Send Money from Australia to India

Measured on the full cost — the transfer fee plus the exchange-rate margin — Wise is cheapest on this corridor at A$1,000, across the 2 providers we hold checked figures for. Western Union and Ria Money Transfer advertise no transfer fee here, which looks cheaper and often is not: a provider with no fee recovers it in the rate, and the margin is usually the larger of the two costs. The cheapest provider also changes with the amount you send, so compare the final sum that arrives in Indian rupees rather than the headline fee.

At A$1,000, Wise is the cheapest of the 2 providers priced at that amount on this corridor: about A$5.33 all in, or 0.53% of the amount sent. Western Union is next at about A$6.39. That is the fee plus the exchange-rate margin that applied to a transfer of that size — priced at A$1,000 specifically, not worked out from a measurement taken at some other amount. It covers a bank transfer; cash pickup and mobile wallet payouts are priced separately. The margins were measured by Wise's comparison service rather than published by the providers themselves, and other providers here may be cheaper and are not priced this way.

Delivery ranges from minutes to a few business days depending on the provider and payout method. WorldRemit, Western Union, Taptap Send and Ria Money Transfer can deliver within minutes when you pay by debit card. Bank-funded and economy transfers typically take one to three business days but usually cost less. Transfers sent outside banking hours or over a weekend may not settle until the next working day.

Across the providers we compare, the available payout methods are UPI, bank deposit, cash pickup, mobile wallet and card payout. The most widely used options in India are IMPS and NEFT bank deposit. India's IMPS rail settles instantly around the clock, so bank deposits often land within minutes rather than days. Not every provider supports every method, so check the table above before you commit.

No. Remitly, WorldRemit, Western Union and Ria Money Transfer offer cash pickup in India, so your recipient can collect the funds with valid photo ID and the transfer reference number. That said, IMPS and NEFT bank deposit generally cost less than cash collection.

Providers rarely give you the mid-market rate — the reference rate you see on Google or Reuters. Instead they add a margin, typically between 0.4% and 4%, and keep the difference. That margin is often larger than the visible transfer fee, which is why a "no fee" service can still be more expensive overall. For AUD to INR, compare the quoted rate against the mid-market rate to see the real spread you are paying.

Yes, provided you use a licensed provider. Every service listed on this page is regulated in Australia under AUSTRAC, which requires safeguarding of customer funds and identity verification. Send only to people you know personally, keep your transfer reference private, and be sceptical of anyone pressuring you to send money urgently to someone you have not met.

Yes. Each provider sets its own transfer limits, which vary by how much identity verification you have completed and how you pay. Larger transfers may require additional documentation such as proof of source of funds. For transfers above roughly A$10,000, a specialist foreign-exchange broker will often beat an app on rate.

UPI payout is offered by four of the eight providers here — Wise, Remitly, Taptap Send and Paysend — and not by WorldRemit, Western Union or Ria. If your recipient wants money in a UPI ID rather than an account number, that decides the shortlist before price does. UPI is the fastest rail and the most tightly capped. Wise states it pays up to 200,000 INR instantly by UPI against 500,000 INR by IMPS, so a larger transfer is routed away from the rail people ask for by name. Two providers contradict themselves about how much an Australian may send. Western Union's India page states a 50,000 AUD daily limit by PayID while its Australian FAQ states 5,000 AUD a day online, 76,000 AUD by debit card, PayID or PayTo and 9,000 AUD by credit card. Ria's India page states up to 49,999 AUD a day while its own help centre states 20,000 AUD. Both pairs are published; we are recording the disagreement rather than choosing. Wise will pay into NRE and NRO accounts, and no other provider's Australian page mentions them. Wise also states it cannot process transfers to India for investment or charitable donation. No provider on this corridor publishes an Australian dollar fee schedule. Wise's figures are what its calculator quoted at 1,000 AUD, Remitly's are per delivery method, and everyone else defers to a live quote. Treat every figure on this page as a snapshot rather than a tariff. Two different things get called "UPI" in remittance marketing, and the difference is money. What the four providers above offer is paying INTO a UPI ID: the money still crosses the border on a conventional rail and is handed to UPI at the Indian end, so you pay conventional pricing for it. A native UPI-to-UPI international link is a separate thing, live in 11 countries — Singapore, the UAE, France, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and the Maldives — and Australia is not among them. India used Global Fintech Fest in September 2026 to push for more such links precisely because conventional transfers cost senders 3-4%, but no Australian timeline has been announced, and the only fully two-way link that exists (India-Singapore) took over 18 months to negotiate. Treat UPI payout here as speed for your recipient, not a discount for you.