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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 received roughly USD 125 billion in inward remittances in 2024 โ 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.
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.
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 โ fixed fees become less significant.
From the UK, Wise, Remitly, and Instarem are popular for GBP/INR. From the UAE โ the single largest corridor โ 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.
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. Since 2023, the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) rate on outbound LRS remittances above โน7 lakh is 20% (with exceptions for education and medical). For inbound remittances โ which is what most of this guide covers โ there is no TCS, but the recipient may have to declare large transfers above โน15 lakh as gifts depending on the relationship.
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