If you have a business in India and you regularly transfer money there, you already know that some money transfer services offer better conditions than others.
However, finding secure, reliable and affordable methods to send money to India can cost you a lot of time and money.
See how Time Doctor’s easy-to-use time tracking software can help your team be more productive.
What transfer methods do we use at Time Doctor?
We have a remote team with people in 19 different countries around the world. The two transfer methods we use the most are:
- Wise, formerly TransferWise – is a new kind of financial company that you can use to transfer money internationally at a very low cost. Their system is based on local bank account transfers, which makes transfers abroad cheaper than what banks or other providers charge. They charge a small upfront fee between 0.5% and 2% for transaction, depending on the route. Wise is up to 8x cheaper than the banks with transparent fees.
- Payoneer – very convenient for sending and receiving. They are also one of the few methods that works to receive money in almost every country and the receiver can get their money on a debit card and withdraw from an ATM. They also have an option for direct transfer to the receiver’s bank account. They also have a $50 bonus if you receive more than $100 through this method.
The Time Doctor team has created a special series of articles dedicated to providing information about money transfer charges and hidden conversion costs for international monetary transfers.
The following tables provide information about the best options for sending money to India from across the world. Pay attention to the upfront fees and exchange rates that popular services charge you for transferring money.
| Table 1 – Sending $1000 from the US to India | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer Method | Stated fees to send $1000 USD | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total cost | Time for the transfer to arrive | ||
| OFX (previously USForex)* | $0 | $7.5 | $7.5 | 1-2 days | ||
| Wise, formerly TransferWise (recommended partner) | $9 | $0 | $9 | 1-2 days | ||
| Currencyfair | $4 | $5 | $9 | 1-2 days | ||
| Xoom | $5 | $6.5 | $11.5 | 3-5 days | ||
| Remitly (slow) | $0 | $13 | $13 | 3-5 days | ||
| MoneyGram (slow) | $5 | $10 | $15 | 3-5 days | ||
| Ria Money Transfer (slow) | $5 | $10 | $15 | 3-5 days | ||
| Western Union (slow) | $6 | $11 | $17 | 3-5 days | ||
| Xpress Money | $10 | $7 | $17 | 3-5 days | ||
| Lucky Money | $0 | $19 | $19 | 3-5 days | ||
| MoneyGram (fast) | $10 | $10 | $20 | Minutes | ||
| Ria Money Transfer (fast) | $10 | $10 | $20 | Minutes | ||
| WorldRemit* | $4 | $16 | $20 | 3-5 days | ||
| Remitly (fast) | $4 | $17 | $21 | Minutes | ||
| Western Union (fast) | $10 | $11 | $21 | Minutes | ||
| Transfast (slow) | $5 | $16 | $21 | 3-5 days | ||
| Remit2India | $6 | $19 | $25 | 3-5 days | ||
| XE Trade | $0 | $27 | $27 | 3-5 days | ||
| Zenbanx | $5 | $25 | $30 | 2-3 days | ||
| Payoneer | $3 | $28 | $31 | 3-5 days | ||
| Transfast (fast) | $30 | $16 | $46 | Minutes | ||
| Wire transfer | $25-55 | $10-30 | $35-85 | 3-5 days | ||
| Travelex | $0 | $151 | $151 | 3-5 days | ||
Notes:
- Worldremit is offering their services only from the following states of US:
District of Columbia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. - If you’re not sure what I mean by “hidden currency exchange fees” check out our explanation in this article.
- The fees for wire transfers are estimates and vary from bank to bank.
- Minimum transfer of $500 for OFX (previously USForex).
- New CurrencyFair customers get 10 free transfers.
| Table 2: Sending Money to India from Different Countries. The TOTAL Cost in Percentages including the HIDDEN currency exchange fees. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer Method | From the US | From the UK | From Canada | From Western Europe | From Australia | |
| Wise, formerly TransferWise (recommended partner) | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.7% | |
| OFX (previously USForex) | 0.75% | 0.75% | 0.75% | 0.75% | 0.75% | |
| Currencyfair | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1% | 1% | 0.9% | |
| Xoom | 1.2% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| FastRemit | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | 1.2% | |
| Remitly | 1.3% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Azimo | Not available | 1.4% | Not available | 1.2% | Not available | |
| Ria Money Transfer | 1.5% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Small World FS | Not available | 1% | Not available | 1.7% | Not available | |
| Lucky Money | 1.9% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| WorldRemit | 2% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 1.1% | |
| Western Union | 1.7% | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1.9% | 1% | |
| Xendpay | Not available | 0.2% | 2.3% | 0.2% | 2.3% | |
| Transfast | 2.1% | Not available | 0.9% | Not available | Not available | |
| Remit2India | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2% | 1.9% | 2.4% | |
| XE Trade | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 2.9% | |
| Zenbanx | 3.1% | Not available | 1.9% | Not available | Not available | |
| Payoneer | 3.1% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| MoneyGram | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 5.8% | 3.1% | |
| Xpress Money | 1.7% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 3.7% | 3.9% | |
| Exchange4free | Not available | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 2.4% | |
| Wire transfer | 2.5-5.5% | 2-4.5% | 2.5-5.5% | 2-4.5% | 3-6.5% | |
| Travelex | 15.1% | Not available | 14.3% | 15.7% | 10% | |
Note:
- OFX (previously OzForex) is a good option for sending larger amounts of money and their exchange rate fee goes down for larger amounts.
- Minimum transfer of $500/£500 for OFX
- New CurrencyFair customers get 10 free transfers.
Other articles that might interest you:
Transferring Money with Wise (formerly TransferWise)
What is the Cheapest Way to Send Money to Indonesia?
Compare Hidden Exchange Fees When Sending Money to Bangladesh
Rob Rawson is a co-founder of Time Doctor which is software to improve work productivity and help keep track of what your team is working on, even when working remotely.