|
Bank
of India introduces internet remittance facility
Our
Banking Bureau
20 July 2005
 Bank
of India (BoI) has introduced an internet-enabled inward
remittances facility called 'Star e-remit'. The facility
is operated through the 200-year old Bank of New York
(BNY), is aimed at facilitating remittances from NRIs
based in the US.
The
agreement was announced jointly at a press conference
in Mumbai by M Balachandran, chairman and managing director,
BoI, and K Aneish Kumar, country head, BNY.
The
facility uses the 'automated clearing house' (ACH) direct
debit programme of US banks with which BNY is registered.
The ACH direct debit programme is based on the remitter's
authorisation to allow the bank to electronically transmit
intended payments from his/ her bank account.
The
remitter need not be an account holder of either bank.
All that is required is an online registration on the
BoI web site with authorisation details to the bank from
where the funds are to be transferred. Thereafter the
money can be remitted to the recipient's account at any
given time up to a limit of Rs15,000 per month.
The
amount is deposited in to the receiver's account in rupees
at the prevailing rate of exchange through the RTGS network.
In case the recipient's branch is not on the RTGS network,
a draft would be forwarded by BoI to the recipient or
his bank after deducting courier charges. The facility
guarantees remittance within four days at the outset,
at no cost to the receiver.
The
service cuts down on time taken for remittances from USA
to India through transfers through cheques and demand
drafts, which require upward of 15 days to be remitted.
At a flat rate of $8 per transfer, it is also substantially
cheaper than the speedier wire transfer services, which
cost between $30 and $60 for transfers from the US to
India, depending on the amount being remitted.
 According
to the World Bank, India accounted for about $20 billion
of remittances in 2004 of which $ 8 billion were from
the US.
List
of reports on Bank of India
List
of general reports on Banks
| 
