Send money from Germany to India
India is the largest skilled-migration route into Germany at the moment, and most people who arrive on it are still reading their banking app in a language they are learning. Grey runs in English and pays Indian rupees into any Indian bank account or UPI ID. The rate and the fee sit on one screen before you confirm.
EUR
INR
-
Trusted by 3M+ people around the world
GOOGLE PLAY •22K REVIEWS
APP STORE • 12K REVIEWS
Rupees for a family who is not in Germany
The typical sender on this route landed in München, Frankfurt or Berlin on an EU Blue Card or a work visa inside the last few years. The salary is in euros, the Anmeldung is done, the Sparkasse card works. What has not changed is that parents in Chennai or Pune still count in rupees, and they need a figure they can rely on.
Grey converts your euro balance to INR and pays it into SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda or Kotak Mahindra Bank. You can also send to a UPI ID instead, and the money reaches your recipient through Google Pay, PhonePe or Paytm the way a domestic Indian payment would. Once your balance is funded, a transfer typically lands within minutes.
Sending to India from Germany, start to finish
Sign up
A Grey account is free and takes about five minutes. Verify with a valid identity document, which for most people here means the passport rather than the Aufenthaltstitel. The whole flow is in English.
Fund
Move euros across by SEPA from Sparkasse, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, ING, N26 or DKB. The euro balance sits on Grey until you decide to convert it.
Send
You need the account number and IFSC code, or just the UPI ID. Check the rupee figure on the confirmation screen, then confirm. The rate is locked at that point.
What the India route actually costs from Germany
Grey separates them. One conversion from euros to rupees, one fee, both visible before you commit and neither adjusted afterwards.
That matters more here than on most routes, because the India corridor from Germany is overwhelmingly a monthly habit rather than a one-off. Twelve transfers a year magnify a rate gap that looks trivial on a single screen.
The rupee figure holds once you confirm
Grey fixes the EUR to INR rate at the moment you confirm, and the rupee amount your family sees is the rupee amount you were shown in Frankfurt or München.
If you have worked out what your parents' month costs in rupees and then worked backwards to a euro figure, a rate that drifts between confirmation and settlement undoes the whole calculation. This one does not drift.
Why a German bank is the wrong tool for this
A EUR to INR payment through a German bank normally runs as a SWIFT instruction with correspondent banks in between, and nobody tells you in advance what each one will take. Grey quotes rupees directly, pays into the Indian account or UPI ID as a local credit, and nothing is skimmed on arrival.
What your family in India sees
A rupee credit in their own bank or UPI app. Nobody in India needs to download Grey, register anything, or answer questions about where the money came from.
Indian bank accounts
SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Kotak Mahindra Bank, entered with the account number and IFSC code.
UPI
A UPI ID is enough on its own. The rupees land through Google Pay, PhonePe or Paytm as an ordinary UPI credit.
Free between Grey users
If your brother in Bangalore also uses Grey, a GreyTag transfer between you is free and instant.
Funding in practice, from a German current account
Before any rupees move, euros have to reach your Grey balance. There are three ordinary ways to do that from Germany and none of them requires you to explain yourself in German.
Bank transfer in euros
A standard SEPA credit from any German bank, usually showing on the balance within minutes.
Foreign earnings
Consulting income paid in dollars or pounds can go straight to INR from that balance.
Topped up by someone else
Another Grey user can send to your GreyTag instantly if a family transfer is being pooled.
If the rupee figure is the fixed part of the arrangement, type the INR amount first and let Grey show you what it costs in euros.
What Germany to India money is usually for
Parents at home
Household costs, medicines and insurance premiums for parents in Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad or Kolkata, usually on the same date every month.
A home loan in India
EMI instalments on a flat bought before the move, or a contribution to a family property purchase that carries on regardless of which country you are living in.
Education and weddings
University fees for a younger sibling, and the set of transfers that a wedding in the family turns into over several months.
Engineering contractors
German firms and small studios paying developers, testers and design contractors in Bangalore, Hyderabad or Pune who invoice in rupees.
The English-language version of this corridor skews young, salaried and recent. The reasons below come up again and again in München, Frankfurt, Berlin and Stuttgart.
Why Grey on Germany to India
Nobody on this corridor sends to India once. The test is whether the twentieth transfer is as predictable as the first, and whether you can do it from a phone on the U-Bahn without reading a single word of German.
Euros in from your German account, rupees out to an Indian bank or UPI ID, tracked from confirmation to settlement and encrypted throughout.
FAQs
Can I use Grey in Germany if my German is still basic?
Yes. The app, verification and support are in English, so nothing on the India route depends on reading German.
Which Indian banks can I send rupees to?
SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Kotak Mahindra Bank, among other major Indian banks.
Can I send to a UPI ID rather than a bank account?
Yes. Enter the UPI ID and the rupees reach your recipient through Google Pay, PhonePe or Paytm as a normal UPI credit.
What do I need from my parents in India?
Either their account number with the IFSC code, or their UPI ID. Nothing else, and they do not need a Grey account.
How do I get euros onto Grey from a German bank?
Send a SEPA transfer from Sparkasse, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, ING, N26 or DKB to your Grey euro balance.
How long does a transfer to India take?
From a funded Grey balance, transfers to Indian bank accounts and UPI IDs typically arrive within minutes.
Can the rupee amount change after I confirm?
No. The EUR to INR rate is fixed at confirmation, so the rupee figure shown is the rupee figure that settles.
Does my recipient pay anything to receive the money?
No. Grey charges the sender, and the money arrives in India as an ordinary rupee credit.
Can I pay an Indian contractor rather than family?
Yes. Developers and design contractors in Bangalore, Hyderabad or Pune who invoice in rupees are paid the same way.
Which identity document should I verify with?
A valid identity document is required, and most people arriving in Germany use their passport. Verification takes about five minutes.
Can I hold more than euros on Grey?
Yes. Grey offers USD provided by Lead Bank, GBP and EUR balances, plus a virtual Mastercard, across more than 80 countries.
Get digital banking
at your fingertips
