Google Pay international transfers in India: All you need to know

Google Pay, or Gpay locally, in India is a wallet, payment gateway and UPI-based payment system through Google.

For all its ease of use, can you use it internationally? Find out with this short guide to Gpay for international payments.

⚠️Currently in India, you can only use Gpay to receive international transfers from the US

But as an Indian, you can also use Google Pay in a number of countries to pay online or through the Gpay app like:

• Australia
• Canada
• Europe
• Israel
• Japan
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Vietnam
• Singapore..and more

Of course, make sure your credit or debit card, or bank account, can operate internationally.

Can I send money from India to the USA using Google Pay?

No, you can’t send money from India to the US using Google Pay. You can use Google Pay domestically to send to family and friends in India.

If you are looking to send money from India abroad, Wise can be a good option.

💸 International transfers are fast, simple, and cheap with the Wise Web/Android/ iOS app

Try Wise for free 🚀

Wise lets Indian residents make deposits to local bank accounts overseas, from their Indian account. Wise is free to sign up online, and you will always receive the real mid-market exchange rate on every transfer.

How to send money internationally through Google Pay

You can send money to India from the US using the GPay app as long as you have an Android phone or iOS app v.130 and up. Here is how you can do it.

Send money from USA to India using Google Pay: Step-by-Step

The GPay app essentially lets users send money to India using Wise or Western Union. As a sender on the app, you will have a choice of which provider to use.

Here is a step by step guide on sending money to India using Gpay:

1. Tap on your Google Pay/GPay app
2. Find the contact you want to send money to in India
3. Hit Pay
4. You then have a choice of either Wise or Western Union for sending the money
5. If this is the first time you are sending money to your contact, add their payment details
6. Submit and complete the transaction
7. Your transaction is complete when the appropriate status message appears

In case you don’t have one already, an account with either Wise or Western Union will need to be created.

If you need to make a new account, you can follow the steps on the screen. GPay will make that seamless for you. There is a chance you will be asked to verify your identity in this process.

For payment methods, GPay is the default for Wise. In Western Union, you can find Google Pay under the question “How would you like to pay”. If you do use Western Union, you will also receive a confirmation email in your inbox with the transaction number.

If you want to check the status of your transfer, you can open the app and click on the contact you sent the money to. You can press Check Status on the payment confirmation message.

If you choose Wise, the status will appear right there. For Western Union users, you will be sent to the Western Union site and be required to submit the transaction number from the confirmation email. .

Google Pay transfer limits

Google Pay has limits on how much you can send to family, friends and individuals within a 7 day rolling window. That window, and the limits, are reset after each rolling week is complete.

How much you can send also depends on if you have verified your identity or not through GPay. If you have completed the identity verification, you will have a larger limit.

Here are the limits for each rolling 7 day window. All amounts are shown in USD.

	Verified	Not Verified
Maximum limit to send to family and friends	$5,000	$500
Maximum withdrawal amount from GPay account	$5,000	$700
Add money to your GPay balance	$1,500	Not possible
Maximum single purchase using GPay	$2,000	Not possible

You can only hold a maximum of $25,000 in GPay in total at one time.

Google Pay international transfer fees

Google Pay does not charge a fee for international transfers, but how much you pay depends on which provider you go with for your transfer. Wise and Western Union have different fees and exchange rates.

	Wise	Western Union
Transfer fee	Yes	Depends
Exchange rate fee	No	Yes
Ways to pay	Credit, debit or bank account	Credit, debit or bank account
Time it takes	Up to 1 business day	0-4 business days

The exchange rate fee is what is to look out for. Banks use the mid-market exchange rate amongst themselves. It is also the rate you see on Google, and on Wise too. It is the pure exchange rate without a markup.

Western Union sets their exchange rate to be weaker than the mid-market exchange rate and is able to take a fee in the difference per dollar exchanged. That is why even when you see no transfer fee, you may still end up sending less than you expected.

Here is an example of how they compare when sending $1,000 to India:

	Wise	Western Union
Transfer fee	7.50	0
Exchange rate for $1	74.99	73.98
Time	1 business day	0-4 Business days
Total sent	₹74,436	₹73,985

Simply by choosing Wise as the transfer provider, you can send almost ₹500 more than with Western Union. And Wise is typically faster too.

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Sources used for this article:

1. Using Gpay internationally
2. Send money internationally
3. Limits
4. Western Union Fees
5. Wise fee

All sources checked as of 23 October, 2021