What is gfid charges?

Axis Bank's Global Financial Institutions Division (GFID) develops and maintains strategic relationships with banks and Financial Institutions (FIs) across the globe. What is Axis Forex Online? Axis Forex Online is a comprehensive solution to all Forex requirements. Learn all about sending and receiving money internationally with Axis Bank. Fish and Wildlife Service, to WWRID, HBDIC, and GFID (Mar. With effect from 1st August 2020, Introduction of Transaction fee and limits as per Easy Savings Scheme for accounts not meeting Product Balance.

A bank or a financial institution charges a spread between the buying and selling price of a foreign currency. For example, if the US dollar trades against the Indian rupee at 75, a bank will sell the dollar to you at 78 and buy the dollar at 72. These spreads can be a hefty 4-5% on what is known as the ‘card rate’ or ‘rack rate’ of the bank. The highest spreads are typically levied by forex agents at airports but spreads are also levied on wire transfers for things like investing in international stocks, transfers for education, gifts or maintenance.

Bank commission

Over and above the spread, a bank will charge a commission. On this commission, a GST of 18% is charged (9% CGST and 9% SGST). Thus, if you are transferring ₹10 lakh to the USA, the bank might charge a commission of ₹500. On top of this, you have to pay GST of 18% which comes to ₹90.

GST on currency conversion

Goods and services tax (GST) becomes payable on currency conversion over and above the GST levied on bank commission. The GST amount is levied on what is called the ‘taxable value’ of the transfer. This taxable value is 1% for transfers up to ₹1 lakh, 0.5% plus ₹1,000 on transfers from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh and 0.1% plus ₹5,500 on transfers above ₹10 lakh, capped at ₹60,000. For example, if you are transferring ₹25 lakh, the taxable value will be ₹5,500+0.1% of ( ₹25 lakh- ₹10 lakh). This comes to ₹7,000. The GST is then levied at 18% on ₹7,000 which comes to ₹1,260. So, let's assume that the bank charged a commission of ₹500 (with GST of 18%) and spread of ₹1 lakh. Adding up the commission, spread and GST, you will end up paying ₹1,01,850 as charges in your transaction of ₹25 lakh. Spread is usually the biggest part of these costs and can be reduced as shown below.

Tax collected at source

Indian residents are allowed to transfer up to $250,000 per year for purposes such as investment in foreign stocks or funds, education, maintenance of relatives and tourism. However, the bank or forex dealer will deduct TCS (tax collected at source) at 5% on transfers of more than ₹7 lakh per annum. This TCS can be set off against other taxes you owe but it becomes an upfront cost to you.

In the case of GST and TCS, there is nothing you can do to reduce them. However, you can work on charges such as currency spread.

Sitashwa Srivastava, founder of Stockal, an international investing platform for Indians, suggests a few methods of reducing your transaction costs.

"First, if you are sending money online, do it in banking hours. Banks tend to have higher spreads outside those hours. Second, call up your relationship manager. You can negotiate a better deal than the prevailing card rate with the concerned bank," he said. Without negotiation, the bank will convert your money as per its standard ‘card rate’, which will usually have high spreads. Srivastava also added that you can shop around for providers. “Smaller banks such RBL or IDFC First or third party transfer agencies like Western Union and Xoom (a Paypal Service) might offer you more competitive rates," he said. Last but not least, according to Srivastava, if you are transferring money for investment in global stocks or bonds, going through a platform might help.

“Platforms like ours have tie-ups with banks, which give preferential rates to our customers," he added.

Viram Shah, chief executive officer of Vested, another international investing platform added that you can only go through non-bank third-party agents for transfers on account of education and travel, among others. These are considered as current account transactions.“If you are investing in international stocks or bonds, you have to go through a bank in India. While withdrawing money also, it has to come to your bank in India," he added.

"The commission and spread change drastically according to the size of the remittance," said Vikas Gupta of Omniscience Capital. “Higher amounts face lower charges and these can be brought down through negotiations with the banker. As a rule of thumb, don't go for international investing through the liberalized remittance scheme (LRS) if you have less than $5,000 to invest," he added.

You can bargain down a bank’s foreign exchange spread and avoid small foreign exchange transfers to keep costs low. Ensure that you factor in the various costs and taxes involved before you make a forex transfer.

Tap on the category links below for the associated return window and exceptions (if any) for returns.

This article will take you through the processes, the charges involved, and the time taken for International money transfer with Axis Bank. In this article you will learn about-

You can receive international funds with Axis Bank through internet banking, demand drafts/ cheques, or wire/ telegraphic transfers.

You can use Axis Bank’s Remit Money platform to transfer funds from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Euro Zone to India. There is no transaction limit on Remit Money¹. It is not necessary for the sender or the receiver of funds to hold an Axis Bank account for using Remit Money. However, you cannot make business payments with Remit Money, the funds can be sent only to individual accounts. You can use Remit Money to transfer funds for self savings, NRI deposits, loans, gifts, donations and more.² You can also check the status of your Remit Money transfer by giving the transaction reference number.

You can deposit any currency denominated DD or cheque issued by any bank and receive Indian rupees against it. To do this, simply visit any Axis bank branch and deposit the DD/ cheque. The beneficiary account as mentioned on the instrument will be credited with the money.³

Alternatively, you can post the DD/ cheque to your Axis bank branch in India with an instruction letter mentioning the details of the beneficiary account. The branch will deposit the money accordingly.

Wire or telegraphic transfers are an easy method to money transfer from anywhere in the world to India. Axis bank uses SWIFT payment network to transfer international funds⁴. Axis bank has tie-ups with over 200 major banks across the world, which help them convert over 40 currencies. There is no limit on the fund transfer amount⁵. To initiate a wire transfer with Axis bank:

There are no charges or fees levied by Axis bank on the transfer amount⁷. The amount displayed on the screen while booking the transfer will be the final payment that the beneficiary will receive. However, the exchange rate given for transfers may not necessarily be the real mid-market rate. Mid-market or the interbank rate is what you see when you check the exchange rates on Google or Reuters at any time. There are no such thing as free transfers, and banks usually charge a hidden markup on the real exchange rate. To know if you are getting the best rates for your international transfers, always compare Wise vs leading banks before making your next transaction.

Axis bank charges 0.25% of INR Value, applicable tax subject to minimum of ₹114.50 (₹100 + Tax) and courier charges ₹56 (₹50+Tax). The correspondent may charge between $11-$17.5 depending on transfer amount. There may also be further charges levied by the drawee bank⁸.

The local bank through which the transfer is made can also levy extra charges for the fund transfer. There could be more hidden fees in exchange rate markups which can burn a hole in your pocket. To save money, you can use Wise which always transfers money at the real exchange rate, with a small upfront fee.

First the funds have to reach the Axis Bank Foreign currency account from your local bank account. Thereafter, the funds will be transferred to the beneficiary account within 48 hours.

You can send money abroad with Axis bank through internet banking for Axis bank account holders, Axis Forex Online for non-Axis bank account holders, or transfer funds at an Axis bank branch.¹²

To transfer funds through internet banking:

The exact amount that will be received by the beneficiary will be displayed on your screen when you initiate the transfer. The internet banking option is available in 100+ currencies. You can transfer funds through internet banking from Monday- Friday between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm.

To use Axis Forex Online¹², you need to-

You can visit your nearest Axis bank branch on working days between 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and submit your fund transfer request. You need to provide verification documents like identity proof, address proof. Once verified, the branch will accept your foreign fund transfer request.

Only 16 currencies can be processed at Axis bank branches - United States Dollars (USD), Great Britain Pounds (GBP), Euro (EUR), Australian Dollars (AUD), Canadian dollars (CAD), Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), Swiss Francs (CHF), Singapore Dollars (SGD), Saudi Riyal (SAR), UAE Dirham (AED), Japanese Yen (JPY), Swedish Krona (SEK), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Danish Kroner (DKK ), Thai Baht (THB), South African Rand (ZAR)

The money transfer depends not only on Axis bank processing time, but also the correspondent bank’s processing time. An SMS confirmation is sent to you once the transfer is complete. If it is not received within 2 working days, you can call Axis bank at 022-33753263 to know the status.¹³

For a hassle free experience of transferring funds to India, consider using Wise, a revolutionary new way of transferring money across borders. The money transfers are always at the real mid-market rate, with a small fee up front. The amount you see on your screen is the amount that the beneficiary receives in their account. There is no such thing as free transfers, but what you won’t see are unfair and hidden fees. Before making your next international transfer, compare Wise vs leading banks and service providers to make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck.

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