Send money to India through checks

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At a Glance

An alternate way to send money to India is through foreign currency checks deposited in any bank in India.

There are several ways to transfer money to India and one of them is through foreign currency checks. You can draw one from an overseas bank in foreign currency. The check should favor your bank account in India. On deposit, the funds get credited in Indian Rupees. The exchange rate considered is the one prevalent on the date of credit.

Features and Benefits

• Crediting foreign currency checks to your bank account is a convenient way of sending money to India. They’re an alternative to wire transfers.
• You need to have a bank account in India.
• Enclose a deposit slip with the check which mentions the beneficiary name and account number.

Process of collection

Checks denominated in USD constitute a significant portion of foreign currency checks. There are various ways of realizing USD denominated checks. Different banks have different collection arrangements. This depends on the institutional arrangements they have in place.

There are three types of arrangements banks have. Time taken for transfer depends on the specific agreement.  

Final credit scheme: This is available for US dollar-denominated cheques. Funds are realised post realisation by the drawee bank in their Nostro account. This is a confirmed credit payment against the instrument.

Cash letter scheme: Here, presenting banks in India send checks payable to corresponding banks (CBs) in the USA. The CBs collect funds and present them to branches maintained in the US. Such accounts are also called NOSTRO accounts; funds received are of provisional credit.

Direct collection scheme: This is for foreign currency checks that cannot be lodged under the above two schemes. Here the check is directly sent the drawee bank in the USA. In this case, there is no risk of return. For this reason, high-value checks are sent under this scheme.

Time to transfer: There is no specified time for the transfer. The time will depend on the collection method. Banks typically take 15 to 30 days for the collection of USD checks. It may even go up to 45 days.

How to Apply

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