Per the World Bank Remittances data, India has the highest amount of remittance inflow from around the world which was almost $83 billion in 2020. This inflow is an exponential rise as shown in the chart below.
The increase in immigration to Australia, brought the country’s population to 25.69 million by 2020; the population of India also grew from 2.3% to 2.8% from 2019 to 2020. Reflecting the growth of population in Australia, Australian dollar (AUD) remittances to India have grown every year. In 2019, more than $1.9 billion was remitted to India from Australia through a variety of ways.
Intermediary charges for transferring AUD to Indian Rupee (INR) vary from 1% — 6%, depending upon the channel and platform, which certainly indicates that hundreds of millions of dollars are being paid as a service charge by customers to remit the amount. Most platforms are still operated through local banks for international remittances which often have hidden fees, inconsistent exchange rates, and intermediary service charges.
In this article, we will compare the pros and cons of different types of remittance service providers, including innovation blockchain startups and fintech firms, to further explore the best option for your cross-border remittance considering fees, rates, and speed.
Send INR from Australia via crypto platforms: Swiyftx, Binance, XREX, and more
Over the past year, the cryptocurrency market cap has grown to $2.6 trillion. Numerous crypto exchanges, smart contracts, and Defi applications were launched that empowered millions of people to trade, preserve liquidity, and grow their digital assets.
One of the best solutions that crypto offers is cross-border money transfer which is highly economical, efficient, secure, and well-documented over blockchain networks. Due to the availability of high amounts of liquidity and the growth of fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, many centralized and decentralized platforms are able to create alternative options for cross-border money transfers.
A list of crypto exchanges that support AUD and INR for cross-border remittance purposes is provided below along with their benefits and drawbacks:
An important thing to notice is that to support fiat currency and partner with banks for on- and off-ramps, a crypto exchange must comply with a certain level of anti-money laundry (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) policies. For example, XREX supports INR deposits and withdrawals, and also provides US dollar (USD) access. This indicates XREX’s compliance and security meet international standards to serve cross-border transactions, and are able to partner with global banking partners.
Though not all exchanges support both AUD and INR, crypto transactions take only a few minutes under normal situations. Users can set up accounts on multiple platforms to deposit AUD, buy USDT or other cryptocurrencies, and send to another crypto exchange — then convert to INR and withdraw to the bank account directly. It costs only a minimal fee and it’s fast and secure.
For example, users can deposit AUD to Digital Surge or Swyftx to buy USDT, and withdraw USDT to XREX or WazirX, and directly convert to INR. It’s fast, convenient, and affordable.
Using blockchain and crypto for global remittance is getting more mature and common. Blockchain-based companies such as Ripple and Wyre are already globally ramping up the speed of money transfer. By adopting such power, heads of companies like VISA and MasterCard, which have almost 3 billion users combined, are considering merging their underlying tech with Blockchain. This can boost the adoption of cryptocurrencies that provide highly secured, non-custodial transfers at high speed and low costs.
Send money via fintech platforms: Remitly, Wise, Western Union, and more
Compared to sending funds via blockchain and cryptocurrency, many are more familiar with fintech platforms such as Remitly, Wise, Western Union, etc.
A list of money transfer services that are famously used in Australia to transfer money to India is provided below along with their benefits and drawbacks:
All the above platforms are operated through the SWIFT network, which is linked through bank accounts alongside enabling fintech platforms on which users can operate online without visiting the storefront in person.
As shown on the chart, transfer fees on fintech platforms mentioned above remain quite similar even when transferring in small sizes, for example, $200 AUD. This makes the system not economical. The most economic transfer of money can only be obtained when the transfer amount is over $10,000. Additionally, exchange rates for these platforms have a significant difference from values shown on global platforms such as xe.com or Google prices. Transfer time for less traded currencies can take longer periods: from two to five working days.
A sad truth is that fintech companies like PayPal, Wise, and Remitly have solved a part of the problems in global remittance, but not completely. The need for a secure, efficient, and affordable global remittance service creates space for new technologies and startups to solve this common challenge together, such as blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Conclusion
To many overseas professionals, it has been a real challenge to send hard-earned money home for their families or other urgent needs, no matter if funds come from Australia to India, or between the other two countries.
New technologies continuously bring new options and solutions, such as fintech and cryptocurrency. Today, there are so many choices to send funds from Australia to India that you may feel a bit lost. This is where this article comes in to help you compare different solutions to get the best rates, lowest fees, fewer risks, and more efficiency.