What are the Secure and legal ways to exchange foreign currency in India?

Foreign currency exchange in India has gone a long way. You may purchase and sell currencies at a variety of places, including private money changers, banks, and airports, among others. When traveling internationally for education, business, or pleasure, you will require the local currency for all transactions. You may have unspent Foreign Currency in your wallet after returning from a work or vacation trip. In this scenario, you will need to exchange your foreign currency for Indian rupees before proceeding with your operations. Foreign currency exchange is possible in India at banks, RBI-approved NBFCs, and even airports. But before you proceed to sell foreign currency, make sure you are doing it at the RBI-authorised places to get the best exchange rates available in the market. You can also do market research to have a better understanding of how the exchange rates stand.

Places you can sell forex currency in India are

• At banks: It is somehow one of the best places to buy forex as well as to sell forex. Though it is safe to opt for forex services at banks, some drawbacks come along with it. the first one is that you need to have an account to do foreign exchange. And then, since the primary function of banks is not forex, they tend to concentrate less on the customer experience of people opting for forex services with them. They usually quote low exchange rates and high transfer fees for forex products.
• At airports: It is again a safe place to exchange currency, but it is for sure not the best place to exchange currency. the reason behind this is, that it is one of the fast assessable forex service stations that a person traveling abroad or coming back can experience. And so, they quote very high conversion charges which will cost you much. So, opt for these only in case of emergency.
• Money Changers/ Forex Bureaus: It is the best place to do money exchange in every sense. It is because they are into the market of forex and so they know every aspect of it since it is the primary area of their business model. They strive hard to make the customer experience better to grow a huge loyal customer base. Some of the key features which make these money changers the best choice for forex is that they have a live track of the currency exchange rates which helps them to give the best exchange rates in the market. Along with this, to make them even more attractive, they offer huge discounts and zero transfer fees at regular intervals. But it is equally important to know about your service provider for a safe and smooth forex experience. Make sure the service provider is authorized by the RBI to do forex services and that eliminates most of the worries regarding the safety and security of your cash. And then compare the exchange rates of each forex dealer to know the best one. If you don't have time to do all these just go with Orient exchange. They are authorized by the RBI and have been in the market for nearly a century. They have experts who always have an eye on the exchange rates in the forex market to predict the best forex rates and also the best time to sell foreign currency. They also have an online portal through which you can book your forex products, like buying and selling foreign currency anytime. This combines comfort with quality service. But make sure that you have valid proofs and documentation for the currency you are trying to sell because undocumented or unaccounted cash is considered to be illegal in India and can put you in trouble when you try to sell currencies that came in that way. And finally, make sure you have the KYC documents to complete your currency exchange because according to RBI guidelines, every service provider will ask you for the KYC documents to know the trustworthiness of their customer and to eliminate illegal transactions.

The documents you should be ready with are :

• Passport /Aadhaar Card
• PAN card
• And proof of your foreign stay or trip / Source of cash

On submitting these you should be able to have a seamless experience of selling the extra cash that you have been left with from your trip abroad.

In some cases, there may be some changes in the above said required documents and so always make sure to contact your service provider well in advance to know the exact requirements based on your residential status.