Travel Money

People travel all around the world and when they land up in a foreign country they require that particular country’s currency in order to buy goods and services. Here foreign exchange comes into the picture, which helps you in exchanging the currency of one country into that of another. The largest and the most liquid financial market in the world is the foreign exchange. Here are some international currency exchange guidelines that are to be followed in India. When going on a leisure trip abroad, the maximum amount of foreign currency that can be taken is USD 25,00,00 per traveller in a single financial year. Out of that, only $3000 can be carried as cash. The remaining balance should be carried around as traveller’s cheques, forex cards and remittances. But when on a trip to Nepal or Bhutan for any purpose, no forex currency exchange will be available. When going on a leisure trip abroad, the maximum amount of foreign currency that can be taken is USD 25,00,00 per t...

When travelling abroad, it is necessary to carry the currency of the country that you plan on vacationing in. Some of the ways how you can spend your money abroad is by using an international debit card or a forex card. Using a forex card is more advantageous than using an international debit card. Here are the few differences between a forex card and an international debit card. If you use a forex card, you will be able to carry 16 currencies in just one card, whereas if you use an international debit card, then you can use only one currency and that is Indian. The issuance fee that you need to pay to get an international debit card would be up to Rs. 500, but the issuance fee that you will have to pay to get a forex card would be anywhere between Rs. 100 to 350. If you are planning to buy a forex card online, then it is free. The merchant service fee for an international debit card 3.5 percent, but it is NIL for a forex card. The deduction or annual fee on exp...

The implementation of GST (Goods And Service Tax) on July 1, 2017 has revised the tax structure of transactions on several goods and services, including forex services in India. The revised rates for forex services come as a welcome move as the taxes often lie between 0.05% to 0.18% of the total forex transaction. When partaking in any kind of foreign exchange services like currency exchange, money transfer , or buying a forex card , one is only expected to pay the GST; and as per the directive from the Government of India, one is expected to pay 18% on the forex transactions that comes under the taxable value bracket. So what is “taxable value”? Taxable value is the set portion of the transaction upon which tax is levied. This reduces the amount of tax one has to pay on forex services greatly. Currently the government has set up 3 slabs of taxable value, based on the amounts of transactions. Slab 1: Up To Rs. 1 Lakh: On forex transactions up to Rs. 1 lakh,...