Money transfer to India

• Personal Checks
• Cashier's Checks
• Foreign Currency Bank Drafts
• Wire Transfers
• Western Union and MoneyGram

There are multitudes of reasons that you may want to send money back home, like to help out a family member or send a birthday gift. But what are your money transferring options? It can be confusing for even the most seasoned world traveler, with exchange rates fluctuating and electronic options right and left. Here are the basics.

Let's start with the obvious - if you have a checking account here in the USA, why not simply mail a personal check to your family at home? You can send your check across the ocean, but it can be a confusing situation for the person on the receiving end. The check they receive is in U.S. dollars, so it's up to them to exchange it into their home currency.This can be a costly prospect. Sending a check is also not the safest route - anyone who ends up holding the check can attempt to cash or exchange it.

In the USA, a cashier's check is safer than a personal check. When someone gives you a personal check, you cannot be completely sure that their account holds the funds to pay that check. A cashier's check is a safe check - in order to get one, you must go directly to the bank and hand them the amount of cash you want the check to be worth. The bank types up the check, writing in the receiver's name. For example, if you were selling something that was worth a significant amount of money, like a car, you may want to ask the buyer to pay with a cashier's check to be certain that the check is good.

So another option is to send a cashier's check overseas, possibly by Federal Express or another mail system that would allow you to trace it if the package was lost. But as with sending a personal check, a cashier's check would be in U.S. Dollars, and the same problems occur.

A foreign currency bank draft is basically a cashier's check in a foreign currency. You send a draft by requesting to do so at any bank branch. You can either pay the money up front, like with a cashier's check, or the amount can be drafted directly out of your account. The bank will request the receiver's name and address. Drafts are mailed, so the amount of time that this takes depends on the mail system and country of destination. European countries may be reached in a relatively short amount of time, while India can take a few weeks.

For the receiver, a draft is quite simple. It's mailed to the receiver like any other check and can be deposited into his account. With appropriate identification, he also has the option to cash the draft at any bank. The receiver does not have to have a bank account to cash the draft, but he will need proper identification.

The cost to send a draft is usually approximately $15. So if time is not an issue, a foreign currency bank draft is an inexpensive, safe solution.

The fastest and safest way to send money overseas is by wire transfer. You can send a transfer at any bank branch, again by drafting your account or paying cash up front. In general, the receiver needs to have a bank account in the foreign country. You'll need to know the person's name, account number, bank name and where the bank is located.

In some circumstances, you would be able to send a transfer to someone who does not have a bank account. Different countries and banks have varying regulations on this. For the safest bet, if the person does not have a bank account, mail a draft to them directly, or consider Western Union or MoneyGram, listed below. Otherwise ask your bank for more specific details based on the country and bank.

Wire transfers are fast - depending on the country, it takes two to three days on average. Some smaller banks in countries like India and Bangladesh, however, can hold transfer money for a few weeks, so be sure to ask about the timeframe when placing your transfer. The cost is $30 if sending foreign currency - which is the most common - and $40 sending U.S. currency. Sending a transfer in U.S. dollars can also slow down the process.

Transfers normally take just a few days, but can vary based on the country. The price can also fluctuate depending on location, but it's usually approximately $15 for the first $100, and $7 per additional $100. MoneyGram bills itself as "always costing less than Western Union." Each company offers additional services - some at a cost, and some free of charge - like direct delivery or a phone call to tell the receiver that the transfer has come through. Check their Web sites for further details.

These companies are convenient because neither you nor the receiver needs to have a bank account, and Western Union's online service is easy to use. This route can, however, be more expensive than using a bank.