Many people work in the United Arab Emirates, and they need to send money periodically to their relatives or families in India. More than 3 million Indians live and work in the UAE regions of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaima. This means that the Dirham Rupee route is a prominent money corridor due to a large amount of money being remitted on a regular basis. Such people are always in search of the best deals and the best ways to transfer money from UAE to India. The key factors that go into the search are
- The exchange rate being offered between the UAE Dirham and the Indian Rupee
- The time in which the remitted money is credited into the account of the beneficiary
- The charges for remittance or commissions
- Whether the money received is taxable for the recipient or beneficiary
The ways to transfer money from UAE to India
One of the best ways to remit money is to send it to an NRE or NRO account that is specific for non-resident Indians. The money can be sent to the NRE/ NRO account from a bank in the UAE. If the sender’s family resides in India, they can operate the sender’s NRE account and operate it at their convenience. The advantage of an NRE or NRO account is that a part of the entire money in this type of account can be remitted back to the UAE in a process known as repatriating funds. Moreover, any money remitted to an NRE or NRO account is tax-free.
Senders or receivers need not worry about tax as India has a Double taxation avoidance agreement with 85 countries, including the UAE. Recipients or beneficiaries will need to show the remittances as a gift or declare the remittance as an income and claim tax benefits as per applicable tax laws.
There are other ways, such as depositing cash in Dirhams within the UAE to a money transfer agency that has offices or outlets in different cities and towns in India. In this case, the recipient needs to go to the branch office of the money transfer agency and receives money in Indian rupees minus remittance fees and exchange rates. This method is normally used by people who do not have NRE or NRO accounts and need to spend money on an urgent basis.
The third and very reliable way is to use the modern online money transfer sites and apps that can be operated from a laptop, mobile or related devices. These sites enable the transfer of money to any account in India. The account numbers need to be added as beneficiary accounts and verified before any money can be remitted. These sites and apps enable money to be sent to any UPI ID as well. This is very convenient as beneficiaries and recipients can conveniently receive money directly into their UPI IDs.
There are some features and things to watch out for before logging into the service provider’s site with which one can transfer money from the UAE to India.
Look for companies or sites that offer the lowest transfer fees. Some sites offer free transfer for the first ten transactions. A key tip here is to watch for the charges after the ten free transactions. Many people often fall into the trap of not checking the rates after the ten free transactions are over.
Some sites allow their users to choose their preferred exchange rate between the Dirham and the Rupee. Once a user chooses his or her preferred rate, the service provider will remit the money on the particular day and time when the prevailing exchange rate is closest to that preferred by the customer. This is convenient though the time of receipt is a little uncertain in the wait for the optimum preferred exchange rate.
Other money remitting sites allow money to be transferred to any MasterCard holder irrespective of whether the card is a credit card or a debit card. This works in many ways, and a credit card holder will find his or her credit balance diminished as the remitted amount is subtracted from the card balance.
There is another way these apps and sites use, and that is to remit via a link. The sender and receiver need to create log-in IDs on the site. After this is done, the sender will need to create a link that the recipient or beneficiary will need to mention to receive the remittance.
Choosing from several options
People living and working in India need to choose the best ways to transfer money from the UAE to India while keeping an eye on safety, security, and savings in exchange rates, hidden charges, and service charges.