Canara Bank International Transfer: Your full guide

Aditya Shrivastava

If you’re in India, you have probably seen the 100-year-old Canara Bank in your locality. Started back in 1906, it was nationalized in the late 1960s and has been expanding rapidly ever since.¹ Let’s take a deeper dive into what Canara Bank can offer for moving money internationally, how much does it cost and time it takes. Canara Bank almost exclusively works with their own account holders, so we can help look at other options if you hold your money elsewhere.

While state-run banks can provide a level of comfort, they often haven’t kept up with new technology that makes transfers secure, faster and cheaper. Wise is FCA regulated and eliminates all the hassle of transferring money at a bank branch.

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Table of contents

Remit to India with Canara Bank

Canara Bank has quite a few options to receive remittances in India. There are some specific relationships with Middle East banks especially to make it easier to receive money. Let’s take a look at the options.

Canara Bank RemitMoney

RemitMoney is an online option for Canara and non-Canara Bank account holders Canara Bank has made arrangements with banks in Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to be able to use RemitMoney to move funds to beneficiaries in India.²

Charges and fees

RemitMoney sets their own exchange rate, which is lower than the mid-market rate (the rate you see on Google). The difference between their rate and the mid-market rate encompasses the fees and charges for the transaction. You won’t have to pay any fees as a receiver, but the money you receive will be less than the gross amount the sender sent.

Time it takes

Bank transfers take 5 working days

Charges and fees

There are no additional fees or charges to receive funds

Time it takes

The funds are available in your Canara Bank account instantly.

Canara Bank Western Union

Canara has partnered with Western Union to allow for money to be sent to resident Indians in their Canara Bank account from its many locations globally. You can receive the money directly in your bank account or in cash.

Charges and fees

You won’t receive any additional fees as a receiver of funds through Western Union. But Western Union does tack on fees depending on how your sender pays for the transfer and sets their own exchange rate to be less than the rate they use between banks. In this way, they make a profit on every transaction.

Time it takes

If the sender is paying for the transaction using a debit or credit card the payment can be in your account or in cash at Canara Bank in 1 day or less. But if they are paying the transaction by bank transfer, it can take up to 4 business days⁴.

Canara Bank SWIFT Transfer

You can receive money from NRIs abroad through Canara's SWIFT network⁵. Make sure to give your sender your details:

  • Your name
  • The name of your bank and it’s IFSC code
  • Name of the branch/ city/ state/ pin
  • 13 digit Canara Bank Account number
  • The purpose of remittance

Charges and fees

There are no additional charges to receive a SWIFT transfer and it would be at the Canara Bank rate, which similarly less than the mid-market exchange rate.

Time it takes

SWIFT transfer can take 2-5 business days to be in your account.

Canara Rupee Drawing Arrangements

You can receive money in your Canara Bank account from an NRI who deposits a check in the correspondent exchange companies and banks in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman.⁶

Charges and fees

There won’t be any additional charges as a receiver. However, similar to all the other options, the exchange rate is set by the bank and favors them, not you and the sender.

Time it takes

This depends on which bank the sender chooses, but can be close to the usual time of 5 working days.

Charges and fees to receive money with Canara Bank

The fees to receive funds through Canara Bank are⁷:

Receiving Currency Fees
Receiving funds in INR
  • ₹50 per transaction up to USD 10,000 or equivalent
  • ₹0 for transactions above USD 10,000
Receiving funds in foreign currency For individuals 0.1125% subject to a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 1000.

How much time does it take to receive money with Canara

The time it takes to receive money with Canara Bank really depends on which option your sender uses, where they are located and how they pay for the transaction.

With so many options to send money to India, how do you know you’ve picked the best one? Often the top factors are transfer time, fees, security and ease of use. Wise has been the best choice for over 4 million users globally. With its transparency, low fees and getting the exchange rate you see on Google, there are no surprises. On top of that, you can transfer money on the go and it is so simple to track the transfer so you know exactly when you are receiving the money in your account.

Send money to India with Wise

Send money abroad with Canara Bank

If you hold an account with Canara Bank, the best way to send money abroad would be using the wire-transfer SWIFT method at your local branch.

How to send money abroad with Canara Bank

If you are sending money abroad for the first time, it would be best to head to your local Canara Bank branch. You will have to complete the A2 Form and necessary KYC documents before sending.

Add international beneficiary

Make sure that you have all the following information before starting the process.

  • Your contact information
  • Currency of remittance
  • Amount of remittance
  • Value date
  • Beneficiary’s bank information
  • Beneficiary’s account number
  • Beneficiary’s name
  • Purpose of remittance
  • Respective send money form

Send money to a beneficiary

Once you have completed all the forms, the bank branch official can help you with executing the transfer.

Charges and fees for sending money with Canara

To send money abroad with Canara it is a flat ₹500 commission charge⁸ and you will get the exchange rate that Canara sets. These charges can really make a difference in what your recipient receives at the other end.

How much time it takes to send money with Canara

Transfers through SWIFT can take between 2-5 days but depends on your unique transaction and the destination.

Check the status of money transfer

You will receive a transaction confirmation and code when you place your transfer. You can contact Canara Bank by phone or ask at your branch to determine the status of your transfer.

The true cost of international transfers with Canara Bank

The true cost of Canara really starts to pile on whether you are receiving or sending money. In many cases, Canara has their own fees but also requires you to receive money through a third party that has its own fee structures. You are then hit with weak exchange rates which in the end means that less money gets in hand.

Here is how the difference in the exchange rate for Canara vs the mid-market exchange rate can really add up:

Exchange Rate $1 $1000
Canara Bank9 69.40 69,400
Mid-Market Exchange Rate 69.74 69,74
Difference .57 -570

As of May 30, 2019

On top of this, Canara also has legacy systems that can make the transfer process confusing and slow.

New money transfer services like Wise provide you the fair mid-market exchange rate. So the rate you see on Google is what you get on your transfer.

Meet Wise: A cheap, fast and transparent alternative

Want a more clever way to send money? With transfers that can be done from your phone, tracked easily and delivered quickly, you’ll understand why Wise does over $4 billion in transfers every year. You can always know where your transfer is with transaction tracking. Plus Wise uses smart tech to bring down the costs on international transfers, which is way more efficient than traditional banks.

Best yet, 90% of all money transfers to India are delivered in 1 business day from the moment the payment is received. Fast, safe and good exchange rate - it is a win-win situation. Let’s leave banking to the legacy banks, but choose Wise for your global money transfers.

Send money to India with Wise 👉


Sources used for this article:

  1. https://www.canarabank.com/english/about-us/
  2. https://www.canarabank.com/User_page.aspx?menulevel=1&menuid=3&CatID=66
  3. https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/web/send-money/start?SrcCode=12345&ReceiveCountry=IN&SendAmount=100&ISOCurrency=CNY&FundsOut=BA&FundsIn=CreditCard
  4. https://www.canarabank.com/english/bank-services/nri-banking/remittance-facilities/swift/
  5. https://www.canarabank.com/User_page.aspx?menulevel=1&menuid=3&CatID=69
  6. https://www.canarabank.com/media/5184/forex-charges-fo-upload-web.pdf
  7. https://www.canarabank.com/media/5184/forex-charges-fo-upload-web.pdf
  8. https://www.canarabank.com/english/online-services/forex-card-rates/

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.

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