Money transfers to India

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    5

    Money transfers to India

    Hi

    I'm looking for the most cost effective way to transfer money to India (few lump sum transfers, no recurring remittances; from HKD to INR) - any suggestions on banks (SBI,HDFC, ICICI?) or FX brokers?

    Many thanks!


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    169

    Try City forex. They charge $20 as cable fees and generally keep a 4 bps spread i.e. if the market is 7.72, they may offer you 7.68. Same day transfer.


  3. #3

    sorry it's an old thread but fyi lots of my friends tell me that if you can be bothered to go to TST, the SBI there gives very good rates and is quite cheap to transfer as well. I personally just used money2india or hsbc.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    169

    What is the rate sbi offers? Are they very close to the market rates?


  5. #5

    depends on how you define Market Rates. No retail person can really get the Interbank rates, but their rates are MUCH better than other non-Indian or even ICICI type banks. And the cost of transfer is quite low too from what I hear. Only issue is that you have to do it in person in TST.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    169

    The broker i mentioned above is known to be extremely competitive on the rates. Their quotes are just a few paise away from the interbank rates. So, if the market is at 775, they may offer you 771 plus 20 extra as cable charges. Higher amounts may even get you better rates. I have checked with a few indian banks and they dont seem to be as competitive. What were rates quoted to you by sbi?