'Sending money home' is of special interest to every NRI with family and friends in India.

NRIs remitted nearly $52 billion to India last year, up by 37% from the year before, 2007.

But even after $52 billion dollars remittance later, most NRIs wonder if they are using the right service provider for remitting their money. The following questions listed in order of priority can serve as the guide for answering this:

• Is it safe to use this service?  Is the service provider safe and reliable?
• Is the service efficient? How long will it take before the money reaches its intended destination?
• Is the service easy to use? Can I send it on-line?
• Does the service provider give competitive exchange rates? Should I wait for a few days to get better rates?
• What is the money remittance fee for the transaction

For value of Indian Rupee against dollar and other international currencies on the foreign exchange market (Forex), visit Foreign Exchange Rate Table provided by Entry India.

For safe and fast money transfers and to get the most competitive exchange rates available, we have prepared a list of banks shown on the right.  By clicking on the URLs provided for each, you can either access the remittance service of the bank or directly check exchange rate that it currently offers.

Use the "exchange rate trend" chart provided by Reserve Bank Of India for judging "Should I wait for a few days to send the money?"

As far as we know, this is the only place where you can directly and conveniently compare the remittance services of leading institutions. Spending fifteen minutes on this is likely to save you good amount of money and peace of mind.