Send Money to India: A Practical Guide
India is the world's largest remittance recipient. Learn which services offer the best USD/INR and GBP/INR rates, the difference between NRE and NRO accounts, and how to avoid LRS confusion.
India's Place in Global Remittances
India received a record USD 135.4 billion in inward remittances in FY2025 — more than any other country and approximately 3% of national GDP. The largest sending corridors are the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. Indian banks have invested heavily in fast inward-payment rails (IMPS, UPI-linked accounts) that settle within minutes once cleared into the Indian banking system.
NRE vs NRO Accounts — A Key Choice
Indians abroad often hold a Non-Resident External (NRE) or Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account at an Indian bank. NRE accounts hold money earned outside India, are freely repatriable, and interest is tax-free. NRO accounts hold money earned inside India (rent, dividends, family contributions) and are subject to Indian tax and partial repatriation limits. If you are sending salary or savings from abroad, send to an NRE account.
Best Services for USD-to-INR
Wise, Remitly, Xoom (a PayPal service), and Western Union are competitive on USD/INR. Wise typically wins on transparency and rate. Remitly and Xoom often run promotional rates for first-time senders. ICICI Money2India and SBI's online remittance are widely used by NRIs and integrate directly with Indian bank accounts. For amounts above USD 10,000, compare a bank wire against these services — fixed fees become less significant.
Best Services for GBP-to-INR and AED-to-INR
From the UK, Wise, Remitly, and Instarem are popular for GBP/INR. From the UAE — the single largest corridor — Al Ansari Exchange, Lulu Money, and UAE Exchange offer competitive rates with extensive physical networks alongside online apps. The UAE Central Bank's IPP (Instant Payment Platform) is making cross-border transfers to India increasingly fast and cheap.
LRS and Tax — What to Know
India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) allows resident Indians to remit up to USD 250,000 per year abroad. Sending money into India has no such limit. As of the Budget 2026 update (effective April 1, 2026), the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) rate on outbound LRS remittances above ₹10 lakh (raised from ₹7 lakh in 2025) is 20% for most purposes such as investments, while education and medical remittances attract a reduced 2% TCS above the same threshold — with a full exemption when funded by an eligible education loan. For inbound remittances — which is what most of this guide covers — there is no TCS, but the recipient may have to declare large transfers above ₹15 lakh as gifts depending on the relationship.
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