Be it sending money outside India or receiving money from aboard, the foreign exchange rate offered by your bank comes into play. Previously, only limited banks offered Forex services but nowadays every other bank offers this service. But you should be careful whom you bank with in order to get the best possible rate for your money. Forex is a commission heavy business and it is easy to get a bad deal from your bank if you are not aware of the market rates. I’m writing this blog post after doing some research on this topic and having sent/received money with a few banks over the past few years.
I am using the rate from XE which is the most common benchmark we use for conversions. Sadly the real rate your bank might use will be different as they include their margins and their costs might be higher. Here are some of the best banks in terms of forex rates offered. Let me warn you that every bank might have some hidden charges over and above the actual forex part and there is also a GST option for the service which I have not accounted for. Just wanted to give you an idea about the difference in rates offered. I might not matter to someone who does occasional transactions but more and more people are sending money and receiving money in foreign currency, so I hope you find it useful.
| USD | 1 | 1000 | 10000 |
| XE | 76.0376 | 76037.6 | 760376 |
| IOB | 76.64 | 76640 | 766400 |
| Punjab National Bank | 75.95 | 75950 | 759500 |
| BankofBaroda | 75.93 | 75930 | 759300 |
| Bank of India | 75.93 | 75930 | 759300 |
| Canara Bank | 75.88 | 75880 | 758800 |
| South Indian Bank | 75.84 | 75840 | 758400 |
| HDFC | 75.71 | 75710 | 757100 |
| Bandhan Bank | 75.63 | 75630 | 756300 |
| IDBI Bank | 75.76 | 75760 | 757600 |
| SBI | 75.55 | 75550 | 755500 |
| DCB Bank | 75.2 | 75200 | 752000 |
| Indus Ind Bank | 75.14 | 75140 | 751400 |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 75.04 | 75040 | 750400 |
| Yes Bank | 75.01 | 75010 | 750100 |
| IDFC First Bank | 74.95 | 74950 | 749500 |
| Citi Bank | 74.68 | 74680 | 746800 |
| Federal Bank | 74.57 | 74570 | 745700 |
| ICICI | 74.44 | 74440 | 744400 |
The rates might have changed since I started working on this post but the idea is still valid.
