Spending a semester in London, Milan or Paris can be the most thrilling experience in one’s life. Studying abroad, however, comes at a hefty cost and often delays graduating on time if not planned carefully. Foreign education is extremely expensive yet, India has been witnessing a steep rise in number of parents making this decision for their children.
Apart from the tuition fees, there are many other expenses that students abroad incur such as housing, meals, insurance and transportation to name a few. Perhaps the one place where parents end up losing the most is while exchanging currency, which is required for every transaction.
Most people are unaware of the various forex products and services that exist to reduce currency exchange charges. Awareness on using the right forex products and the right service providers can alleviate a number of charges entirely. Read | Study abroad: Why Indians prefer to go overseas to pursue UG courses, click here
First-time travelers cannot hope to land a good deal only through their own efforts, and the help of an expert is essential to understand the intricacies of foreign exchange. The following points are certain areas in which a foreign exchange centered organizations can help you out to attain the best deal:
1. Total fee amount
Many foreign institutions charge a fee for specific services under different courses that is over and above the tuition/semester fees. These various sub-heads might be essential to fulfill the course’s goal, yet add extensively to the overall expenses. In such a scenario, it is essential to take a look at the complete stock beforehand and check the total amount that needs to be paid. Avail opportunities for scholarships if possible.
2. Policy restrictions
According to the RBI’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme, only a sum of $ 2,50,000 is allowed to be remitted for any purpose during a financial year and the same applies for education purposes. The documentation, identity proof, procedure in case of different methods, such as transferring through a foreign exchange facilitator organization, can only be explained well by an expert. The policies also keep changing, stressing the need for expert assistance even more.
3. Acquiring the best deal
Even the slightest change of 10 paisa in conversion rate can bring about a rapid upheaval when it comes to bulk transfer. Thus, it is necessary to avail foreign exchange services only from banks or platforms which channelize the remittances through banks itself, which also enable the possibility to hold the rate-of-exchange up to 3 working days. Such platforms enable you to save more than 6.5 per cent on standard bank transactions, which again adds up to a neat sum.
4. The right procedure
The most popular overseas transfer process, known as SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) involves dual charges levied at intermediary as well as the beneficiary bank. Forex cards, which are marked Visa/Mastercard, can be used for transfer as these cards are accepted as international credit or debit cards.
By keeping the aforementioned tips in mind, one can largely reduce the anxiety specifically corresponding to finances, thus ensuring that the journey is a happy and a hopeful one.
[Source”cnbc”]