often the slowest and the least transparent about rate markup. Specialist online transfer services. Usually show fee and rate together before you commit. Cash networks. Agent-based, useful when the recipient wants to collect cash. Wallet and app providers. Quick to use, but check whether they can pay into an Indian bank account.
Cash networks come with their own Indian rules. Under the Money Transfer Service Scheme, the RBI’s FAQ states a cap of USD 2,500 on individual remittances, and thirty remittances per calendar year for a single beneficiary. Cash payouts of up to INR 50,000 are allowed. Above that, the money must go to a bank account or be paid by cheque, draft or payment order. Credits to NRE accounts are not allowed through this route. That FAQ page is dated 2017, so as of November 2026 treat those figures as something to confirm with the provider.
On the Indian side, once the money is inside the domestic system it often moves over IMPS, NEFT or RTGS. IMPS is instant and runs 24×7. NEFT settles in half-hourly batches. RTGS is for large amounts, with a minimum of 2 lakh rupees. That’s why “sent” and “credited” can be different moments.
Step 5: Run the numbers on a real example
Numbers beat opinions here. The figures below are illustrative, not quotes from any provider, and I’ve assumed a mid-market rate of 85 INR per USD to keep the arithmetic clean. Check the live rate on our USD to INR page before you compare real offers.
Say you send 1,000 USD. The bank charges a flat 25 USD fee, a 3 percent rate markup, and an intermediary takes 15 USD out along the way. The transfer service charges 3 USD with a 0.8 percent markup and no intermediary deduction.
| Illustrative item | Bank wire | Transfer service |
|---|---|---|
| Amount sent | 1,000 USD | 1,000 USD |
| Flat fee | 25 USD | 3 USD |
| Intermediary deduction | 15 USD | 0 USD |
| Amount converted | 960 USD | 997 USD |
| Rate used (mid-market 85) | 82.45 | 84.32 |
| Rupees received | 79,152 | 84,067 |
| Total cost vs. 85,000 at mid-market | 5,848 INR (about 6.9%) | 933 INR (about 1.1%) |
Here’s the maths. Bank: 1,000 minus 25 minus 15 leaves 960. A 3 percent markup turns 85 into 82.45, and 960 times 82.45 is 79,152. Service: 1,000 minus 3 leaves 997. A 0.8 percent markup turns 85 into 84.32, and 997 times 84.32 is 84,067 (rounded). The gap is about 4,915 rupees on a single transfer.
Notice what drives it. The flat fee matters less than you’d think. The markup is the big one, which is why a “zero fee” offer can still be expensive. Flip the example around and a bank with a small markup and no intermediary charge could win. Do the sum.
Step 6: Compare rates before you commit
Open a converter and note the mid-market rate for your pair, whether that’s USD to INR, GBP to INR or AED to INR. Then get a quote from each option and work out the implied rate: rupees received divided by the amount you send after fees. The distance between that number and the mid-market rate is your real cost.
If you send from several countries, or want to see how the rupee is doing against many currencies at once, the rate grid puts them side by side. Rates move during the day, so compare quotes close together in time.
Also ask whether the quoted rate is locked and for how long, and whether “fast” means funds sent or funds credited. Larger transfers are more likely to trigger identity checks, so have your ID and the reason for the payment ready.
Step 7: Keep the paperwork, then send
For your recipient, proof matters later. A Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate, or FIRC, is a receipt a bank can issue showing that money came in from overseas. Ask the recipient’s bank whether they need one for tax filing, a visa file or a loan application. Whether and how the money is taxed in India depends on who the recipient is and why it was sent, and I can’t advise on that. A tax professional can.
Before you hit send
- Check the recipient’s name matches their bank account exactly, and re-read the account number and IFSC code twice.
- Compare the mid-market rate with the rate you’re actually being offered.
- Add up the flat fee, the rate gap and any intermediary charge to get a total cost.
- Confirm whether the recipient gets a guaranteed amount or a possible deduction.
- Check the stated delivery time and whether it means credited or just sent.
- Make sure the purpose of the payment is one the service allows.
- Save the confirmation, reference number and quote.
- Tell the recipient what to expect and when, so they can spot a short payment fast.
This guide is general information, not financial or tax advice. Fees, limits and rules change, so confirm current terms with your provider and the recipient’s bank.
Sources
- Wise, “What is an intermediary bank? Fees and more”: https://wise.com/us/blog/international-wire-transfer-intermediary-bank
- Extravelmoney, “Intermediary Bank Charge Fully Explained”: https://www.extravelmoney.com/blog/intermediary-bank-charge-fully-explained
- Top Money Compare, “Recipient and Correspondent Banking Fees Explained”: https://www.topmoneycompare.co.uk/guides/recipient-and-correspondent-banking-fees
- ICICI Bank, “Sending money to India from abroad: a guide for NRIs”: https://www.icici.bank.in/nri-banking/nriedge/nri-articles/sending-money-to-india-from-abroad-a-guide-for-nris
- Reserve Bank of India, Money Transfer Service Scheme FAQ: https://rbi.org.in/scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=112
- Wise, “FEMA guidelines and the RBI: outward and inward remittances”: https://wise.com/au/blog/rbi-fema-guidelines-remittances
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide: https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/
- World Bank SDG metadata, indicator 10.c.1: https://worldbank.github.io/sdg-metadata/pilot/metadata/en/10-c-1
- Skydo, “IMPS vs NEFT vs RTGS”: https://www.skydo.com/blog/imps-vs-neft-vs-rtgs
Checked: November 2026
