Payment details for completing jobs for foreign based countries from home (India)

Hi All,

I am in New Delhi. I quit my finance job a couple of years ago to stay at home and parent my two kids. I later found myself having about 2-3 hours a day, during which I can work from home and get paid.

Through a friend of mine, I found an opportunity to do finance related projects for a small US entrepreneur. The issue now is getting paid. Sitting here in India, it appears to be downright impossible to get paid.

I saw this other thread in this forum. But that thread mainly talks about getting paid for ladies staying in the US. How can ladies living in India get paid for overseas projects. I am grateful for any support.

Lahari Dutta

Lahari,

How much money are we talking about here? A few options I know..

1. You can ask them to FedEx a cheque to you, which you can then deposit in your bank. Takes a few weeks for your bank in India to clear the cheque.

2. You can ask your client to wire transfer the money. Takes only 48 hours, but requires your client to go to the bank to do it.

3. As your client to write the cheque to your US friend's name. Your friend can encash the cheque in US and can send a local cheque to you in India. It looks a little unprofessional to your client and also you need to trust your friend completely.

Others, please add if I missed anything.

Shalini

I use Paypal for receiving payments for products I sell on ebay. As I spent time trying to understand Paypal, I learnt that Paypal is now operating in India as well. It looks like Paypal might be a good option for you lahari. Paypal works very similar to how Visa and Mastercard works. Let me sum up how this would work in your situation.

1. You create a Paypal account and provide your Paypal details to the client.

2. Your client pays Paypal using his credit card (just as we would pay a restaurant using our credit card). All transactions can be done online and hence no extra work for your client.

3. Paypal accumulates the amount received in your Paypal account.

4. When you make a request, Paypal will send a cheque to your home. Paypal will hold your money until you request a withdrawal (similar to a bank).

Paypal is an ebay company and is quite reputable.

Lahari,

I would suggest you to open a savings account with ICICI and get the funds wire transferred to your account directly from your client. You have to give the following info to ur client

Beneficiary Bank Account Number: Your Savings A/c No.
Beneficiary Account Name / Address: Your Name & Address
Beneficiary Bank Name: ICICI Bank
Beneficiary Bank Address: ICICI Bank & your Branch Address
Swift Code : Check with Bank
Routing Code: Check with Bank

Becoz i am getting the funds transferred using the above method. Hope it helps you.

KB

Hi,

Have you tried Western Union money transfer? They have agents almost everywhere in the world.

We have sent money from here to India, it is possible to transfer online using visa debit or credit cards issued by valid local banks.

I am sure the company you are dealing with in the U.S. should be able to send money online using their credit or debit cards issued in the U.S. You can receive it at agents in Delhi by filling out a form and providing a photo-id of yourself.

A word of caution - deal with direct agents of Western Union, don't go through any 3-party agents.

Hope this helps!

Hi everyone!

Does anyone know whether Paypal operates in India? A US client of mine (my only client) is interested in paying me through Paypal. He tells me that it is very easy for him to use Paypal, as he can transfer money online. For wire transfer, he needs to go to the bank for which he says he doesn't have time.

I don't know as to how I will receive the money in India. Have anyone received money in India through Paypal before?

Any help is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Lahari,

Yes, Paypal operates in India. You need to setup your account as a non-US account. Your customers can electronically send funds to your Paypal account without issues. If you live in US or any western country, you can withdraw funds from your Paypal account to your checking account online - at no cost.

In India, this online money withdrawal mechanism is not setup yet. So, Paypal has a manual process. You should make an online request for money withdrawal. Paypal will send a physical cheque to your address. Paypal says that it takes 4-6 business days for a request to be processed and mailed.

Withdrawal minimum is $150 and the withdrawal fee is $5. This is inaddition to the commission percentage and foreign exchange fees.

Shalini,

You seem to know a lot more about this. Can I ask you a question? How much is the commission rates charged by Paypal for this money transfer.

For example, If my customer sends $1000 to my account in India, how many Rupees will I end up getting, after all the charges? Thanks for your help.

Uma

If you are trying to receive funds in India from US, paypal charges three fees

a. Transaction Fee
b. Exchange Rate Fee
c. Withdrawal Fee

a. Transaction Fee depends on volume and is approximately 3.4% + $0.30 per transaction. Following is a table I pulled from paypal.

	Standard Rate	Merchant Rate (qualification required)
Monthly Received Payment (USD)	$0.00 USD-$3,000.00 USD	$3,000.01 USD-$10,000.00 USD	$10,000.01 USD-$100,000.00 USD	> $100,000.00 USD
Fees per transaction (USD)	3.4% + $0.30 USD	2.9% + $0.30 USD	2.7% + $0.30 USD	2.4% + $0.30 USD

b. Exchange Rate Fee is approximately 2.5%. I found the following in paypal site.

"If your transaction involves a currency conversion, it will be completed at a retail foreign exchange rate determined by PayPal, which is adjusted regularly based on market conditions. This exchange rate includes a 2.5% spread above the wholesale exchange rate at which PayPal obtains foreign currency, and the spread is retained by PayPal. The specific exchange rate that applies to your multiple currency transaction will be displayed at the time of the transaction."

c. As I mentioned before there is a withdrawal fee of $5 and there is a withdrawal minimum of $150.

So, if your buyer sends you $1000 dollars, you would get approximately

Buyer Sends $1000
Paypal Fees $34.30 ------> 3.4% + $0.30/transaction
Exchange Fees $25.00 ------> 2.5%
Withrdawal Fees $ 5.00
You Receive $935.70

Hope this helps.