INR

Overview

This currency is considered to be restricted, which implies an inherent limitation to the tradability of this currency. Fund transfers in this currency are not allowed outside of India.

Besides this limitation, this currency is considered to be complex because of its complex processing.

Currency Guidelines

Besides the standard information, a dedicated country routing code known as the IFSC Code is preferred as best practice in order to ensure the correct processing of the payment through the local clearing.

The IFSC code (Indian Financial System Code) is an alpha-numeric code (eleven digit code) that uniquely identifies a bank-branch participating in the NEFT system (National electronic funds transfer system). The IFSC is used to identify the originating / destination banks / branches and also to route the messages appropriately to the concerned banks / branches in India.

Example of a IFSC code: APMC0000902

In case that the IFSC Code is not provided, the BIC code (branch identifier included, if provided) of the beneficiary’s bank is mandatory. It is also recommended to add the exact branch location to the remittance information.

A clear reason / purpose of payment is mandatory for payments in all currencies towards India and consists of a full written description (in English) of the nature of payment to be provided in the remittance information. For example: providing an invoice number without guiding text is considered as insufficient and can result in errors or delays. To apply funds in India, based on the detailed explanation, three questions must be answered:

What is the Purpose of remittance to identify the relevant regulation/code as per the enclose file
What is the relationship between the Remitter and Beneficiary
Whether the transaction would be repetitive in nature

Example 1: Rent paid to parent for the month of March21

Example 2: Rent paid to employer/non relative for the month of March21

Additionally, a purpose code of payment is mandatory and should be mentioned in the remittance information field. Please note that the purpose code mentioned by the ordering party should match the purpose code provided by the beneficiary. If you are not able to agree beforehand of the purpose code with your beneficiary or you are unsure of the purpose code to use, do not insert a purpose code but make sure to have a detailed free text explanation with the three questions above answered. For the list of purpose code, please take a look at the following Appendix (see Appendix I).

NGOs and individuals receiving charity/donation payments must open a specific account number called a FCRA account. For payments those payments, it is mandatory to instruct New Delhi’s Central Bank branch as the beneficiary bank. Payment will be rejected if the IFSC code or BIC code is not the one of New Delhi’s Central Bank branch. For additionnal details, we suggest you to consult following website.

Additional documentation might be requested for certain type of payments. This additional documentation is called “FIRC” or “e-FIRC” for its electronic equivalent. These documents can only be provided by Indian banks.

Note: the reason of payment and purpose code must not start with the special character '/'.

Instructions, technical guidelines & more