As a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) working in the United Kingdom, you may be contemplating money transfer to India for assisting your near and dear ones for various purposes. You need to realize that the process of transferring money to India is easy today as there is a plethora of options. These options have demerits as well as merits. You need to carry out a comprehensive research of these options before opting for one of them to remit money to India.

Various remittance methods

If you want to know how to send money to India from the UK or from any other nation, here is a list of methods for remitting money to India. There are conventional remittance methods like cheque transfers through international mail services, money transfer agents, etc. There are newer methods like wire transfers to India and online money transfer to India. NRIs attach huge importance to quick and cost-effective money transfers to India.

Online remittance

As regards online remittance to India, there are numerous online remittance portals, which enable this. The process of registration with these portals is easy and rapid, in which you have to give personal details. Subsequently, you can send remittances to your recipient. While booking a transaction, you will have to provide your bank account number, your bank name (branch), your recipient's bank's name, your recipient's bank account number, the remittance amount, etc.

Online remittance institutions generally deliver remittances quickly to the recipients and cost-effectively. Online remittances are user-friendly, secure and state-of-the-art, with these companies offering attractive exchange rates and low/zero transfer fees. If you have queries regarding online remittances, they would be resolved by the qualified customer support executives of these online remittance providers.

Old remittance method: Cheque transfers

The difficulty with 'cheque transfer' to India is the long time taken by this method to reach the recipient. There is no way of tracking such transactions, which may give you uncertainty. Through international courier services, the cheque can take between 1-4 weeks to reach the recipient's bank in India. After that, the recipient's bank may keep on hold the cheque for 2-3 weeks, after which it will be cleared. The exchange rate is decided when the cheque clears. Thus, the initial applicable exchange rate, when the cheque is couriered, may not be the applicable exchange rate when the cheque is cleared in India. Thus, the transaction may not be cost-effective.

It is always wise to understand the concept of exchange rates, currency conversion, transfer fee, 'hidden charges', etc. before choosing an online remittance service or any remittance option. Opt for an established remittance service, which has experience in this field. Understand the duration required to remit your money to your beneficiary. It is in your interest to do all this to have a smooth and beneficial remittance experience. Then, you needn't worry about how to send money to India.