CreditSending Money to India
One way to send money from the U.S. to India is to do it the old fashioned way and send a check. The drawback is that this is an extremely slow method. International mail can take anywhere from one to four weeks to arrive at its destination, and once the recipient of the funds finally receives the check, his or her local bank is likely to hold the funds for up to three weeks while the check clears.
To save time, some people who desire to make regular payments to someone in India send several post-dated checks-a risky proposition. Another risk with this method is that the exchange rate is determined on the day the check clears, so the amount of U.S. dollars sent may not translate into the correct number of Rupees that you originally intended to send. This process can take a long time, but it's the cheapest way to send money to India.
If you'd like to send a check in Rupees, India's largest bank, the State Bank of India, now has some branches in the U.S. Customers can open accounts, transfer dollars into those accounts, and then draw checks denominated in Rupees to send to India. This cuts down on some delay with the holding of checks and mitigates exchange risk.
The State Bank of India charges $10 for all checks under Rs 50,000. If the recipient of your funds has an account in India with the State Bank of India, you can also directly wire funds from a U.S. branch. Other banks, such as Citibank, allow customers to open Rupee checking accounts.
Outside of sending checks or using India-Friendly banks, Moneygram and Atmcash have International Money transfer capabilities. This is an attractive option for some because it's fast, but it's also very expensive and recipients must be near areas of operation in India, which are limited.
Several websites are now in operation that can be used to send money directly to India. Sites such as remit2india and clicks2india allow users to send money to India using a credit card online. Generally, a check is issued and received by your recipient within five business days. The costs associated with these transfers can be substantial, but are generally lower than sending money through other services.
It's a good idea to use a credible company if you choose to transfer funds electronically and to understand fees and conversion rates that will be used, as well as how long it will take for those funds to be received. It's also a good idea to find a company with good customer support, in case the process becomes confusing along the way.