Guide · data as of
How to send money to India without losing it in the rate
Send to an Indian bank account through a provider whose rupee rate is close to mid-market. In RateRunner's 15 October 2026 snapshot, the best quotes for sending 1,000 to India cost under 0.5% from the US, UK and Canada, while big-bank quotes cost 2.2% to 5.8%.
How much does it cost to send 1,000 to India?
India is one of the most competitive destinations in RateRunner’s data. These are the true costs (fee plus exchange-rate markup) for sending 1,000 units of each currency, from the snapshot retrieved on 15 October 2026.
| From | Cheapest ranked quote | Typical big bank in the data | Costliest quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (USD) | 0.25% (Xoom) | 3.19% to 3.62% (Wells Fargo, Chase) | 3.62% |
| United Kingdom (GBP) | 0.14% (Skrill) | 1.01% to 2.36% (HSBC, NatWest, RBS) | 5.28% (PayPal) |
| Eurozone (EUR) | 0.15% (BBVA) | 2.24% to 5.80% (ABN AMRO to Deutsche Bank) | 5.80% |
| Canada (CAD) | 0.09% (Western Union) | 2.64% to 3.16% (BMO, RBC, TD) | 4.30% (OFX) |
| Australia (AUD) | 0.51% (Western Union) | 2.20% to 3.98% (NAB, CBA, ANZ) | 4.11% (OFX) |
Indicative bank-deposit quotes from Wise public comparison data. Small promotional quotes above mid-market (Remitly in several corridors) are ranked on the corridor pages but left out of “cheapest” here. Live ledgers: USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD.
Two patterns hold across all five corridors. Specialist services and State Bank of India’s own remittance service sat within about half a percent of mid-market. Mainstream banks in the sending country were typically 2% to 4% away, almost entirely through the rate rather than a stated fee. On 1,000 dollars, a 3% difference is roughly 2,800 rupees at October 2026 rates.
How does the money reach an Indian bank account?
Providers with Indian payout arrangements credit the recipient through India’s domestic payment systems:
- IMPS, operated by the National Payments Corporation of India, is an instant interbank transfer available around the clock.
- NEFT, operated by the Reserve Bank of India, settles in half-hourly batches and has run 24x7 since December 2019.
- UPI payouts to a virtual payment address are offered by some services.
The recipient needs their account number and the branch’s IFSC, an 11-character code (four letters for the bank, a zero, then six characters for the branch). A wrong IFSC is a common reason for delays or returns, so copy it from a cheque book or the bank’s own app.
A SWIFT wire to India is also possible but can carry intermediary and receiving-bank charges; see SWIFT vs local payout.
NRE, NRO or a resident account?
Non-resident Indians commonly hold two kinds of rupee account:
- NRE (Non-Resident External): for money earned abroad. Balances are freely repatriable, and interest is generally tax-free in India.
- NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary): for income arising in India, such as rent or dividends. Repatriation is capped and interest is taxable in India.
Sending your foreign salary to an NRO account is not wrong, but it can make moving the money back out harder. Rules change, so confirm the current position with your Indian bank before large transfers. RateRunner does not give tax advice.
Does the amount change which provider is cheapest?
Yes. In the USD to INR snapshot, State Bank of India had the cheapest quote at 200 dollars (0.43%, no fee), while at 5,000 dollars several services, including WorldRemit, Xoom and Instarem, came in under 0.3%. Wise, which converts at mid-market with a separate fee, cost 3.96% at 200 dollars because its fee was 7.91 dollars, but only 0.56% at 5,000.
For a sense of scale beyond these corridors, the World Bank’s Q3 2025 survey reported that costs for sending the equivalent of 200 dollars to India were below 6% on average across all services, and that the global average was 6.36%. The best quotes in this snapshot were far below those averages, which is the point of comparing.
Checklist for sending to India
- Compare recipient amounts for the same send amount, same day, in the calculator.
- Confirm the payout is a bank deposit (IMPS or NEFT), not a SWIFT wire, unless you need one.
- Double-check the IFSC and the account holder’s name.
- Decide between NRE and NRO for your own funds.
- For larger amounts, check the provider’s limits and the documents it may ask for: limits and ID checks.
Questions people ask
- What bank details do I need to send money to India?
- The recipient's name as on the account, the account number and the branch IFSC, an 11-character code identifying the bank branch. Some services can also pay to a UPI ID.
- Should I send to an NRE or an NRO account?
- If you are a non-resident Indian sending your own foreign earnings, an NRE account keeps funds repatriable. NRO accounts are for income earned in India. The tax and repatriation rules differ, so check with your bank.
- Is it cheaper to send larger amounts to India?
- As a percentage, usually yes, because flat fees shrink relative to the amount. In the snapshot, the median best quote across corridors fell from 0.59% at 200 to 0.43% at 5,000.