How to Send Money Abroad/Overseas from NRE or Resident Bank Account - [Online Outward Repatriation]

You can send money abroad on your overseas savings account from an NRE account in India. You can do this both online from the comfort of your office or home and offline from any branch of your bank. This is also known as repatriation or outward remittance. Almost all banks in India, both private sectors e.g. HDFC bank, ICICI, Kotak, YESBANK, Citibank, and public sector banks like SBI, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, and others provide an online facility in their net banking website to transfer money to your overseas account.

Remember, you cannot send money abroad from India using a Money agent, you need to use Bank accounts, Demand drafts, or bank cheques only. There is also a limit of maximum money a resident Indian can send abroad, currently around 250,000 USD per year.

But, for NRIs with an NRE account, there is no such limit. NRI can also send money from an NRO account but there is a limit of 1M USD per year as well and you need to pay your taxes before you transfer money from an NRO account to abroad.

Btw, If you are looking to send money abroad consider TransferWise. It’s a great tool for sending and receiving money internationally with low fees — much cheaper than using your local bank. You can also get your own local bank account details in Europe, the UK, the US, Australia, and New Zealand with the TransferWise Borderless account

Btw, If you are sending a large amount of money, I suggest you check the CurrencyFair website which generally offers a much better exchange rate, and also the first 3 transfer is free for all new customers. If you want to avail of this here is the link to get the first 3 free transfer money from overseas including UK, USA, and Australia.

Important points about Repatriation from NRE Account

There are some important points you should remember while transferring money overseas from your NRE saving account. This is mainly for HDFC bank but other banks also have a similar rule. You should check out for exact rules on your bank website.

1, Minimum amount

The minimum amount for online repatriation is INR 5000/- and the request will be rejected if the amount of repatriation is below 5000/- INR.

2. Maximum amount

The maximum amount for online repatriation is INR 10,00,000/- per Customer ID per day and the request will be rejected if the amount of repatriation is above 10,00,000/- INR.

3. Processing time

The NRE repatriation request received through Net Banking will be processed within 2 working days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, Indian public holidays, International currency holidays. In case the repatriation request is not processed within the prescribed TAT (i.e. 2 days from the date of receiving the request).

4. Beneficiary

The NRE funds can be repatriated only to the customers’ own/self-account abroad. The beneficiary name has to be the same as the name of the account holder. Repatriation of funds to a third party is not allowed under this option. The request will be rejected in case of any mismatch in the name of the account holder and beneficiary name.

5. Type of Account

Outward repatriation of funds under this option has to be done from the NRE savings accounts only. The request will not be processed if the debit account selected, is PIS/PMS or any other account other than the NRE account.

6) Exchange rate
The given ‘Forex Rates ( TT selling rate)’ are the indicative rates for today. The forex rates prevailing at the time of processing the repatriation request will be applied.

7) Repatriation Charges
Applicable charges and taxes for outward repatriation will be deducted from the NRE Savings accounts. In the case of insufficient funds in the NRE account towards the recovery of the said charges and taxes, the repatriation request will be rejected. Hence, you are required to maintain sufficient funds in the NRE account to avoid rejections.

Charges towards outward repatriation
Outward Repatriation Charges Up to USD 500 or equivalent - Rs. 500 + applicable service tax and education cess

Above USD 500 or equivalent -
Rs. 1000 + applicable service tax and education cess.

8) Foreign Bank Details
Please Note:-
For all GBP remittances - 6 Digits SORT code of Beneficiary Bank in the UK is required.
For all EUR remittances – IBAN No. of Beneficiary is mandatory.
For all AUD remittances - 6 digits BSB No. of Beneficiary Bank is required.
For all CAD remittances – the Bank code and Transit No. for Beneficiary Bank is required.


9) Caution
The customer has to ensure that the beneficiary account number and other details entered are correct. Your bank may not be in the position to validate a different bank account number and is not responsible for funds transferred/status confirmation to an unintended recipient.

Limit if you are sending money to abroad from Resident Account

You can also send money to the foreign country to your family members or friends or for any other legal purpose, but there is a limit imposed as shown in the following diagram. Under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) it's around 250K USD per year.

For Axis Bank Customers

Axis bank is offering gifts for  Outward Remittance, I receive an email suggesting that outward remittance via Axis bank will give you a "Provogue Duffel Bag or Backpack!", though the offer is only for a limited time and ends on 30th June.

Benefits of Outward Remittance via Axis Internet Banking:

• Remit to over 150 countries in more than 100 currencies
• Transfer money instantly
• Transfer up to USD 25,000 or its equivalent
• Send money for 5 major purposes: Family Maintenance, Education, Medical, Employment, Visa Fees, and Repatriation from NRE Account

For ICICI Bank Customers

ICICI bank also launched Money2World which enables resident Indians to send money abroad using internet banking. Resident Indians who have ICICI Bank accounts can simply log in to Internet Banking using their login ID and password and click on the Fund Transfer Abroad tab to initiate money transfers overseas.

Some advantages of using these services are:

• No new registration required for availing of this service
• Earn reward points for debits from your Savings Account towards Outward Remittance under MySavings Rewards
• Transfer requests can be made for both, Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) and non-LRS purposes
• Offered in 16 currencies
• Place transfer requests anytime anywhere
• Track your transfer

That's all about how to transfer money Overseas from the NRE Saving account in India. This is also known as online repatriation from the NRE account.  Most banks both the public and private sector allow you to send money abroad from your internet banking account, especially if you have an NRE account. 

Even if you don't then also you can send money abroad but depending upon the amount you probably need to inform the government as they are not freely repatriable money, but money in the NRE account is freely repatriable and you can just transfer to abroad.  

P. S. - If you are looking to send money abroad consider TransferWise. It’s a great tool for sending and receiving money internationally with low fees — much cheaper than using your local bank. You can also get your own local bank account details in Europe, the UK, the US, Australia, and New Zealand with the TransferWise Borderless account

P. S. S. - If you are sending a large amount of money, I suggest you check the CurrencyFair website which generally offers a much better exchange rate, and also the first 3 transfer is free for all new customers. If you want to avail of this here is the link to get the first 3 free transfer money from overseas including the UK, USA, and Australia.