Money Exchange in India is quite easy. All major airports in India offer services to foreign tourists to exchange currency at the exchange booths within the airport. As soon as you step outside the airport, you would be carrying Indian Rupee which is important because taxis at the airports do not accept any other currency but Indian Rupee. Remember to exchange currency before you leave the airport because once you left, authorities will not allow you to return to exchange foreign currency.
While staying in India, you will require to exchange more money. To do so only visit authorized dealers and banks. American Express and Thomas Cook are the authorized dealers to exchange money. While similar service is also offered by leading Indian banks such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI. Finding a bank branch is easier comparing to the dealers in major as well small cities of India.
One should only exchange money via authorized dealers for several reasons. Firstly, it is illegal to exchange currency from unauthorized dealer, if caught you may have to pay the fine. Secondly, you are less likely to be scammed by authorized dealers. Common scams are, fake Indian currency or less than market conversion rate. Some unauthorized dealers will try to lure you by offering better conversion rate than Banks, but do not fall for such scams as this is a punishable crime in India. However authorized private dealers do offer better rates than Banks.
It is also important to take Currency exchange receipts also known as Encashment Certificate while converting the money. All authorized dealers as well banks will provide you this certificate. This not only proves the your source of funds but at time of leaving India, you can also convert unused Indian money to foreign currency with the help of this certificate. Remember, taking Indian money back to your country is not allowed. Before departing, use the Encashment Certificate to covert your money. The certificate is only valid for 3 months. In absence of the certificate you can only convert up to Rs 100.
INDIA RUPEE
Before you start spending India Rupee, its better to have some basic information. One rupee is equal to 100 paise just like 1 dollar is equal to 100 cents. Coins come in denominations Rs 1,2,5 and 10. While paper money come in Rs 1,2,5,10,20,50,100,500 and 1000. Always beware of fake rupee in India. The most common are Rs 500 and Rs 1000. You can visit the website of Indian Reserve Bank (RBI) to check out ways to identify fake currency. Here is the link - http://www.rbi.org.in/SCRIPTs/ic_banknotessecurity.aspx
Note: The use of paise has ended in India
TRAVELERS CHEQUES
Traveling in India will lots of foreign currency in cash is not a good idea. You always have the option of travelers cheques. In India almost all major brands are accepted. However Amex and Thomas Cook are the most preferred ones. All major banks will accept these 2 brands. Similarly USD, Pound and Euro are the safest easiest currency to get converted in India. While almost all currencies can be converted in major cities, the ones mentioned above are the best bet in small towns.
Its easy to lose travelers cheques therefore always carry some cash. Always carry the serial number of cheque and proof-of-purchase slips with you. In case you lose or travelers cheque gets stolen, you can visit the offices of the company, show purchase slip and serial number along with your passport and get a new travelers cheque.
ATM
One of the best way to convert currency in India is ATM. There are thousands of ATMs in every major city. You will find at least one ATM in every corner of the street. All ATM offer 24 hours service and have security. ATMs in India will easily accept Visa, MasterCard, Cirrus, Maestro cards. ATMs of Citibank, HDFC, ICICI, UTI, HSBC and State Bank of India accept foreign cards and could easily be found in any city. Banks in India do impose high charges of international exchanges.
CREDIT CARDS
Credit Cards are increasingly becoming popular in India. All major credit cards are accepted in Shopping Malls, hotels and restaurants. However do not completely rely of credit cards while traveling to India. Not every restaurant and hotel accept credit card, while acceptance is higher in Metro cities, you will find very few places in small towns that accept credit cards. Small stores and restaurants often do not accept credit cards. You will find very few stores in traditional Indian markets like Chandi Chowk, Karol Bagh etc that accept credit cards.
INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
It's easy to overspend in India. Usually people end of spending so much money in shopping that they end up with no cash. Alternatively money can easily be stolen. In such cases you can use services like Moneygram and Western Union. Ask any of your friend of relative to send you money using these services. Please check the procedure properly by visiting their official websites.
