India is a multicultural country which has many migrants sending money back to their family and friends overseas.
Globally, these remittances totalled US$613bn in 2017, according to the World Bank. Bangladesh was the top receiver of remittances from India, with US $4,033 million being sent in 2017. Followed by Nepal, Sri Lanka, China and France, respectively.
InstaReM, a Singapore-headquartered digital cross-border money transfer company, has created an animation to visualise the World Bank’s latest remittance estimates to show where India is sending money to and receiving money from. Founded in 2014, InstaReM is licensed as a Money Services Business (MSB) in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, India, European Union, and the USA. It has created a unique payment mesh in Asia, which is being leveraged by financial institutions, SMEs and individuals to make fast low-cost cross-border payments. It powers local payments to more than 55+ countries, reaching out to 3.21 billion people across the globe (for more details please visit https://www.instarem.com/en-au/).
Prajit Nanu, co-founder and CEO at InstaReM said “These international money transfers by migrants are, for many, the only source of income for families globally which help them to get basic necessities, thus elevating overall quality of life.’
“Migrants typically transfer a substantial part of their earnings to their home countries, contributing to their overall income.”
Conversely, United Arab Emirates was the largest sender of remittances to India, with US$13823 million being received from there. The US, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar were the next biggest senders.
“These days it is not rare to see even people from developed nations migrating to other countries as part of their professional careers.
As well as a huge number of people travelling overseas for business and education reasons.” Prajit added.
These estimates are made by the World Bank using data from formal channels such as banks and other businesses that transfer money.
With so many Indian migrants sending remittances, InstaReM have shared these cost-saving tips to know before you transfer money.
- Do your research and shop around
It’s easy to stick with the same channel you’ve always used when transferring money, but this could come at a cost if you don’t do your homework. Check online and recent news reports for the latest on each company, including deals and offers. As well as speaking to friends and family, as there’s nothing more valuable than a recommendation, as well as checking online review sites such as TrustPilot.
- Get a market watching service to help protect your overseas buying power
This tip can save you from taking unnecessary losses caused by currency exchange rate fluctuations. Most of us don’t have time to keep track of currency markets or know what events can threaten our money’s power. That’s where a payments company market watching service can help, as they can send you regular updates on what direction your currencies are moving, based on live currency rates.
- Transfer money online
Online transfers are generally cheaper and faster than going into your local bank branch or doing it over the phone. Plus, paying online gives customers on-the-spot notifications for their transactions and has higher physical security as you are not walking around with a lot of cash.
- Set time aside for the transfer
If you are willing to wait for a few days to be transferred instead of instant transfers, this can help you to save money on express transfer rates. Usually transferring money on Mondays or Tuesdays can get the transaction through faster than on any other day, because it can take 2-3 working days to process the request.
- Keep an eye out for hidden charges
You are usually charged a send fee, a receiver’s fee and margin on the exchange rate if you send through your bank. Be wise and don’t get carried away by the claims of fee-free transfers. If your money transfer operator is promising you zero-fee money transfers, they will try to recover their costs (and profits) somewhere else. It would certainly help to compare exchange rates offered by your fee-free money transfer provider with the ones available on Reuters or Google. However, when sending with InstaReM, for example, there calculator breaks down the fees that you will be charged, so you are in the know beforehand.
To find out more about other country remittance inflows and outflows, as well as how this breakdowns as a % of GDP (gross domestic product), visit the InstaReM blog here: https://www.instarem.com/blog/remittances-how-much-money-do-migrants-send-home/