Money Transfer From India to Netherlands

There are basically two major ways to send money from India to the Netherlands. Money Transfer From India to Netherlands

• Banks
  • Demand Draft
  • International Beneficiary
  • Forex Cards
• Online Remittance Companies
  • Direct transfer through bank
  • Payment using cards

There are a few disadvantages when using banks for sending money to India to Netherland or any other country. Bank offer elevated exchange rate, require longer time, additional documentation, requires a visit to the nearest branch. For these reasons, people who were preferring banks due to their long relationship being a customer, are now shifting to online remittance companies.

I will show by example how banks perform for transferring money to the Netherlands from India and how other online remittance companies perform. Through this, you will also be able to find out which is the best option of all.

I am performing this comparison using 1,00,000 INR as the transfer amount (date – 2nd July 2020)

Banks – (SBI, ICICI, HDFC, HSBC)

State Bank of India – (Rate = 86.37, Received Amount – 1157€ + transfer fee)

SBI is India’s largest bank which operates foreign offices network and has correspondent banking arrangement with about 600 banks worldwide. You can send and receive money internationally through SBI accounts using any of the methods described below.

• SBI Express Remit
• SBI Demand Draft
• SBI Wire Transfer
• SBI Personal Cheque

GST for conversion of foreign currency to Indian currency or vice-versa was revised by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance with effect from 1st July 2017. The revised tax rates are as follows⁷:

• Up to ₹1,00,000: 1% of the gross amount of currency exchanged for an amount of ₹1,00,000, subject to minimum of ₹250/-
• From ₹1,00,001 to ₹10,00,000: ₹1000 plus 0.5% of the gross amount of currency exchanged for an amount of rupees exceeding ₹1,00,000 and up to 10,00,000
• Above ₹10,00,000: ₹5,000 Plus 0.10% of the Gross amount of currency exchanged for an amount of rupees exceeding ₹10,00,000 subject to Maximum amount of ₹60,000/-

HDFC Bank – (Rate = 86.61, Received Amount – 1154€ + transfer fee)

If you have an HDFC bank account, you can send money abroad with HDFC through their netbanking option called RemitNow¹⁴. You can send money anywhere in the world using RemitNow, other than to countries under OFAC sanctioned countries list.

The maximum limit per transaction is USD 5000, and only up to two transactions are allowed per day. The international transfers using HDFC RemitNow is subject to the rules of RBI Liberal Remittance Scheme (LRS). This means that the maximum money that can be transferred in one financial year is USD 250,000. Money can be sent in 19 currencies using RemitNow, given below-

UAE Dirham (AED), Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Omani Riyal (OMR), Swiss Franc (CHF), Danish Krone (DKK), Euro (EUR), Singapore Dollar (SGD), Pound Sterling (GBP), Hong Kong Dollar (HKD), JPY (Japanese Yen), South African Rand (ZAR), Korean Won (KRW), Norwegian Kroner (NOK), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Saudi Riyal (SAR), USD (US Dollar), Swedish Krona (SEK), Thai Baht (THB)

Amount of Currency Exchanged (ACE)	GST rates	Minimum GST	Maximum GST
Upto ₹ 1 lakh	0.18% of ACE	₹45	₹180
Between ₹ 1 lakh and up to ₹ 10 lakh	₹180 + 0.09% of ACE	₹180	₹990
Above ₹ 10 lakh	₹990 + 0.018% of ACE	₹990	₹10,800

HSBC Bank – (Rate = 87.18, Received Amount – 1147€ + transfer fee)

How your money will be transferred depends to an extent on where it’s going. If you bank with HSBC, you might see international transfers referred to as SEPA payments, international payments, Worldpay or Priority Payments. The payment route used, as well as costs, cut off times, and the processing times vary, depending on where your money is headed.

 

ICICI Bank – (Rate = 87.27, Received Amount – 1145€ + transfer fee)

ICICI has become one of the biggest names in international fund transfers with their convenient online and offline money transfer options. You can send/receive funds in India through two online methods – ICICI Receive Funds and ICICI Money2India.

So of all the banks, SBI was found to be the cheapest. Please also note that I have not added here the transfer fee which can be from 30 – 100 €.

The charges for receiving money in India for various countries and currencies using ICICI bank are given in the table below. These charges are to be paid by the person sending money, and not the person receiving it. Goods and services tax (GST) will also be levied by the bank over and above these charges.

Currency	Charge/ fees	Currency	Charge/ fees
Upto USD 1000	USD 4	Upto INR 26000 from Canada	2.99 CAD
Above USD 1000	–	Above INR 26000 from Canada	–
Upto 45,000 INR from UK	0.65%	Below 500 CAD	2.99 CAD
45,000 – 90,000 INR from UK	0.60%	Above 500 CAD	–
Above 90,000 INR from UK	0.50%	Australian Dollar	–
Upto 500 GBP	0.65%	Singapore Dollar	–
500 – 1,000 GBP	0.60%	United Arab Emirates Dirham	AED 15
Above 1,000 GBP	0.50%

 

Now let see how the online remittance companies perform in this regard.

1 – Transferwise (Offer Link – No Transfer Fee)

TransferWise is an online money transfer service, which lets you transfer money up to eight times more cheaply than with a bank. It is one of the most popular apps/sites and has the highest customer satisfaction ratings on Google play and Trustpilot. TransferWise was founded in 2010 by two financial gurus and its system is beautifully simple. It bypasses pricey international payments entirely by using two local transfers instead of one international transaction.

Is Transferwise Reliable?

 

Trustpilot Score

 

Google Play Ratings

It is also one of the fastest growing online remittance companies (more than 7 million customers) having more than 50% over last few years. You would see that their profit has not increased as much as their revenue. This is because the company is expanding and growing its customer base, and another most important thing is its attractive exchange rate and low transfer fees as compared to its peers.

 

How Transferwise Works?

Transferwise works in three different steps (in this case, India to UK transfer)

• • • You send money from your Indian bank to their Indian bank
    • Transferwise transfers money from their Indian bank to their UK bank
    • Transferwise sends money from their UK bank to your UK bank

For safety purposes, Transferwise might ask to verify your address when you use TransferWise. They are a financial institution and it helps them combat money laundering, and keep everyone’s money safe.

Now let me show you where does Transferwise stand when you compared it with other options for sending money from India to the UK. There is a current offer going on Transferwise for relaxation on Transfer Fee. So you can avail of this offer by following the link I shared above. Using this you would see no transfer fee is charged on the low transfer amount and the reduced transfer fee at a large amount.

How much can I send?

You can send up to 1.5 million GBP per transfer to a private individual. You can send up to 15 lakhs per day to businesses. However, the minimum amount is 20,000 INR.

How long does it usually take for the money to arrive?

Once TransferWise receives and converts your money, it usually takes 1 working day to arrive in your recipient’s bank account. Conversion can take up to 2 working days. The first transfer can take longer time but the successive transfer is usually quicker.

Pros

• Cheap because of the real-time middle-market exchange rates.
• Convenient (online or in-app), no visit to the branch required
• The minimum payment amount is £2 (or the equivalent in other currencies).
• The maximum payment amount is £1 million.
• Lock-in rate available for 24-72 hours
• Highest customer rating on all platforms – Google Play, TrustPilot, Monito, etc.

Cons

• The first transfer can take 2-3 business days
• A large amount of money may require to verify the address.
• A credit card may not always be approved
• Not all countries are included, for example – India-China, Israel-India, etc.
• No flexibility on margins for larger transfers.

 

2 – ExTravelMoney

ExTravelMoney is an online aggregator for foreign exchange services in India. Launched in December 2014, ExTravelMoney claims to have tie-ups with more than 4,000 foreign exchange outlets across India, so their customers can get the best rates.

Since ExTravelMoney acts as an aggregator for foreign exchange providers, they display rates from reputed forex providers located in the area of your choosing. For example, if you would like to transfer money from Mumbai, you can filter the search results to show providers in different locations in Mumbai.

3 – InstaReM

Headquartered in Singapore, InstaReM is a leading digital payments solutions provider across Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. InstaRem Logo With InstaReM, individuals and businesses can make low-cost money transfers to 55+ countries. InstaReM also offer customers Zero-Margin FX Rates and Best Transfer Amount Guarantee.

For its business clients, InstaReM offers MassPay – an international business payments platform that allows them to send single and bulk payments using the same web, file and API interfaces to over 60 countries in multiple currencies.

Pros

• Low transfer fees between 0.25% and 1%
• No extra margins to exchange rates & guaranteed best transfer amount
• Complete transparency and absolutely no hidden charges
• InstaPoints – loyalty points to redeem against transactions
• Dedicated customer support team

Cons

• Coverage: No presence in the Middle East and Africa
• Unable to send money to or from New Zealand
• Account activation can take longer than promised
• They don’t accept credit card
• 24/7 support doesn’t extend to personal financial advice

 

4 – Skrill

With the innovative solutions it offers, Skrill has gone a long way since it first started its services in 2001; capturing the global market and having some of the world’s top brands from various fields as its customer. It has become one of the most trusted names when it comes to money transfer services and payment processing.

Pros

• Wide availability in 200 countries
• Both Personal and Business options available
• Ability to work with forex and online gambling accounts
• No fixed transfer fee when you send money directly to a bank account
• Send money easily to an email address or phone number linked to a bank account
• Buy and sell crypto currency
• Offers a prepaid card powered by MasterCard
• User-friendly mobile app

Cons

• Getting fully operational can be tedious
• Complex fee structure
• High currency exchange fees for “Skrill to Skrill” international transfers

 

5 – DCB Remit

DCB is one of the fastest-growing remittance services in India. You can transfer money abroad online to 22 countries from anywhere in India with any bank account. Paperless, online remittance facility with zero fees. It has a network of 336 branches. and around 505 ATMs in the country. It offers products to individuals, small and medium businesses, rural banking and mid corporates across the branch network.

Pros

• Available for residents holding a savings account with any bank in India.
• Register online and start transferring money abroad.
• Lock the exchange rate.
• Place money transfer request even from a mobile phone.
• Offered in many currencies.
• Track the transfer request online.

Cons

• The limit for overseas fund transfer is USD 25,000
• The exchange rate is expensive compared to others

 

Final Conclusion

So you observed that Transferwise was the cheapest option available. If you have not heard of Transferwise then let me tell you that they have the highest customer ratings and have been in this business since 2010. Another great feature about Transferwise is the lock-in exchange rate facility, which allows you to freeze the exchange rate and make the payment in the next 24–48 hours using the same rate.

Also, the Iink I shared above of Transferwise will give you an offer of free transfer when sending a small amount and relaxation on large transfer.

Cheers and happy saving

You May Also Be Interested In

• Money Transfer From Japan to India – 5 Options Compared
• Best Way To Transfer Money from UK to India – 17 Options Compared
• Comparison of Transfering money from Australia to India

 

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