There are a variety of reasons to send money from Europe to India. To start with, Europe is home to many Indians - working professionals earning a living, students and researchers pursuing higher education, and entrepreneurs and investors running businesses. In this blog, we will discuss the best ways to send money from Europe to India and India is one of the fastest-growing economies and has been the top remittance-receiving country in the world for years in a row. Indians working in European countries send money to India for various reasons such as:
Non-Indian residents (NRI) frequently transfer money to India to save their foreign income in an Indian bank account. In addition, India and the European countries are important trading and tourism partners. Owing to the flow of trade and people between the two countries, there is a lot of EUR to INR or INR to EUR currency exchange.
The trouble with sending money internationally is that it comes with certain costs. The two main costs are:
Banks may be your first option, but they usually are not the best for international money transfers because of the poor exchange rates and hidden fees, meaning your recipients get less money in their pockets.
The good news there is plenty of authorized money transfer specialist offering online money transfer to India with transparent and low fees, competitive exchange rates, faster delivery, and enhanced convenience for efficient and cost-effective transfers.
Compare these money transfer services to get the best Euro to Rupees rate before making your transfer and finding the best money transfer service to India.
To help you find the cheapest, fastest, simplest, and most secure ways to send money to India from Europe, we have listed below top money transfer specialists.
XE money transfer is a Canada-based online international foreign exchange business, and it is a part of the Euronet Worldwide Group, one of the largest money transfer businesses. It offers fast and cost-effective international money transfers to more than 130 countries in more than 60 currencies for individuals and businesses.
XE offers free tools to check live currency rates, view historical charges for any currency pair, and set alerts for any chosen currency pair. Convert Euro to INR with XE Currency Converter.
XE also provides forward contracts, spot contracts, market orders, business transactions for international employees, and currency data APIs.
XE is great for large bank-to-bank transfers because XE offers lower exchange rate margins for large transfers. There are no fees for transfers above $500.
You can initiate wire transfers to India from Europe on the XE website or mobile app and pay with a bank transfer or debit/credit card. Most of the transfers are completed in a few minutes. The transfer amount is unlimited.
PassTo is a cheap and quick way to send money to over 60 countries worldwide from the UK. They offer an easy-to-use, secure platform that only takes a few minutes to download and sign-up for.
Some of PassTo’s benefits include:
Send money from the UK with PassTo today!
Remitly operates in 17 countries and transfers money to over 90 countries, including India. It is an online-based money transfer company located in Seattle. You sign up online on the site or Remitly app to start sending money.
For sending Euro to Indian Rupees, the promotional exchange rate applies to your first transfer of Euro 1000.00. Remitly offers multiple receive options: recipients' bank accounts, UPI (virtual payments), and 100,000+ cash-up locations in India.
If you don't mind paying a higher fee for a faster transfer, Remitly offers the Express mode of transfer.
The economy mode of the transfer costs less, but it is slower.
Skrill is a London-based digital wallet platform, currently enabling international money transfer to over 180 countries in 40 different to a bank account, mobile wallet, email address, and phone number. You can also buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
Skrill is the cheapest option for sending to a bank account overseas because of zero transfer fees. You are allowed to fund your transfer with a credit or debit card, bank transfer, or other local payments if applicable. If funded by manual bank transfer, the money arrives in 2 hours or less.
You can cashback when you refer friends. Sign up for free on the Skrill website or the Skrill App to send money to an Indian bank account for free.
Wise, an online money transfer service provider, offers transparent and low-fees international money transfers from 59 countries to over 80 countries. You can hold 50+ currencies in your account and convert between currencies at a super-low fee.
Based in London, it now has 12 million users and counting. It claims itself as 8X cheaper than leading banks in the UK. You get transparent fees and real exchange rates (the ones sourced from Reuters or Google).
If you pay your transfer with a bank account, the fees are the cheapest, but you will have to compromise on speed. Payment via debit or credit cards transfers your money faster at a higher cost.
Wise is ideal for small transfers as the cost gets higher with larger transfers. Send money on their website or download the Wise app to start sending money today.
ICICI Money2India offer fast fund transfer from Europe to any bank account in India. Available in 20 Eurozone countries, the service allows you to lock your desired exchange rates and charges minimal fees with no hidden costs.
Money2India Europe is an online money transfer service by ICICI Bank Germany. ICICI is one of India's largest banks and has many branches overseas. You can also sign up on the Money2India app and send money hassle-free.
If you transfer money to ICICI bank accounts in India, the transfer is completed in under 30 minutes.
Similar to Wise, Instarem offers real exchange rates sourced from Reuters for your every transfer. Based in Singapore, Instarem is an online remittance service enabling money transfers to 55+ countries in partnership with 8000+ banks worldwide.
Instarem is one of the low-cost international money transfer service providers, especially for small transfers. The fees are upfront, and there are no hidden charges. The exchange rates are very competitive. You earn InstaPoints with every transfer that allows you to redeem in your next transfer, saving you money.
Sign up for a free account on the Instarem site or app with your email, or use your Google or Facebook ID for a quick registration.
PandaRemit is a Hong Kong-based online money transfer service providing fast and convenient remittance services across 30+ countries.
You also get zero fees on your first transfer. And receive money with minutes as fast as 2 minutes. Your recipient has the option to receive the money in a digital wallet or bank card or opt for cash pick up if available.
Transfer funded by bank transfer carries no charges, but payment with a credit card has additional charges. There are no hidden charges with PandaRemit. Make use of referral bonuses and discounts to save money on transfer costs.
Trusted by 6 million customers worldwide, Paysend currently operates in more than 150 countries allowing international money transfers to over 110 countries.
Paysend is the first Fintech company to introduce global card to card transfers connecting 12 billion cards issued by Mastercard, Visa, China Union Pay, and local card schemes.
Paysend provides 40+ payment methods for online SMEs and serves 17,000 SMEs.
Sending money to India from Europe is easy because of the multiple receiving options: send money online directly to bank cards, UPI, or bank accounts in India at a fixed low fee. You can also send a Paysend link to your recipient's mobile number to make a transfer.
Transfers are usually completed within minutes. Sign up online or get the Paysend app to send Euros to Indian Rupees.
Revolut is a popular British digital-only bank/ neobank offering a range of banking services in a mobile app. Revolut, the global financial super-app, has more than 18 million customers around the world.
With Revolut, you can send money in more than 30 currencies to 100+ countries. You can hold 30 different currencies for free in your Reovlut account. This makes it ideal for traveling abroad and sending international payments.
Revolut charges a fixed percentage fee and claims to offer the exchange rates you see on Google for international money transfers.
To send money to India, download the Revolut app and sign up. Then simply add money into your account using your card or make a bank transfer. Choose your transfer amount, your currency, and the destination country. Send money to your recipient bank account in India by adding it as a beneficiary in the Revolut app.
The best website to transfer money to India from Europe or apps will depend on how much money you are sending, how are you paying for it, how the money is received, how fast you want the money to reach your desired destination, and how expensive is the transfer cost including conversion cost of Euro to INR.
Different money transfer service providers have unique advantages that may be best suited for your transfer situations. So, it is best to compare, decide and send.