Send money to India: Tips to ensure a smooth and stress free money transfer

The advent of globalization in the 90s reduced the economic barriers between the countries. With the passage of time more and more business companies and other organizations extended their market internationally. This opened up the doorway to more number of individuals working abroad. At present, many people get jobs in foreign lands and many more frequently need to go outside the country for work purposes. This has made money transfer more important than ever. You may need to send money to India from abroad to your family or you may need to do so for business purposes. Whatever the reason maybe, the following tips can help you ensure a smooth money transfer from abroad:

• Plan ahead- Planning ahead is a good way to ensure that you minimize the costs. You can research about the different methods and shops that are used for money transfer and select the one best suited to your needs. You can opt for electronic transfers as it is one of the most efficient and appealing way to transfer money. Another cost effective choice is opening an account in an international bank. This will allow you to make intra-bank transfers and hence reduce your costs.

• Know about the fees- Having the knowledge about the fees charged by the brokers, banks or money transfer shops will help you save your hard earned money from unnecessary expenses. Charges are usually made on percentage basis. So knowing about them beforehand will help you prevent them from eating up the funds you transfer. For instance, money transfer in smaller denominations cost much more on a percentage basis. Proper knowledge about this will help you take decisions wisely and hence, save your funds.

• Know the Exchange rate- You should know about the exchange rates in order to minimize the cost of your money transfers. Keeping an eye on the current exchange rates can help you pick out favorable time of sending money to India.

• Limit use of Instant Transfers- Limit the use of instant transfers to only during emergencies. These are the type of money transfers that costs the most.

So you should try and keep its usage to the minimum, only for times when you need to send money to India quickly on an urgent basis.
These are some of the tips that can help you have a smooth money transfer when you need to send money to India. It will save your funds from unnecessary expenses and ensure that you experience a stress free money transfer.

Why do you need mobile banking apps today

In recent times, with the quick pace of developments in technology, the world experienced a sudden surge in the field of mobile applications. The number of mobile apps available to the public has increased at an enormous rate. It has touched almost all the sectors, from food and lodging to travel and tourism. One of the sectors where this technology has brought a revolution is banking. Today most people are using mobile banking apps in their daily life for various banking activities. If you are still untouched by the phenomenon of mobile banking then you should consider the following things:

• Easy Anytime Access- In the older days, banking was only limited to the office hours when a bank was actually open. You had to go to a bank for performing any kind of banking activities. Apart from this, making transactions or doing any banking activity on public holidays was not possible. The introduction of mobile banking has done away with all these problems. With a mobile banking app you can perform your banking activities at any time, any day even if the bank is not open. It also doesn’t require you to go to the bank and you can make your transactions from any place using your smartphone.

• No Extra Charges- One of the great things about using mobile banking apps is that it is absolutely free. There are no hidden costs or charges that you need to worry about before getting and using a mobile banking app. You just need to download your bank’s app from the play store and then you can use it.

• Security- It is one of the most secure banking options available in today’s date. Using the app is said to be safer than internet banking. These apps have advanced encryption technologies that protect your data from any malware or outside interference. No data is downloaded or stored in either the phone or the SIM card.

• Varieties of Services- Mobile banking apps provide you with the accessibility to a variety of banking services. It lets you perform transactions, check the transaction history, gives you bill payment alerts, minimum balance alerts, debit or credit alerts and also provides account balance inquiry facility. The number of services you can have access to is also increasing with time as technology advances.

Therefore, having a mobile banking app is really a must in today’s time. You can enjoy lots of benefits and also save time by using these apps. It will provide you with a safe and free alternative to the traditional banking methods and will make your banking experience easier.

Reasons why you need an offshore bank account today

An offshore bank account is an account held by a resident of a country in a foreign land. This means that the account is not in your country of residence but is located in another country, generally having a low tax structure. The concept of having an offshore bank account gained popularity after the 1934 Swiss Banking Act. This act barred the bank employees or the bank authority in general from revealing details of any account holder to any government or agency. This urged the public to look into opening accounts in banks outside their own country to enjoy greater benefits. Following are the reasons why you should consider opening an offshore bank account immediately:

• Political Risk Dilution- One of the biggest threats to your savings can be the policies of your own government. The government may decide to increase bank deposit taxes like in Spain, or introduce capital controls like in Iceland. These measures can be taken up by the government to get more funds if they fail to meet their own financial requirements. Having offshore accounts reduces this risk as you can have savings outside your government jurisdiction.

• Currency Diversification- Offshore accounts can also act as a means to internationalize your savings. This means that you can hold your savings in foreign currencies in this type of accounts. It provides protection to your purchasing power and also diversifies your portfolio risk which is the risk related to each investment.

• High Interest Rates- The interest rates of all the commercial banks in a country are almost the same. There is not much variation among these interest rates. But if you decide to open an offshore bank account then your range of options increases multifold. You can then choose a bank provides you with higher interest rates.

• Secure Medical Care Abroad- Having an offshore account will ensure that you have access to your savings at all times. In case of medical emergencies where you may need to go abroad, it will save you the hassle of having to transfer funds from your home country for payment. You can easily use the savings in your offshore accounts for this purpose.

So, if you have one or more offshore accounts it will certainly prove beneficial for you in the long run. It will provide you benefits like high interest rates, save your savings from high tax rates and would also ensure medical and financial security in any case of emergency.

Do you know these secrets about Mutual Fund Investments?

Mutual funds are investment schemes that are professionally managed by banks or asset management companies. These companies or banks take deposits from the public and invest their money in bonds, shares and other securities. Investment in mutual funds is a great way to earn good returns in the long run. All mutual funds are registered with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) which is the regulatory body for securities market in India. There are many companies and banks that offer lucrative mutual funds investment schemes. However, there are some secrets about mutual fund investments that you must know before you invest your hard earned money in it:

• Truth about top performing funds- A common trend of investing or a common investment strategy followed by mutual funds investors is to invest in best performing funds. They tend to pick out the top bunch of funds looking at the past performance records and invest in those funds only. This is not an efficient strategy as the stock market is ever changing and every company suffers ups and downs. You should not invest in any fund solely on the basis of their previous records.

• Fund management charges- The truth about fund management charges is one fact about mutual fund investments that most investors are not aware of. The very low expense ratio of about one percent is one of the most misleading truths. Investors tend to think of it as one percent of the profit they earn when in reality it is one percent of their profits and their total investment capital. This makes up for a large sum of money that has to be paid as fees for managing mutual funds.

• Disguise of actively managed funds- Aggressive investors prefer to invest in actively managed funds based on their performance. Actively managed funds are costlier than index funds, that is, their fund management fees is a lot more as compared to index funds. However, these funds are nothing but index funds in disguise under fancy names. This leads to investors spending way more in fund management fees in comparison to the returns they get.

• ETFs are better- Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) have more liquidity than mutual funds. They can also be sold at real time rates at the stock exchange, that is, they can be traded at currently existing market prices. On the other hand mutual funds can only be bought or sold at closing NAV prices. This makes ETFs a better investment option than mutual fund investments.

These are some of the major secrets about mutual fund investments that most of the investors are unaware of. If you are well informed regarding the truth of these secrets it will prove to beneficial for you while investing in mutual funds.

How can an NRI benefit from the NRE account

In banking terminology, an NRE account stands for Non-Resident External account. It is an account meant for Indians who are not residents of the country, that is, the NRI. In India, NRIs cannot hold resident savings account as it is deemed illegal according to the regulations set up by FEMA. You can suffer huge penalties if you are an NRI and continue to use resident savings account. That is why you either need to convert your existing account into an NRE account or open a new NRE account. There are several benefits an NRI can enjoy from having an NRE account, such as:

Ease of opening account- It is very easy to open an NRE account. Anyone residing abroad can easily open it. You just need to fill up an application form online, take a printout of it and then courier it along with a self attested copy of all the required documents to the bank in India.

Investment of overseas earning- Having an NRE account allows you to invest your overseas earning in India. You can save your earnings in it and you can then invest them in India at a later point of time.
Joint Account- A key feature of this type account is that you can open it with another NRI as a joint holding account.

Repatriable funds- The funds accrued in an NRE account are repatriable. Both the principle and interest are fully repatriable.
High rate of interest- It gives you high interest rates on savings account as well as on fixed deposit accounts.

Tax benefits- There are no tax levied on the interest earned in NRE accounts. The interest earned on both savings account and fixed deposit accounts are not taxable. This is one of the major benefits of NRE accounts, and hence one of the biggest reason why you should open one if you are an NRI.

Low minimum balance- Another key feature of this type of account is the low minimum balance required to open an account. You do not need to deposit huge amounts as some banks allow you to open an NRE account with a deposit as low as ten thousand rupees.

So, if you are an NRI it is a good idea to have an NRE account. It can act as a place where you can deposit your overseas earning and get good interest on it without having to worry about taxes. It also provides you investment options and you can easily convert all your foreign earnings into domestic currency when you visit the country.

All you need to know about UPI Payment

UPI or Unified Payment Interface as it stands for, is an app or a payment system launched by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that allows you to transfer money between any two bank accounts using your smartphone. The things that you need to know about this relatively new banking feature are as follows:

What can you do with it?
UPI is an app that allows you, the customer, to make payments from one bank account to both online and offline merchants. It saves you from going through the hassle of giving things like IFSC codes, net banking passwords, credit card details.

How to get it?
You can download the UPI app on your smartphone from the Google Play Store. At present, about twenty banks have launched their UPI apps on the Play Store.

What do you need to start using it?
To use this new feature launched by NPCI the first thing you need is a bank account. Then all you need to do is download the app on your smartphone from the Play Store and then install it. You need to set the app login, create a virtual address, add your bank account, set the M-pin and then you are ready to use it.

Is it safe?
UPI payment is a completely safe and secure mode of transaction as it shares only a virtual address created by you and does not provide any other sensitive information.

What transactions can you make using UPI?
You can use this feature of UPI payment to perform various transactions like bill payments, remittances, and merchant payments.

What is the transaction limit?
 You can make a money transfer up to Rs 1 lakh per transaction through UPI.

How to make a transaction?
The payment transaction using UPI is very simple. For the goods and services purchased online, you can make in–app payments. You just need to click on the buy option of any site or app and it will automatically trigger the link for UPI payment. Then you just need to verify the transaction details and enter a secure PIN to complete the transaction.

These are all the necessary information you need to know about UPI payment that was recently launched by the NPCI. It is a new feature in the sector of banking and making online payments in our country. It has not only made payment transactions easier but has also made it more secure and safe. You can now make UPI based payments in offline stores across the country instead of making cash payments.

What are the best investment options you can consider for a high returns?

The basic objective of investment is the need to obtain financial security. The general view of people is that they can earn more money if they work more. But you need to put in a lot of time and effort for gaining financial security if you are following this idea. This is where investment comes in. The concept of investment is to maximize your earning potential by making your money work for you. There are several investment plans that can help you get high returns. Some of the prominent and best investment options for high returns are:

• Mutual Funds- Investing in mutual funds is among the best investment plans that will give you high returns. It is a popular market choice that is guaranteed to give good returns in the long run. You can invest in mutual funds with an amount that is as low as five hundred rupees.

• Public Provident Funds (PPF) - It is one of the safest investment options that can give you good returns in the long run. Investing in PPF will lock your money for certain time duration in your PPF bank account or post office account but will provide you with tax free withdrawals.

• Company Fixed Deposits- Investing in Company FD schemes can be beneficial as it offers higher interest rates in comparison to bank FDs. You can use a fixed deposit calculator and plan your investment period accordingly.  It gives higher returns in the long run because once you invest in Company FD you are allowed to withdraw money from it only after the maturity period. This is why using an fd calculator before investing is a good idea.

• Real Estate- Investing in real estate is one of the best decisions you can make. It is a rapidly growing sector in the country. The biggest feature of this sector is the low risk of losing your capital as the rate of property tend to go up in very short periods of time.

• Shares or stocks- It is one of the most popular investment options. It gives high returns in a short period of time but also carry higher risks. You should research and analyze the stock or share if you plan on investing in it. Proper planning can yield high returns in long run.

• Post Office Schemes- It is a safe and secured investment scheme that can give you high returns. It has monthly income plans suitable for salaried employees and retired people with regular income. You can use fd calculators to know and plan your investment accordingly.

• Tax free bonds- Investing in tax free bonds is a good option for you if you are worried about taxes on high returns. It provides you good rates of return and you don’t have to worry about paying tax for it.
These are some of the best investment options that you can consider for high returns. You can opt for investing in any one of these options like real estate. You can also invest in multiple of these options like shares as well as Company FD using fixed deposit calculators to plan your investment properly and get high returns. Proper planning and a little bit of research before investment will ensure you good returns in the long run.