Remittances to India increase by 400% as Diwali approaches

India has topped the list for the amount of remittance money received every year since 2006. According to Jake Holloway, Head of E-commerce at Xendpay, UK’s fast-leading specialist provider of international payments, “During the time of Diwali, October and November, the number of money transfers sent to India increases when compared to that sent at other times by a staggering 400% as we typically have seen over the years.” 

There are currently an estimated 930 million Hindus in the world, with approximately 81% of the 1.2 billion population of India practicing Hinduism and therefore celebrating Diwali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Fiji, with time allowed away from work to celebrate with family and friends and Diwali also marks the start of the financial year in India.

Diwali is a celebration associated with fortune and prosperity and is the largest shopping and gift giving festival in India. In addition to buying gifts, many people choosing to send money to their loved ones when living overseas. There are approximately 29 million Indian people living outside of India, with over 10 million Indians living in other Asian nations, and roughly 11 million living in Europe and the Americas. This means that there is a very large demand for people sending gifts and money to their friends and family back in their home country. When sending money, a currency exchange will be required in order to change the sent currency to Indian Rupees. Using a foreign exchange service like Xendpay is the best way to save money when sending money to India for Diwali. Customers can send as little as £25 and their money can be sent the next day.

Xendpay  also offers excellent INR exchange rates, 0% commission and a fee free option for sending money always available. Xendpay is a new way of transferring money around the world that dramatically cuts the cost of sending payments to friends, families and business interests globally. Part of the award-winning RationalFX umbrella brand, Xendpay helps customers to send as much as 7.5% more for the same amount of Pound Sterling, compared to other high-street money transfer outlets. Authorised by the FSA, Xendpay’s consumer-to-consumer online payment system allows customers to send up to £2,500 at a time, 24/7.  

Online in eight languages covering English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Polish and Chinese (traditional and simplified), Xendpay is one of the most cost effective and easy-to-use service options for money transfers as there are no agents or branches to pay for the service. Money is transferred using least-cost routing and the exchange rates are extremely competitive due to the wholesale currency rates that Xendpay obtains on the currency markets.

Xendpay successfully buys its currency in bulk, so savings are passed directly to the consumers and transfers are completely ‘fee free’. This means that whereas most money sending bureaus and banks will add a transfer fee of around £15 to £40 on each transaction made, Xendpay charges nothing for an online standard transfer (5-7 days) and only £9.99 for an online express transfer.  Business customers can also benefit from the service by upgrading for free to Xendpay+ to efficiently transfer payments over the value of £2,500.