Smart Ways To Send Money Home To Your Loved Ones

5 minsJanuary 10, 2018

Akash and Simran moved to the US in 2005. Akash, an engineer, works with an IT conglomerate, and his wife works as a strategic consultant at a multinational company.

The first thing Akash does when his salary is credited, is transfer a sum to his parents for their monthly expenditure. However, at times, he would wait for the best exchange rate and then transfer the money.

Another point many NRIs like Akash bear in mind is the transaction/operational cost associated with a money transfer and the duration within which the money reaches the recipient.

But with the advent of technology, remitting money back home has become much easier. Akash built relationship with Axis Bank and has now several convenient modes of sending money to his family back in India.

If you are living miles away from your family, the responsibility of sending money back home would be relatable. You look for all the possible ways to bring smiles on their faces. You work hard just to ensure that they receive the best in their lives. And probably, the first thing you would do every month is credit money to your family.

However, technological enhancement over the past few decades has helped to build a wider range of easy money transfer facilities.

Axis Bank offers several modes of money transfer for NRIs to their loved ones in India. Some of the avenues are highlighted as below:

• AxisRemit Online
  • An online transfer facility, AxisRemit offered by Axis Bank which enables NRIs from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, and Euro Zone to send money to India. It can be used by an NRI wanting to send money from his/her bank account to a beneficiary in India. The remitter can also transfer the money to his/her own NRE account in India.
  • The money is transferred through the Automated Clearing Mechanism/Electronic Clearing System in your country to the designated account held and operated by Axis Bank. Hence, the money moves within the banking system and is safe. Further, the transactions happen on fully secure encrypted lines. Your data is stored on servers protected by advanced firewalls that have undergone extensive security tests
• Online Transfer
  • Online Transfer is a hassle-free way to send money from UK, UAE, Euro Land, and Singapore to India using your local bank’s internet banking facility.
  • Follow the below steps to send money to your loved ones through Online Transfers-
    • Log in to AxisRemit
    • Add beneficiary details or select an existing beneficiary.
    • Click on 'Online Transfer'
    • Add your payment details like amount, purpose of remittance, and click submit.
    • After submitting the request, you will receive a unique reference number and account details to which you need to send money.
    • Now, log in to your local bank's internet banking where you have an account.
    • Initiate a third-party fund transfer for the same amount as you have initiated on AxisRemit to the account given in payment (account) details. Now input the reference number in the free text field/description field.
    • Axis Bank will credit the beneficiary as per your instructions on AxisRemit once the money is received in Axis Bank's account in your country.
  • But please note that your local bank should have the two options listed below:
  • Online third-party funds transfers/payments facility and,
  • A field for “Remarks" or "Message to Recipient" on the page when making the online third-party transfer to enter the reference number generated on AxisRemit
• Foreign Currency Cheques/DDs
  • You can now deposit any currency denomination, cheque, or demand draft by any bank and encash Indian Rupees in exchange for it. With this facility, your near and dear ones can visit any Axis bank branch in India to credit the equivalent amount to the account, i.e. the beneficiary’s account, without any hassles.
  • Similarly, you can also mail cheques/ DDs to your branch in India along with an instruction letter. This letter will contain the account number of the beneficiary where the funds will be credited. The biggest advantage of this facility is that it is free from volatile exchange rates because the draft is issued at a fixed amount.
• Wire Transfer
  • Wire transfer is an electronic form of transfer made across the world from one sender to the beneficiary. All you need is to send a wire instruction from your local bank overseas to the beneficiary residing in India. Axis Bank has arrangements with over 200 major banks across the globe to receive SWIFT messages, which ensures safe and secure remittance to your Axis Bank account from any place of your choice.
  • You can use SWIFT to transfer funds in 40 currencies, from a local overseas bank to an Axis Bank account in India. Use this SimplyWire Form, a simple-to-use and fast way money transfer process. You can even print or save the generated information for your future reference.
  • Thus, it is the efficient and secure way of money transfer. NRI customers can also contact their RMs to get the best rates for their remittances to India.
• Transfer via Automated Clearing House
  • Automated Clearing House (ACH) is one of the easiest routes for NRIs settled in the US to remit money to India.
  • For this, you simply need to:
    • Fill up the registration form and create a login id
    • Click on Send money and add New Recipient details
    • Select mode of transfer as ACH Transfer
    • Enter transaction amount, select purpose of remittance and your overseas bank account details
    • Confirm your transaction and note the unique reference number
  • Basically, you need to transfer that sum to the Axis Bank's specially designated account in US for further credit to the beneficiary’s account in India. It uses the ACH network in USA to debit sender’s account.
  • Your overseas account verification process is a one-time activity which takes upto three working days to process.
  • Further, there are no transaction charges levied by Axis Bank. However, service tax as mandated by Government of India is applicable.
• Exchange House
  • Another instant money transfer option is through Exchange Houses. You can either chose to transfer via a partnered exchange house such as MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc or Xoom Corporation. Alternatively, you can transact within the 82,000 bank branches on the bank’s RTGS/NEFT/IMPS network. With this, you can remit/transfer money to your family within 24 hours.
• Overseas Branches
• If you reside in London and wish to send money across to your family any time during the year, you can visit the subsidiary branch of Axis Bank in London, UK and instantaneously credit to any Axis Bank account in India and other bank accounts within 24 hours. With this you also get competitive exchange rates with a free remittance facility.

To sum-up…

Whichever route you choose to send money to your family on time, should go uninterrupted. So that your parents can buy new television, go for a holiday with their friends, your daughter can celebrate her birthday the way she wishes, and many more wishes. Just by ensuring that your loved ones are always financially provided for, with sufficient money fulfil their needs, you can touch their hearts despite being far away. Do not let the distance dull the sparkle.

Like Akash, you too can remit money to India within no time and in a very safe and secure manner. Hence, in an endeavour to bring ease to your financial transactions, banks and financial institutions are striving to provide better facilities these days.

So, think smart.
Adopt the most convenient money transfer avenue and give your loved ones the best by sending money to India with ease.

Disclaimer: This article has been authored by PersonalFN, a Mumbai based Financial Planning and Mutual Fund research firm known for offering unbiased and honest opinion on investing. Axis bank doesn't influence any views of the author in any way. Axis Bank & PersonalFN shall not be responsible for any direct / indirect loss or liability incurred by the reader for taking any financial decisions based on the contents and information. Please consult your financial advisor before making any financial decision.