Money transfer companies compared: Indian rupees

Sending money abroad can be expensive, with hidden fees and fluctuating exchange rates that impact how much you spend on your international money transfers. Whether you’re exchanging currency to Indian rupees to deposit savings, sending money to family or buying your dream home, you can save money on your international transfers by using the right provider.

Many online money transfer companies claim to offer attractive exchange rates, but once you break down the cost you may spend more than you expect. At CurrencyFair, our fees and rates are included up-front in our exchange rate calculator, so you know exactly how much to expect from your exchange. For a more detailed look at sending money abroad, check out our guide:

Sending money abroad: a guide to international money transfers.

Our fee is €3/ ₹120.00, regardless of the amount you’re sending. We also empower our customers to choose their own exchange rates on our marketplace. You can access great FX rates to exchange currency to Indian rupees from any device, with no hidden fees, and send and receive international money transfers in over 20 currencies with a CurrencyFair account.
Money transfer companies operate by charging an additional margin to the mid-market exchange rate, transfer fees or a combination of both. Typically, banks add a margin of between 3% and 6% on top of the mid-market rate. CurrencyFair, on the other hand, charges an average margin of 0.45%.

Some providers hide fees and charges in their exchange rate or make the information difficult to find on their websites. Others use complicated terms and conditions around their fees. Many of the money transfer providers we researched offer introductory rates and “fee-free” exchanges for first-time customers, then charge high fees for future transactions.

We’ve broken down the true cost of exchanging euros to Indian rupees with money providers like Azimo, MoneyGram, WorldRemit, Western Union, Xoom and CurrencyFair by comparing how much it would cost to send and convert 1,000 EUR to Indian rupees with each.

When it comes down to it, CurrencyFair’s transparent fees and exchange rates will end up costing you less, as seen in our comparison assessment below.

Money transfer companies compared for Indian rupees:

• Azimo
• MoneyGram
• WorldRemit
• Western Union
• Xoom
• CurrencyFair

Using Azimo for money transfers to Indian rupees

Azimo is an online money transfer service founded in 2012 that provides remittance services to 190 countries, including India. It offers two tiers of delivery that range between instant and the next working day. Azimo’s fees vary based on where you are sending to and from, and the delivery method that you choose.

Azimo offers introductory rates for new customers. To exchange 1,000 EUR into Indian rupees it offered an introductory exchange rate of 1 EUR = 85.57786 INR (12:34, 3 September), which was actually the same as its standard rate (1 EUR = 85.57786 INR) in this instance. It also has a promotional offer of no fees for your first two transfers. After this, its fee for changing EUR into Indian rupees goes up to 1.99 EUR. To send it to your recipient’s bank account, it would take one working day and your recipient would get 85,577.86 INR.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 12:34, 3 September 2021

Using MoneyGram for money transfers to Indian rupees

MoneyGram is a global payment services company that offers online money transfers through its MoneyGram Online (MGO) service. It supports money transfers to over 200 countries and territories, and its fees vary depending on how much you send, where you send it and which payment method you use.

To exchange 1,000 EUR into Indian rupees it offered a rate of 1 EUR = 85.5068 INR (12:37, 3 September). At this rate, your recipient would get 85,506.79 INR. To transfer 1,000 EUR using your debit or credit card into the recipient’s bank account there are no quoted fees. It does caution that: “The amounts shown are only estimates based on variable exchange rates. Final fees have not been applied.”

However, MoneyGram - like all money transfer companies - makes money from currency exchanges. It achieves this through the fee built into the exchange rate you are offered, as well as the service fees that are charged to process your transaction. These fees are calculated using the “​​Rates and Fees” calculator on its homepage, which offered a fee-free transaction for new customers and did not specify how much those fees would increase to after your first transaction.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 12:37, 3 September 2021

Using WorldRemit for money transfers to Indian rupees

WorldRemit is a remittance company founded in 2010. It’s headquartered in London and operates globally in over 150 countries. Its transfer fees and mid-market margin markup vary depending on the country you’re sending to, the amount you’re sending and the delivery method you choose. It also has a daily transaction limit of 8,000 EUR so for large transactions requiring multiple transfers, those fees add up quickly. At CurrencyFair, our daily transaction limit is 97,000,000 EUR — so unless you’re buying a few wind turbine farms, you’ll never encounter it.

To transfer 1,000 EUR to Indian rupees, WorldRemit offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 85.85893 INR (12:30, 12 September). If you pay by bank transfer and send into the recipient’s bank account, it adds 1.99 EUR in fees. So for 1,001.99 EUR, and an estimated delivery time of a few minutes, the recipient will receive 85,858.93 INR.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 12:30, 12 September 2021

Using Western Union for money transfers to Indian rupees

Western Union is one of the largest remittance companies in the world, with over 500,000 agent locations across the globe. Its exchange rate changes depending on the delivery and payment method you choose.

With Western Union, you are limited by its transaction limits, which vary depending on your past transactions, your receiver's country and the service you choose to send money with. Breaking up a large transaction over several days is not only annoying, it can also end up a lot more expensive thanks to fees being incurred for every transaction. At CurrencyFair, you can send up to 97,000,000 EUR per transfer.

To send 1,000 EUR to Indian rupees, it offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 84.4934 INR (12:38, 3 September). If you use a debit card and transfer into the recipient’s bank account, it charges a 2.90 EUR fee. So for 1,002.90 EUR, the recipient will receive 84,493.41, with an estimated delivery time of a few minutes.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 12:38, 3 September 2021

Xoom - A PayPal service

Xoom Corporation was founded in 2001 and acquired by PayPal in 2015. It has its headquarters in San Francisco, California, and operates globally in 160 countries, including India.

To transfer 1,000 EUR to Indian Rupees using Xoom it offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 85.8233 INR (12:45, 3 September). At this rate, your recipient would receive 85,823.00 INR. As well as its mark up to the mid-market exchange rate, Xoom’s fees vary depending on your transaction type and amount,  the payment method and what currency you pay with, the amount of the transaction and which country it’s going to.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 12:45, 3 September 2021

Using CurrencyFair for money transfers to Indian rupees

CurrencyFair was founded in 2009 and offers secure money transfers to over 150 countries and over 20 currencies. Our exchange rate of 1 EUR = 86.1725 INR (12:42, 3 September) includes our €3/₹120.00 fee, meaning when you send 1,000 EUR to Indian rupees, the recipient will get 86,052.50 INR.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 12:42, 3 September 2021

You can choose to send money immediately with our quick, low-cost money transfers, or set your own rate on our marketplace, and wait for the market to meet it — meaning you could even beat the currency market rate that you see on Google.

Join over 170,000 happy customers who have saved millions with CurrencyFair.
If you’re sending money abroad from somewhere else in the world, compare the money transfer providers available in the following countries below:

• Money transfer companies compared: Germany
• Money transfer companies compared: Switzerland
• Money transfer companies compared: Thailand
• Money transfer companies compared: Australia 
• Money transfer companies compared: Singapore
• Money transfer companies compared: United Kingdom
• Money transfer companies compared: France
  
  

For a more detailed look at sending money abroad, check out our guide: Sending money abroad: a guide to international money transfers.