Thursday 28 April 2016

NRI Banking - What is NRI (Non-Resident Indian Bank Account) Banking?

Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have carved a niche for themselves in many parts of the globe as successful entrepreneurs, professionals like doctors and engineers, teachers, artists and in many other professions. NRI Banking services provide a banking and wealth management platform that caters exclusively to the evolving needs and requirements of successful NRIs. Here, we will try and summarize the wealth management expectations of NRIs:

Wide-ranging product availability
A broad selection of wealth management options including equities, bonds, commodities, cash bonds, mutual funds, structured notes, hedge fund investments and equity-linked products and research and market information services that can deliver global insights.

Lifestyle privileges
Offering insights into the latest trends in luxury living, being invited to exclusive cultural and entertainment shows and wealth management seminars are some of the lifestyle privileges that NRIs look forward to from their banking partner.

Global access and banking convenience
A significant portion of NRIs are globetrotters either working or having business at different international locations. They would like to access their private banking / wealth management accounts from anywhere across the world, at anytime, preferrably through secure digital channels like Internet Banking or Mobile Banking.

Global banking convenience would also mean being able to access a wide network of banking business centres and ATMs worldwide from where they can access and conduct banking transactions easily. A globally accessible phone banking channel would also be an advantage.

Exclusive banking offers
Providing exclusive banking offers acts as a magnet for NRI customers. Examples could include annual fee waivers on credit cards, complimentary global fund transfers, preferential pricing on transactional services and traditional banking products, enhanced rewards programs etc.

Linked access to banking facilities in India
Many NRIs still have binding ties with India including banking and financial relationships. A wealth management provider who can provide easy link-up access to their banking account in India would be preferred to a provider who cannot.
A number of banks have come up with exclusive services to target this segment. In fact, ATMs and relationships to provide high-end access to their NRI Banking wealth management customers.


Wednesday 13 April 2016

NRI Banking – (NRE or NRO Savings Account) which one NRI should open?

NRE or NRO savings account, which should I open is first doubt comes in mind of any Non Resident Indian (NRI), who wants to open saving accounts in India on Indian banks l and several other public sector banks which offer this facility. NRE and NRO are two kinds of accounts any NRI can open in India, NRE stands for Non Resident External while NRO stands for Non Resident Ordinary account, though both can be hold by Indians there are many differences between them and based upon your need you need to choose to open either NRE or NRO account in India. Almost all major banks both public sector and private sector allows NRI Indian to open both NRE and NRO account. 

Difference between NRE and NRO account for NRI Indians


Now let's see some differences between NRI and NRO account in India 

1) First difference between NRE and NRO account is how you deposit money. Only foreign currency can be deposited into NRE account while you can deposit Indian rupees in NRO account. 

2) Interest rates on NRE and NRO accounts could differ currently many banks provide almost same interest rates on NRE and NRO accounts 

3) Another significant difference between NRE and NRO account is that Money in NRE account is tax free while its taxable in NRO account, if you are maintaining any NRI fixed deposit in your NRE account than both interest and principle are tax free while in case of NRO account interests are taxable. 

4) If you are generating money from rents than you need to have an NRO account because INR currency cannot be deposited into NRO account. 

5) Once money is in your NRE account you can transfer Indian Rupees (INR) to other accounts in India including NRO accounts. IF you are thinking to open NRE or NRO accounts choose banks which has better customer support and net banking facilities. 

6) If you want to send money abroad from India, NRE account can be better choice than NRO account which impose a limit on how much amount you can transfer from India to abroad.

If you are now looking for what is the 
best bank to open NRE and NRO account, please check out that article, it compares three major privates’ banks on various factors which are important for NRI e.g. service, convenience, interest rates and support.

 NRI Banking


Frequently asked Question on NRE and NRO Account:

Here is a list of some of the common doubt among NRI customers related to NRE and NRO account with Indian banks:

1) Can I open both NRE and NRO savings Account in India?
Yes you can open both NRE and NRO Savings account with one name; there is no restriction on that.


2) Does interest earned on NRE and NRO Savings account is Tax Free?
Interest on NRE Savings Account is tax free but on NRO savings account you need to pay tax much like any other saving account in India.


3) Can I open NRE and NRO account in one Bank?
Yes, you can open both NRE and NRO account in same bank. If you already have a resident saving account with any bank

This is what I know about
NRI Banking NRE and NRO account and what difference between them. There could be some more, if you know then please post as comment. This will be a good reference point for any NRI Indians who are looking forward to open NRE or NRO savings account in India. Even if you are thinking to open both NRE and NRO which is a good idea, it’s beneficial to know limitations of your NRO savings account and what operations you can do and which transactions are not possible with NRO or NRE savings account.

Tags: NRI Services, NRI Banking