How to save on bank transfer to India

International bank transfer fees can be outrageous and the money can take days, in some cases even weeks to arrive. We recently traveled to Goa, India and had to make a bank transfer to book a 7-day retreat in a yoga ashram. To reserve our spots, a money transfer to their Indian local bank account was needed - but we were in Europe and to make money transfer from any bank takes days for the money to arrive and the transfer fees are very expensive.

Use Wise to send money to India

But there is a better way to transfer money to India from Europe or the United States - Wise (previously TransferWise). We use them often and have saved a ton of money and time. There is no bureaucracy, it is fast, great exchange rate and low fees. We have compared the fees of Exchange houses, MoneyGram and bank transfers, Wise will always beat the others. Not to mention, the ease of the transaction, which is an added bonus. Here is how it works:

1. Create your account in Wise (possible even to use FB connect:).
2. Select the sum you want to send (either in euros, dollars or Indian rupees).
3. Pay the stated sum with credit card or local bank transfer to Wise account.
4. The money will be on the Indian bank account in as fast as 13 minutes (that´s how long it took for our payment to arrive).

It is really that simple, fast and as you will experience, cheap.

Limitations of using Wise in India

There are some limitations to using Wise:

• You can only transfer to private persons or profit companies. Payments to charities and non-profit organisations are restricted.

Is Wise secure?

Wise is a startup from Estonia, that was founded in 2011 and has since raised over $100M in investments, including from big names like Peter Thiel, Sir Richard Branson and Ben Horowitz. 

We use their service monthly and have only positive things to say about Wise and their Europe to India money transfer service. Don´t give your money to the banks and at the same time go crazy with their bureaucracy. There are better modern services out there.

You can make your Wise account here