Paying an Indian exporter in dollars or rupees: SWIFT and IFSC, the payment purpose code, why the supplier needs to know the payer, Indian bank holidays.
Estimate the minimum fee
The final fee and rate are fixed in the payment order
Minimum amount: 10,000 USD or equivalent
This is a minimum, not an offer or a rate lock. The final figure depends on the country, amount and the banks involved and is fixed in the payment order.
Request a quoteIndia supplies Russia with pharmaceuticals and active substances for drug production, tea, spices, rice, textiles, leather, auto parts, pumps and industrial equipment. A separate large item is software development and support. Exporters’ terms vary. Pharmaceutical companies and spice producers ask for an advance against a proforma, large equipment deliveries are paid in tranches on a schedule, and services by stages closed with a completion certificate.
The Indian rupee (INR) is convertible with restrictions and cannot be freely traded abroad. So the main currency of export contracts is the US dollar, less often the euro. Since 2022 India’s regulator has allowed foreign trade settlements in rupees through special accounts at Indian banks. This route does not work for every beneficiary: the supplier’s bank decides.
We check which agents in our pool have a working route to your beneficiary’s bank and in which currency. If both options are available, we compare them by the total amount in roubles. The agent confirms the exchange rate and the fee in the payment order, and you transfer the roubles only after that.
India does not use IBAN. You need the account number, the bank’s SWIFT code and the IFSC: the eleven-character branch code from the domestic system. When foreign currency is credited, the Indian bank assigns the receipt a purpose code: payment for exported goods, for services, an advance. Ask the supplier which code it needs. We will choose the wording of the payment reference to match it.
Indian company names are long, with the legal form at the end: Private Limited, Pvt. Ltd., LLP. Check exactly how the name is recorded at the bank. An exporter’s invoice usually shows the GSTIN and the Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), which make it easy to check the company.
An exporter in India must close each shipment with incoming foreign currency, and its bank matches the payment with the customs declaration. The money will come from the agent, not from the buyer, so the supplier’s bank will ask for an explanation. The simplest solution is a clause in the contract or invoice stating that payment may come from the buyer’s payment agent. Discuss this with the supplier before the first payment, or crediting will drag on.
The same logic applies to distributors. If the manufacturer issued the invoice but asks for the money to go to its trading house or subsidiary, the Indian bank will not link the payment to the export. The beneficiary in the contract, the invoice and the bank details must be one legal entity.
If you need a guarantee, the roubles wait in a special escrow account at a Russian bank until the money is credited in India: this is on request and for an additional fee. You do not need to pay VEDmost: the broker’s fee is paid by the agent.
Indian banks do not work on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month or on holidays, and holidays differ from state to state. Major dates: Holi in spring, Diwali in autumn. A payment sent the day before may be credited only after the days off. Allow for this if an advance is tied to the shipment date.
Five steps, the same for every country. Country specifics are described above.
Beneficiary's country, amount, currency, the invoice and the contract or bill, your company's and the beneficiary's details. We review the request before any documents are signed.
We select a network company and a route and prepare the documents. You sign an agency agreement with that company, which sets the execution period, and a payment order: amount, exchange rate and fee. All of this before you transfer your roubles.
You transfer roubles to the network company from your account at a Russian bank. If you need a guarantee, they wait for execution in a special escrow account, for an additional fee.
The agent sends the currency to the beneficiary under this payment order. A sub-agent is engaged only with your consent. The route does not change without a payment order.
We send you the payment confirmation, and a SWIFT confirmation on request. Then the completion certificate, the agent's report and the currency control package. The deal is not closed until the currency has been sent to the beneficiary.
If you need a guarantee, the payment goes through a special escrow account at a Russian bank: the roubles wait there until the agent sends the currency to the beneficiary and are released only upon execution. This scheme carries an additional fee, shown in the quote before the agreement.
The agent executes the payment within 3 business days: the period is written into the agency agreement.
If the beneficiary's bank accepts payment only from a specific payer, the agent engages a sub-agent. Only with your consent. Your agency agreement does not change.
For large volumes, on request, we assign an agent backed by a large exporter's surety; some companies in our network have one. It can be combined with escrow.
Tell us the rate you pay now or send your current agent’s documents. We’ll calculate the all-in cost with the FX markup and charges and look for a lower rate in our network. If there isn’t one, we’ll say so. The comparison is free.
The rupee circulates outside India only to a limited extent, and settlements in it go through special accounts at Indian banks. We check with agents in our pool whether such a route exists for your invoice. More often the contract is in US dollars.
An eleven-character branch code for domestic transfers in India. For an international payment the SWIFT code is the main one, but include the IFSC: it helps the bank identify the branch more precisely.
An Indian exporter must close each shipment with incoming foreign currency. If the payer is not the buyer named in the contract, the exporter's bank will ask for an explanation. A clause in the contract on payment through an agent settles the question.
Indian banks are closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, and on holidays, which differ from state to state. Crediting moves to the next working day.
You need registration documents and certificates for the import. For the payment, the contract and the invoice are enough, but the certificates help confirm the subject.
Describe the payment. We'll reply with a proposed route and terms. We name the agent in advance, and the rate and fee go into the payment order before your roubles are debited.