Indians who live in USA send money back to India quite often and there are dozens are services that offer money transfer services. Each service decides Dollar to Rupee exchange rate on their own and it's not easy to find who offers the best exchange rate(related: fixed deposits with high interest rates, GBP Exchange Rates, USD FCNR Rates and GBP FCNR Rates) .
Well, it was not an easy task till you find this page!! Don't trust us? Check the information below and you will be surprised to see all the information you need on US Dollar exchange rates at one place :). We curated this page to help you make better decision while transferring money to India.
All the exchange rates displayed below are in Indian Rupees for 1 US Dollar and they are updated on hourly basis
Can I transfer money to India even if I don’t have an Indian bank account?
Yes. You don’t need an Indian bank account to transfer money to India from USA. For example services like Western Union or Xoom never require you to have a bank account to use their services.
Can I transfer money to my Friends/Family member if they don’t have an Indian bank account?
Yes, but with limitations on the amount of money you send. For example when you transfer money using Western Union, your friends/family can go to the nearest Western Union agent office and collect cash by showing an identification proof like Driver’s license, passport or voter card.
Which bank gives the best exchange rate?
Exchange rates offered by banks and other institutions for transferring money are highly dynamic. They change quite often and that is the reason why we setup this page to help you figure out the service that provides best exchange rate.
What are locked in rates and Indicative exchange rates?
When you transfer money to India you can either use locked in exchange rates or indicative exchange rates. With locked in exchange rates you will know the exact amount of money that will be sent to your friends/family when you transfer. Let say if today’s locked in exchange rate for 1 USD is 55 rupees then transferring 100 USD would send 5500 rupees to your family/friends account. You may call them and inform the exact amount they will be receiving.
On the other hand Indicative exchange rates do not tell you exact money sent to your family/friends. The exchange rate for the dollars you transferred are determined at the time of money transfer to your friends/family accounts. Let’s say you use a bank to transfer money and they take 2 days to send money to India. You transferred $1000 today and the exchange rate is at 55. The amount of money received by your friends/family after two depends on the exchange rate on that specific day. If the exchange rate on the day of transferring is at 56, your family/friends will get 5600 rupees. If it falls to 54 then they will get 5400.
Which service you prefer to use for transferring money to India?
For me best exchange rates is not the criteria to choose a service. I prefer an easy to use service and also the time they take to transfer money. I've been transferring money to India for the past 4 years or so. Several years ago ICICI was my favorite service and these days I’m using Xoom. Xoom is super easy to use and ultra-fast in transferring money. I love their customer support as well as their Mobile Apps which allows transferring money from smartphones.
If I’ve to transfer money to someone who doesn't have a bank account, I prefer to use Western Union as my family members can just walk in to the nearest Western Union agent and collect cash by showing their ID card.
Though other services offer better exchange rates compared to Xoom, I prefer it. If you would like to maximize the money you get, check the exchange rates above and go with the service offering best exchange rates.
