Remitly Money Transfers India: Your full guide

When looking at international money transfers, always remember to do your research. Without realizing it, poor exchange rates and fees can really eat into what your loved ones receive. Wise’s fees comparison tool can help you cut through the noise and see which transfer service works best for you. Even if it turns out that a competitor is providing a better deal, we will make sure you know.

The World Bank recently reported that global remittances to low and middle-income countries were at $529 billion USD in 2018, a record high¹. With more and more individuals and families moving around the world, it is no wonder that money service providers like Remitly are trying to make it easier to send money back home. Let’s unpack what Remitly is all about and if it is a good deal for your money transfers. This article will cover:

• Receiving money internationally with Remitly
  • Sign-up and process
  • Fees and charges
  • How much time it takes
• Sending money abroad with Remitly
  • Sign-up and process
  • Transfer limit
  • Charges and fees
  • How much time it takes
  • Check the status of money transfer
  • Customer support in case transactions are stuck
• The true cost of international transfers with Remitly
• A cheap, fast and transparent alternative: Wise

Receive money internationally with Remitly

Remitly has one option for receiving money in India and that is by depositing directly into a bank account. Remitly has a nationwide coverage with over 140 banks across the country, so there is a high likelihood that your bank is serviced by Remitly².

Sign-up and process to receive money with Remitly

You won’t need to sign up for Remitly to receive money, but make sure your sender has all the information required for the transfer. This includes your:

• Bank name
• Bank account number
• First & last name
• Contact number
• Address
• Reason for sending

You will be notified by SMS when the transfer has been submitted and then when it is deposited into your account. That’s it!

Fees and charges for receiving money with Remitly

As a recipient, you won’t be charged any fees. The fees will be taken from the sender so all you will need to do is sit back and wait for the funds to arrive in your account.

How much time does it take to receive money with Remitly

This depends on which method your sender has chosen- Remitly Economy or Express. We will discuss them in detail in the next section of the article, but with Economy to India, it can take 3-5 business days. With Express it can be there within a couple of hours. Check with your sender on which option they chose.

Without additional ID verification, Remitly caps their transfer amount at $2,999 USD daily and $10,000 USD monthly for India3. So if you need to get an amount larger than this, Wise will be a better option. Once you sign up, you can receive up to $1,000,000 USD on your sender’s first transfer or any transfer after that with Wise. Plus Wise offers the real mid-market exchange rate- the same rate you see on Google.

To note, the 30-day limit can vary depending on your home and destination country, so take a quick look before starting your transaction.

Send money abroad with Remitly

You can send money using Remitly from 16 different countries, including the US, Germany, UK, and Australia. They provide a fixed exchange rate and on-time guarantee, or your money back. Let’s see how to get started.

Sign-up and process to send money abroad with Remitly

To sign up, just click on ‘Join Now’ on the Remitly website. You can also download their app to your phone. Once you are signed up, click on ‘Send Money’, select how much you want to send, and the converted amount in rupees will be shown per their exchange rate.

Choose your Delivery Method- Remitly Economy or Express. Economy has a better value but Express gets the funds there faster. Express also confines the transaction to a debit/ credit card payment method while Economy can be done through a bank account. This table will help compare the two⁴:

Transfer speeds subject to Indian banking partners’ operating hours and availability. Data collected on June 3, 2019

Next, the bank deposit option will be pre-selected for sending money to India. Then choose your recipient’s bank in India from the list. You will then need to enter the recipient’s details, after which you will be prompted for your personal details as well. This includes,

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Address
• Contact information
• Last 4 digits of your Social Security Number (if you are in the US)

You will then have to enter the payment details. In general, debit and credit card payments are able to process faster than a bank transfer. But there may be fees associated with both, so double check with your card company. Specifically for a credit card. The credit card company may view a money transfer as a cash withdrawal and tack on additional fees.

If you were able to complete all the details, your transaction should be ready to go.

Transfer limit with Remitly

Remitly has tiers for transfer limits depending on the amount of verification you provide. For your first transfer, you are capped at $2,999 USD or 5,000 GBP. Here is a table outlining the tiers⁵.

Tiers 2 and 3 require additional documents to be submitted, so check the Remitly website for what is needed per your country.

Charges and fees to send money with Remitly

Remitly has two types of fees- one is a transfer fee and one is part of the exchange rate. There are no transfer fees if you are sending more than $1,000 USD, but less than that has a $3.99 fee. Remitly decides their own exchange rate which is less than the mid-market rate- the rate used by the banks themselves. This small difference can really add up with larger and ongoing transfers.

How much time it takes to send money with Remitly

Remitly Economy can take 3-5 days from receiving payment. Remitly Express can be immediate to up to 4 hours.

Check the status of money transfer in Remitly

To check the status of a transfer, you can sign into your Remitly dashboard and look under ‘Transaction History’. This is also available within the app. Remitly sends status updates to your email or SMS when the transfer has started and when it is complete. You will hear from Remitly if the transfer is under review, you made any changes or it is delayed for any reason⁶.

Customer support in case transactions are stuck

If your transaction gets stuck you will be contacted by Remitly directly. You can also always track your transfer or read their FAQs on their site for any questions. They also have 24/7 customer service that you can reach by email or phone.

It’s important to remember that not all money transfer providers are the same. Wise’s smart technology is changing the game on transfers to India. We use technology to connect directly with local bank accounts to help save you money on international transfer fees. And by doing this we have lowered our costs so we can offer you the mid-market exchange rate. You can save up to 8x when you send money abroad by using Wise instead of a bank.

The true cost of international transfers with Remitly

So let’s take a look at how much it will really cost you to send money with Remitly versus Wise.

If you are sending $1,000 USD

If you are sending $500 USD

As of June 3, 2019

Remitly is a strong option to transfer money abroad for amounts greater than $1,000 USD. But there are limitations. They are not the best choice for sending amounts larger than $2,999 USD or frequent amounts to India. And although they don’t have a transfer fee, their lower exchange rate becomes a fee that is taken out of the amount sent.

A cheap, fast and transparent alternative: Wise

The best money transfer provider for you is always going to be the one that fits your unique transaction needs, amount and frequency. That’s why it's best to shop around and be aware of the ways that fees and exchange rates can alter what your recipient receives.

Here at Wise, we hold transparency as a key value. So we make sure we show you the exact fees and the mid-market exchange rate right on our homepage. And even if there are other providers who can give you more in hand for your particular transfer, we want you to know that too. Compare your rates at Wise and make the best choice for you and your loved ones.

Sources used for this article

1 https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2019/04/08/record-high-remittances-sent-globally-in-2018
2 https://www.remitly.com/us/en/india/partners
3,5https://www.remitly.com/us/en/users/increase_limits
4 https://www.remitly.com/us/en/india/pricing
6 https://www.remitly.com/us/en/faq