Friday 14 December 2018

Types of NRI banking services available in India

An NRI or Non-Resident Indian is a person who lives abroad for a long time for job or business purposes. As an NRI, you cannot use the regular account. There are different NRI banking accounts that deal with foreign currency where you can open and maintain your account. You can also invest in shares and stocks through these accounts. The details of the various accounts used for NRI banking services in India are as follows-

Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee Account (NRO Account)

• You can deposit in denominations of Indian Rupee in this type of account. You may also open such an account jointly with a resident of India.
• The types of accounts you can hold include savings account, current account, recurring deposits, and term deposits
• This account pays a large interest. The interest is taxable and includes all surcharge and educational cess.
• You may choose to convert your existing account in a bank to an NRO account by declaring your status as an NRI and vice versa
• Nomination facility is available with this account
• The money in this account is non-repatriate. You cannot transfer the funds of this account to your NRE account or any account you hold abroad.
Non-Resident (External) Rupee Account (NRE Account)
• The account may be in the form of savings account, current account, recurring deposit or fixed deposit
• Only an NRI can open this account. No resident, even with a Power of Attorney can open this account.
• You may maintain the account jointly with another NRI but not with an Indian resident
• The deposits in this account are eligible to be freely repatriated
• The balance and interest are free from income tax and wealth tax
• You cannot deposit or withdraw Indian Rupees from this account. However, it is stored in Indian Rupees at the prevailing exchange rate.
• Transactions between other NRE accounts and accounts in banks abroad are possible through this account
• You can get loans against your fixed deposit or a security
• The account facilitates nominations
• You can convert your NRE account to a regular account on returning to India

Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) Account (FCNR (B) Account)

• You can only open term deposits with a maturity between 1 year and 3 years
• You can maintain the account in a foreign currency
• Transactions in Indian Rupees are not possible through this account
• You can transfer money from this account to anywhere outside India in any foreign currency
• You may choose to receive the money in Indian Rupees at buying rate
• The deposits in this account receive tax exemption benefits
• A resident with a Power of Attorney can operate this account. You can also open the account jointly with a resident.
• Nomination facility is available

Understanding the fine differences between the three types of NRI banking accounts makes it easier for you to save money in your home country or send money to your relatives. The easy conversion of a regular account to an NRI account makes banking very convenient for millions of NRIs all over the planet. In this way, you can easily maintain your wealth in India while you are abroad.

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