Want to send your foreign earnings to your NRE account in India? Check out this post to know 4 different ways in which this can be done.
Most NRIs open an NRE (Non-Resident External) account for transferring their foreign earnings to India. Apart from being the most hassle-free way for parking foreign earnings, NRE accounts also offer a host of other benefits.
For instance, the NRE account is a tax-free account that is fully repatriable. You are not required to pay any kind of tax on the interest or principal amount and can freely repatriate the deposit amount to your current country of residence.
But while top banks in India have now made the account opening process simple and quick, a lot of NRIs do not know how to send money to their NRE accounts. If you are confused about the same, here are 4 of the top ways to send money to NRE account in India-
- Remit from a Foreign Bank Account
The easiest way to transfer your foreign earnings to your NRE account in India is by using the net banking portal of your foreign bank. The transfer is similar to transferring funds between two regular savings accounts in India.
Simply log in to the net banking portal of your foreign bank and enter details of your NRE bank account in the beneficiary details column. Select the amount that you’d like to transfer and confirm the transaction. The transfer duration will depend on your current country of residence and the banks in which you have your foreign and NRE accounts.
- Use an International Remittance Service
Another very popular method for sending funds to an NRE account is using a reputed international remittance service. There are now a few top Indian banks that offer highly cost-efficient international money transfer services.
The transfer is similar to the online transfer method discussed above. Log in to the online remittance portal and enter your NRE account details along with the transfer amount before confirming the transfer. If you are using the remittance service of the same Indian bank in which you have your NRE account, the transfer can be processed instantly in some banks.
- Direct Deposit Through a Foreign Bank Branch
If the Indian bank in which you have your NRE account has an international branch close to your location, you can also visit the branch office to transfer money to NRE account. This can be done either through a demand draft or by initiating an electronic/mail transfer to your NRE account.
The funds would be withdrawn from your foreign bank account and will get deposited into your NRE account within 1-2 working days.
- Direct Cash or Traveller’s Cheque Deposit from India
As per the guidelines by the RBI, NRIs are allowed to bring with them up to USD 5,000 (or equivalent in any foreign currency) while returning to India. They can also have an additional USD 5,000 in traveller’s cheques.
After returning, the cash and/or traveller’s cheque can be directly deposited into any branch of the bank in which the NRI has the NRE account. NRIs with more than USD 10,000 (cash+traveller’s cheques) can get a CDF (Currency Declaration Form) signed by a Customs Official at the time of returning to India.
What is the Best Method for Transferring Funds to an NRE Account?
Apart from the methods listed in this post, there are several other ways of sending foreign funds to your NRE account in India. While direct remittance through a foreign bank and online remittance are the most popular options, you are free to select any method that best suits your requirements.
Make sure that you do check the charges associated with the transfer to make sure that your foreign earnings reach your NRE account in the most cost-efficient and convenient way possible.
