When it comes to sending money to India, there are a variety of options open to you. Depending on the financial institution there will be different options available through which you can transfer money. For sending money to India, there are various options like, Cheque, Wire transfer, Bank transfers, International money order, Bank drafts & Cashier cheques, E-mail money transfer and online money transfer service providers.

Why Online Money Transfer is better than the traditional money transfers?

Cheque:Sending a cheque is by far the slowest method for sending money within a country or abroad because it can travel for days and weeks. Cashing the cheque can be delayed because the bank has to verify the deposit, which makes the recipient to pay additional fee for the exchange rate and encashment. Today, this old-fashioned way of sending funds is replaced by various kinds of electronic transfers or online money transfer service providers. You do not need a bank and do not need to sign any papers to withdraw cash from your bank account using your debit or credit card.

Wire Transfer:Wire Transfer is also one of the most common ways of international money transfer. The sender has to go to an institution like bank or other money transfer agencies and send the money. The wire transfer facility collects information from the sender about the recipient and the recipient's bank or some other facility where the money needs to be sent. After the information is acquired from the sender, the sender's institution initiates the wire transfer, and sends the message to the receiving institution. This process of money transfer takes few days, as compared to online money transfer, the process is fast, accurate, safe and convenient.

International Money Order:Many people working abroad also prefer to send money via International money orders to remote places in India. The money orders needs to be deposited into the bank account or can also be cashed at many cheque cashing locations. Most of them require an ID to cash the cheques. However, this process of transferring and receiving money is stressful and requires lot of patience. There are times when the money order reaches late and the person is suppose to visit the bank to encash or deposit the cheque after receiving money order. But when you use an online money transfer provider for online money transfer to India, you just need to sign up, add the receiver and the receiving bank account details and transfer the amount without any hassle, from anywhere and anytime.

Bank Drafts and Cashier's Cheque:Bank Drafts and Cashier's Cheque are available at any bank. There is a fee associated with these services and it may take some time to cash the checks in India. The cost of purchasing a bank draft is higher than money order. This form of money transfer is traceable in case checks or drafts don't reach the destination. However, the procedure of online money transfer to India is quick, because it requires few clicks only to send money to India which can be completed from anywhere and anytime.

E-mail Money Transfer:E-mail money transfer is an online money transfer. It is like bank to bank transfer but here the sender need not have the receiver's bank information. The sender has to log on to his bank's website and fill a form. The form does not ask for too many details and the sender has to give the receiver's e-mail id and answer a security question. The sender shares the answer to the security question only with the receiver. An e-mail is sent by the bank to the receiver and in order to validate his identity the receiver has to answer the security question correctly. If he does answer correctly, he will be forwarded to his bank's website, asked for the details of his account, and complete the transaction. This process takes a day if the receiver's bank is in the list provided by the sender's bank. If not, then the transaction takes 3-5 days. But online money transfer service is easy and the receiver do not need to follow any steps like visiting bank physically or any other money transfer agencies.

Online Money Transfer:Online Money Transfer is the best and the easiest way to send money. All you need is an internet connection and use of local banking services to transfer money to an account in India. You will need information including the name and address of the account holder or the recipient, information about the financial institution the money is being sent to, and the IFSC code of the recipient bank. This method is especially recommended if you do regular transfer of funds. You can avoid the steep banking charges and the transaction can be done from the comfort of your home.

Having more choice is always good news. The mode of transfer depends on the sender's priorities like speed of transfer, amount of money transferred, whether the money transfers are regular or one-time transfers, cost of transfers, and the receiver's convenience. Finally, the sender and the receiver have to communicate well to decide on the best way to send money.