DBS International Remittance India: Your full guide

The popular DBS Bank provides their online banking services through Digibank. And, one of those services is sending money abroad from India.

And while DBS does offer attractive no-fee transfers and same day delivery for global money transfers, these perks are only to a little over a handful of specific countries and currencies.

Plus, if you aren’t a DBS bank account holder, this may not be the best choice for you.

Read on to learn more about DBS’s digibank remit and how it works, especially if you already bank with DBS.

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Send money abroad with DBS

DBS has set up Digibank to be an easy to use app and website that you can use right from your mobile.

And while you can do most of your DBS banking from the Digibank app, you will have to go to the Digibank Internet banking website on a computer to complete any overseas transfers.

Once you’re in Digibank, all you have to do to get started on your transfer is hit Overseas Transfer on the top of the page.

Keep in mind that you will still need to follow FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) rules and regulations if you are an Indian resident sending money abroad.

That means that money can only be sent overseas if the amount you send is below the currency equivalent of $250,000 USD over the course of 1 year, and the transfer is done for the following reasons:

If you are in India, you can use DBS’s Digibank Remit to send money abroad in 40 different currencies. But not every currency is treated equally.

There are 7 currencies that get added benefits with Digibank. Including US Dollar, they are:

With these 7 currencies including US Dollars, there is no transfer fee from DBS and you can get same day delivery if you complete your transfer before the cut off time that day.

Unfortunately if you have to send any other currencies to other parts of the globe, your transfer can take 1-4 working days and you will have to pay a fee for the transfer.¹ Check out the charges and fee section below.

But first to get started with an overseas transfer, you will need to open a DBS account.

How to open a DBS account

To use Digibank from DBS for overseas transfers, you will need at least a savings account open with DBS bank.

Once you have opened a DBS account or if you are a DBS account holder, you can get started with Digibank through the DBS website.

You can download the app and register, or register directly through the DBS website.

Opening the DBS savings account is important as your transaction amounts will be debited from the savings account you have at DBS. There isn’t any option to pay from a different bank or using a different account.²

DBS charges and fees

There are three main fees to expect with DBS. The first is a bank fee, the second is an agent fee, and the last is a hidden fee in the exchange rate. But not all fees are applicable for every currency.

If you are sending money with one of the 7 preferred currencies, you won’t have to pay a bank fee or an agent fee.

But if you are sending money in any currency that is not USD, AUD, CAD, SGD, HKD, EUR, or GBP, you will have to pay a bank fee of ₹ 500.

Depending on the currency you are sending, you may also need to pay an agent fee as well.³

Last but not least, an exchange rate fee can sneak up on you in your transfer too. DBS sets its own exchange rate, which makes it weaker than the real exchange rate that the banks use between themselves.

So in that difference, DBS is able to hide a fee that they are able to pocket on every rupee that you convert. Take a look at the cost of international transfers section to see how this can add up.

DBS transfer limit

The minimum you can send with DBS is $10 USD or the currency equivalent. The most you can send in one transaction is the equivalent of $25,000 USD. The $25,000 USD is also the most you can send over the course of one day. ⁴

And, as mentioned, with FEMA regulation, you can’t send more than $250,000 USD per year.

But as far as transactions go, you can send as many as you want with DBS as long as the total falls below the amount limits.

Time it takes with DBS

For the US, Canada, Australia, the Eurozone, Great Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore, if you meet the cut off times for that day, you can get same day delivery of your funds. Otherwise it will be deposited the next day.

For any other countries, the transaction can reach your beneficiary anywhere between 1-4 days.⁵

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The true cost of international transfers with DBS

DBS’s Digibank remit service can be a good option if you are an existing DBS account holder and are sending money to their common currency corridors.

But if you are not in either case, there may be better options for you out there.

The ₹ 500 transfer fee plus the possible agent fee can make sending money expensive. And this is on top of having to open a DBS account, and a hidden fee in the exchange rate.

And in that small difference is where DBS has added an extra fee. It can seem small at first, but with a bite taken out of every rupee converted, it can add up to a significant amount.

In total, with all the fees that DBS has, it is hard to say how much your total will be without signing up for DBS in the first place.

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All sources checked as of 6 October, 2020