ICICI International Transfer: Your full guide

ICICI bank is one of India's leading banks which offers international money transfer solutions to and from India. But transferring money to loved ones overseas has always been a tricky experience for many expats, especially NRIs. Many of you might’ve faced difficulties in the past with varying foreign exchange rates, money not being received on time, or spending much more than you planned.

Most people use their own banks mainly for the convenience, but this may turn out to be a complicated and expensive affair with the long processes, hidden charges, and high forex rates. Before transferring money internationally, always check for the best deals which can save you a lot of money on every transaction.

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ICICI has become one of the biggest names in international fund transfers with their convenient online and offline money transfer options. You can receive funds in India through two online methods - ICICI Receive Funds and ICICI Money2India.

ICICI Receive Funds

You can use this option only if you have an ICICI bank account in India. ICICI bank’s money transfer solution, ICICI Receive Funds is ideal for students away from home, salaried employees with non ICICI bank accounts, housewives, and property owners who receive rental money from tenants. This feature is a person to person transfer service and cannot be used for commercial purposes¹.

Once a payer is registered through ICICI Receive Funds, you can request for funds online from them at any time. Since this is a pre-approved process, the money will be credited to your account without the sender taking additional action. Registering for ICICI Receive Funds is a one time process for the payer’s account².

Follow the steps below to register for ICICI Receive Funds online:

• Login to your ICICI account online
• Go to ‘Payments and Transfers’ and click ‘Receive Funds’
• Click on ‘Registration’ and fill the form with all required details

You can also register offline by visiting an ICICI bank branch:

• Download the registration form from the ICICI website
• Print the form and fill in all the necessary details
• Attach a cancelled cheque from the payer’s account
• Submit all documents to any ICICI bank branch

After registering online or offline, you also have to submit a ‘Debit Mandate’ form signed the payer. This form has to be deposited along with a cancelled cheque to an ICICI bank branch within two months of registration³.

ICICI bank will then forward all these documents to the payer’s bank for authorization. You can track the status of your authorization under ‘Check Status’ section. Once the payer’s bank has accepted your application, you can start using this facility to receive funds online using the below steps:

• Login to your ICICI account
• Go to ‘Payments and Transfers’
• Click on ‘Request a Transfer’ option
• Choose your payer by selecting their ‘Debit Mandate ID’
• Enter the amount of funds requested
• Enter the date on which you wish to receive the funds
• Confirm the transaction password and authentication

The money will be automatically debited from the sender’s account and credited to you on the requested date. Since the transfer of money has been pre-approved, the transfer happens at the click of a button.

ICICI Money2India: Remit to India with ICICI Bank

ICICI Money2India is a cost effective and secure online money transfer service where you can transfer money from UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, UAE, and other countries to India.

If you are an ICICI Bank NRI customer, you can simply login to Internet Banking to start sending money. If you are a first time user, you will need to sign up and provide your KYC details. Post approval from the bank, you can start sending money.

To transfer money, use the following steps³:

• Login to ICICI Money2India website
• Enter the amount you wish to transfer
• For first time users, complete your user profile
• Add a new recipient or select already added recipient and click ‘Continue’
• Add your bank account or select existing bank account to make the payment
• Confirm and pay for your transaction

ICICI charges and fees for receiving money internationally

The charges for receiving money in India for various countries and currencies using ICICI bank are given in the table below. These charges are to be paid by the person sending money, and not the person receiving it. Goods and services tax (GST) will also be levied by the bank over and above these charges.⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹

These are, however, not the only charges you may incur as there may be hidden charges in the forex markups. To know the exact amount of money you will receive when you transfer money internationally, compare ICICI rates vs Wise.

How much time does it take to receive money using ICICI?

Many transfers are available for your recipient within hours. Some transactions can take upto days or more, if intermediary banks are involved. This varies by country, the method of delivery you select, and how you pay for the transaction¹⁰.

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ICICI bank provides fund transfer services for its resident individual customers. This facility is available to resident individuals having registered mobile number updated with ICICI bank. You can send funds internationally from India in 16 currencies using ICICI Money2World.

ICICI Money2World: Remit from India with ICICI

You can use ICICI Money2world service without having a resident savings bank account with ICICI bank. For using this service, you need to complete the registration process online as follows:

• Submit the KYC documents for identification and address proof at the nearest ICICI bank
• Once you have verified your documents, complete your registration on the ICICI Money2world website with OTP sent to your registered mobile number

Once you are registered, there are two ways to transfer your money- Guaranteed and Regular delivery¹¹

• Guaranteed Delivery- Full value credit for transfers to beneficiary account. This can only be received in USA.
• Regular Delivery- Credit to beneficiary account with extra charges levied by correspondent bank. This can be received in any country.

If you are not in a hurry to transfer the money, this may be a very convenient method for you. But as exchange rates fluctuate daily, you may end up spending more on your money transfers than you planned.

Charges and fees for ICICI Money2World

Service charges by different countries and currencies are the same as listed in the previous table for receiving money with ICICI. Further charges for different delivery methods with ICICI bank are listed below.

There also may be other hidden charges, such as markup in exchange rates. To know the exact amount of money you will receive when you send money abroad with ICICI, check ICICI price comparison vs Wise.

How much time does it take to send money with ICICI

The beneficiary abroad will receive the funds in their overseas bank account within 1 international working day, where the transaction requests are received before 15:00 PM on weekdays¹². It can take a few more days if intermediary banks are involved.

Check the status of your money transfer with ICICI

One of the main advantages of using ICICI money transfers is that you can check the status of your transfer and make sure that the transfers are complete and received on time. To track the status of your transfer, simply visit 'Check Status' section after logging in to ICICI Money2World website.

The true cost of international transfers with ICICI bank

International transfers with ICICI seem convenient, but are they really the most efficient and cost effective option? Banks like ICICI rely on old, rusty technologies to transfer money which take a long and tiring process to finally remit money overseas. Sometimes, you may not even get the best price for your transfers, but you still continue because you have been using your bank for a long time and it works. If you regularly transfer money internationally, or to a lot of different recipients, eventually this can burn a hole in your pocket.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Money transfer service providers like Wise use new, advanced technology to make money transfers easy, fast and most importantly, cheaper for you. Know the exact amount of money you receive when you do transfers with ICICI bank vs Wise, and make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck.

A cheap, fast and transparent alternative: Wise

Wise is a convenient and cost effective alternative for all your money transfer needs. When you send your money, you will know for certain the amount that your beneficiary will receive. There will be no hidden charges and nasty surprises.

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We at Wise believe in fairness and money without borders. That is why we always offer international money transfers at the fair mid-market rate, which is the one you see on Google whenever you look it up. We charge a small, flat fee because no transfers are ever free, but what you will never see are unfair and hidden charges.

Sources used for this article

*All sources checked on 2nd January, 2020.