Sending money home is something most of us do regularly, whether it's supporting family, paying an EMI or building savings in India. The good news: specialist transfer services beat the banks easily. The trick is knowing what to compare.
Compare the total received, not the fee
A transfer costs you two things: the fee and the exchange-rate margin. A service can advertise 'zero fees' and still pay you less by quietly widening the rate. So ignore the headline fee and compare the actual INR that lands in the account. Benchmark against the mid-market rate (what Google or Wise shows) to see how much margin each provider is taking.
Services people actually use
- Wise: mid-market rate with a small transparent fee, consistently rated among the cheapest for EUR to INR. It's what we use ourselves.
- Remitly: remittance-focused, often very competitive, and a sign-up through our link usually comes with a good first-transfer rate.
- Revolut: convenient if you already bank with them.
- Western Union / Xoom (PayPal): handy for cash pickup or specific needs, but usually pricier on the rate.
Do one test transfer of a small amount with two providers and compare the INR received. You'll quickly find your default, and it's often worth re-checking once a year.
A free first transfer with Wise
Wise is our own go-to for sending money home. If you sign up through our invite link, your first transfer usually comes with no Wise fee, and it helps support this site at no extra cost to you. It's a referral link, flagged honestly.
NRE vs NRO accounts
- NRE (Non-Resident External): for money you earn abroad, held in INR. Interest is tax-free in India and the balance is fully repatriable. This is usually where your Netherlands savings should go.
- NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary): for income arising in India (rent, dividends). Interest is taxable and repatriation is capped (around USD 1M/year).
- As an NRI you should generally convert your old resident savings account to NRE/NRO, most banks do this easily online.
Money you send to close relatives in India is generally exempt from Indian gift tax, but this isn't tax advice. For large or regular transfers, keep records and check with a CA on both sides.
Official sources
Questions & answers
- Is there a limit on how much I can send home?
- There's no Netherlands limit on personal transfers to your own or family accounts, though banks and services report larger transfers as routine anti-money-laundering checks, nothing to worry about when it's your own money. On the India side, money sent to close relatives is generally tax-free; large gifts to non-relatives (over ₹50,000 a year) can be taxable for the receiver. Keep simple records of what you sent and why.