10 Best Money Transfer Apps in India 2021 (BHIM, Amazon Pay, and more)

Here is a list of the ten most popular money transfer apps in India. Some of them are exclusively for domestic or international transactions, and some of them support both. Choose one based on your needs and parameters.

We have gathered points that you can look for to smoothen your money transferring process. Transfer speed, UPI, Rupay, and more other things that you must check before you access the app. 

Are you looking for an app you can use to pay merchants, transfer money to your family or friends within India? You should make sure that the app you choose supports domestic payments. But, if you think that you might have to do international transactions as well, you can opt for an app that supports both, or else you will have to use different apps.  

It is always wise to choose different apps for domestic and international transactions in India as all the money transfer apps, exclusively for domestic transactions, never charge you any extra money for the transfers, while apps that support both may charge you extra, for example, PayPal.

The new norm in the realm of online money transfer is the Unified Payments Interface, a real-time money transfer/payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India.

The initial setup of connecting your bank account and debit or credit card may take some time, but after that it's just a matter of entering the recipient's UPI id or scanning a QR code, entering the amount, and inputting the security PIN. You don't have to go through the hassle of entering long account numbers and waste time searching for the IFSC codes.

Another reason for this technology's drastic increase in popularity is, you don't have to carry cash or cards everywhere. And more and more merchants are embracing this change and have started displaying their UPI account's QR codes for people to scan and pay them instantly.

Not all money transfer apps come with an international money transfer option. The ones that have will always charge you a fee for transferring money abroad. The fee that they deduct is usually denoted as transfer fees, which include service fees, and in some cases, bank transfer fees too. It all depends on the type of international transfer you do.

If the international recipient does not have the app that you're using to transfer money, you may have to send the money directly to their bank account. In this case, you may have to pay an extra amount as bank transfer fees.

Before opting for an app/service, make sure to check the following: exchange rate, transfer fees, and maximum transfer time. These factors are not the same for every service provider. A lower exchange rate and higher transfer fees will bring down the amount that reaches your recipient's bank account.

Suppose you are sending INR 10,000 to someone through Transferwise, which offers a mid-market exchange rate, the recipient would get INR 9500 worth of US dollar equivalent. But if your choice was an app that offers a fixed exchange rate, the recipient may only get INR 9000 even if there is an increase in the exchange rate during the day.

One more important thing to check before you choose an app for your international transactions is whether that app supports transactions to be carried in that particular country. Some apps support receiving money from a particular country but may not support sending money to the same.

RuPay card was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India for domestic transactions only. You won't be able to use your RuPay card abroad, nor some money transfer apps support linking RuPay cards to your account. So, check the FAQ section of a company's website before you create an account.

One example of a popular money transfer app that doesn't support Rupay Card is Google Pay. You may be able to link your bank account, but when the final step of confirming your debit card details comes, the app will show you an error. So check your app's FAQ section for Rupay Card support before entering your bank details.

Most companies provide you the maximum time it could take for a transaction to get completed. For example, some companies say one day, while others promise to finish the transaction within a few hours. But most of the time, the money will reflect in the recipient's account much quicker. They mention the maximum time so you can plan your business accordingly.

Have you tried sending a parcel? You can choose the shipping speed; the more money you pay, the quicker your parcel reaches the destination. Similarly, some money transfer companies offer you the choice of standard transfer and instant transfer. 

They promise to credit the recipient's bank account faster if you choose the instant payment option and pay more money for that. The extra amount you have to pay differs from one service provider to another.

Digital money wallets became popular right after the UPI technology took over India by storm. The reason being, it is so much faster than even UPI payment. When using a UPI app, you have to enter the secret PIN and wait for the app to connect with the bank and get the transaction done. If the bank servers are down, your transactions will not go through.

The money in your digital wallet can be used directly, as the app doesn't have to connect with the bank servers to complete the transaction. Depending on your app settings, you may not even have to enter a secret PIN. This is beneficial when you are doing bill payments and recharges online.

But keep in mind that transferring money from a digital wallet to a bank account may attract transaction fees. Check your app's FAQ section before moving your money from your digital wallet to a bank account.

Exchange rates and transfer fees are different for different money transfer services. When transferring money abroad, a currency conversion takes place. For example, when you send money from your Indian bank account to an American bank account, rupees gets converted to dollars.

As we all know, the value of currencies all over the world changes constantly. Some money transfer apps only change their exchange rate once a day, while some offer mid-market exchange rate that is based on the buy and sell value of a currency at any point in time. It gets too technical if we explain it further and only end up confusing you. So let us give you an example.

Say, the value of $1 is INR 70 at a particular point in time. And if this is the rate when a money exchange app starts a day, this will be the exchange rate for that currency throughout the day. Even if $1 becomes INR 75, you will not get the benefit of that.

Transfer fees also differ from one app to another. But before you choose a service with low transfer fees, check their transfer speeds too. You may save some money on the transfer fees, but if the transaction takes a full day to complete, it may not be worth it, depending on your needs.

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Online money transfer apps make our life so much easier. As we have talked about in the buying guide, it is always wise to use a separate app for domestic transactions and international transactions to avoid paying unnecessary extra charges.

While choosing an app with a wallet option, check the app's FAQ section to find out the wallet to bank account transfer fees, if any. 

Author - Arun F Xaviour