Fixed (Locked-In) vs Indicative exchange rates

When you transfer money to India, you will be presented with a fixed (or sometimes also called as locked-in) or indicative exchange rate. Some banks / services provide only fixed rates (example: Xoom) while others do both (example: Remit2India & ICICI). So, what is the difference between those two and which one should you use? Take a look at the points below and decide ...

Fixed (Locked-In) :

• When you book your money transfer, you will see an exchange rate and it is fixed.
• That means you know exactly how much money will be received by your relatives in India
• There is no loss or gain due to change in exchange rate
• Peace of mind

Indicative :

• When you book your transfer, the exchange rate that they show is only an indication of current rate. Your exact rate can be more or less
• You don't know how much money will be delivered in India. This will be a problem if you have to send someone an exact amount.
• If the exchange rate changes a lot in the time it takes to transfer your money (1 to 5 working days depending on the service you use), you will get significantly different amount than you expect.
• Banks / services do not tell you at which point of time they did the conversion. So, there is a lot of scope for feeling cheated. For example, the bank can give you the lowest exchange rate during those 1 to 5 days and you can't do anything.
• If you know that the rate is going to go up, you can use this method and get more money, if the service you are using is honest.
• Not for faint of heart and not good for peace of mind.

We always show you what rate we are displaying on our site and apps. If an rate is fixed, we show "(Fixed)" next to the name of the bank / service.