Sending money back to India using WISE

The cost of sending money home is almost never the fee you are quoted. It is the exchange rate, and Belgian banks quietly add a margin to theirs. Comparing on the visible fee is exactly the mistake the pricing is designed to encourage.

Why the rate matters more than the fee

A bank may charge a modest transfer fee and then apply an exchange rate two or three percent worse than the real one. On a €5,000 transfer that margin is far larger than any fee, and it does not appear on the confirmation as a charge — it is simply fewer rupees at the other end.

The mid-market rate is the one you see on Google or Reuters, with no margin added. Services that use it and charge a stated fee are almost always cheaper than a bank, and always easier to compare.

Using Wise

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is what most people in this community end up using. It applies the mid-market rate, states the fee separately, and shows the total before you commit.

• Transparent — the full cost, and the exact amount arriving, before you pay.
• Quick — usually within 24 hours to an Indian bank account, sometimes near-instant.
• Flexible funding — bank transfer, debit or credit card. Bank transfer is cheapest; cards carry their own fee.
• Multi-currency account — hold EUR and INR in one place, which is genuinely useful if you send money regularly or are leaving Belgium and want an account that outlives your Belgian one.

How a transfer goes

1. Enter the amount and the currencies.
2. Choose how the recipient gets it — bank account is standard.
3. Check the total cost and the amount arriving, both shown before you pay.
4. Fund it from your Belgian account.

Before a large transfer

• Check the Indian side. Large inbound transfers may need documentation from your bank in India; find out before you send, not after.
• Split very large amounts if you are moving savings permanently — it keeps you inside per-transaction limits and makes any query easier to answer.
• Watch the rate over a week. On a serious sum, a percentage point of EUR/INR movement is worth more than every fee in this article combined.