Money to India: What you can do when you send money to India to the wrong account

When it comes to sending money to India or any other account, there are plenty of options you can consider. For one, you can always make a physical transfer, by sending funds through a bank. Otherwise, you can do it through online bank transactions. Alternatively plenty of mobile banking apps is available to make the required transfer, through a simple log in.

However, no matter the choice of medium of money transfer, there is always a risk of error when making the transfer. In the event, you make a wrong money transfer when you want to remit to India,here a few steps you can take.

• First, you need to remember the legal implementation by the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI has indicated that the transfer of funds electronically depends on the account number. In the event, you have punched in a wrong account or wallet number, which does not exist when you want to transfer money to India, you need not worry. The money will be transferred back to your account automatically. You can always contact your bank to hasten the process. Normally, it would take about a few days to a week for the money to be transferred back into your account.
  
• There are instances where you want to send money to India and have unintendedly punched in the wrong account or wallet number, but yet have the right beneficiary named. In this case, you can contact your bank and provide evidence that the transfer you made was a mistake. In this case, the bank, on your behalf will reach out to the account holder and ask for the amount to be returned. However, in this case, your bank will only function as a facilitator.
  
• Additionally, there are instances wherein you have typed in the wrong account o wallet number when you want to transfer money to India. However, the name of the unintended account belongs to a person who shares the same name. In this case, you will need to prove to the bank that the transaction made is wrong. However, like the previous case, the bank can only act as a facilitator.

In each of these cases, the funds that are deposited in the unintended account cannot be returned and given back to you. Once you have initiated the transaction to send money to India, the case is between you and the person you have transferred it to. Such situations normally become worse, if there is a combination of different banks, cities and branches.

However, to prevent such instances from occurring, here a few things you can take care of:

• Take extra effort to check whether the account number and the beneficiary names match appropriately, especially when you remit to India.
  
• Your bank may ask you to type your account number twice. If you happen to put in the wrong account number, the mismatched number will not allow you to proceed further.
  
• If you need to make a wallet transfer, ensure that the wallet you use is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliant.

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Remit to India: How to lessen your financial burden with these tips

Plenty of individuals who have settled or stayed abroad need to remit to India now and then. However, with plenty of options available in the market and each possessing different nuances, how do you choose the option that will suit you the best? Here are some tips that can help assist you:

Look for options that help share fixed fees during remittance

When you remit to India, certain banks or financial institutes offer you the option to choose who pays for the fixed fee cost of the remittance. In this case, either the sender or the receiver can pay for the cost, or share it. With each transfer of funds you make, different fees or costings will be involved. Depending on who’s opting to pay, the sender or the receiver will be responsible for their bank and the intermediate bank’s fees, in addition to the transfer amount and exchange rate.

Get the best rates between Mondays to Fridays

While the financial market may be unpredictable, certain trends can be easily perceived. For example, you will get the best of live exchange rates, if you opt to remit to India, between Monday and Friday. During this time, the international markets are open. On the weekends and public holidays, international markets are less functional, if not closed. At this time, the exchange rates that are quoted are either not live or a close estimate. Thus, there is a high chance that the remittance will be higher than usual.

Opt for the same bank or financial institute that has a branch abroad

When transferring funds from any bank around the world to India, three banks will be involved, namely, your bank, the intermediate bank and the receiver’s bank. Depending on your requirements and the requirements of the receiver, your remittance will become faster, easier and cheaper, if you transfer funds internationally and locally, within the same bank or financial institute. In this way, you also remove the necessity of an intermediate bank and the fees involved. 

Transfer on Mondays or Tuesdays for a quick turnaround time
Plenty of international countries have different conditioning when it comes to remitting to any other destination, such as India. For example, UAE banks are closed on Fridays, whereas most other banks are closed on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Keeping these conditions in mind, it is best to transfer funds on a Monday or Tuesday from your bank or financial account.  As the funds will reach within the week itself, any issue or problem can be clarified within that week itself.

Best time to transfer funds is before 10 am

During the week, most of the international currencies transfer have a cut of time between 10 am and 12 pm GST. In this case, a two-hour margin is advised for transfer processing. This is to certify that there is no missing information required or inconsistencies to be fixed before the transfer takes place. Therefore, if you make your remittance before this time, there is a better chance that it will be processed on the same day.