Banking in India

jgbrowning

Got the visa got the tickets, arriving april 11. have a few questions concerning banking in india. If anyone out there has an opinion about these questions please just drop a reply.


1. Can I, as an American without an address in India, start a bank account with the Bank of India?

2. What US bank (i know many of them are not really US banks, but you know what i mean) has the most ATM or the highest presence in India, BESIDES Citibank? ( I tried to deal with those wankers and they turned me down for a simple bank account... why you ask? because i live out of their american states area and dont make enough money for them to bend the rules... grrr)

3. Here's my banking plan in general. I'd like to keep the majority of my money in an american bank in US dollars to protect against devaluation of the rupee. I'd like an Indian account in rupees with a few months of cash in it for ease of use and security. ie.. if my card gets stolen they can only get to the money in the indian account. What ya'll think?

4. Is there a maximum withdraw limit on ATM's in India? In the US its ususally 300-500 dollars a day... anything like that in India?


These questions may seem a bit paranoid, but i'm basically leaving the US and starting a long, long, long journey... (me and the wife plan to stay in India/SE asia for the next 5 years and then move on to Europe for a similar time) and would like a little more knowledge than i can seem to find on the web.

Also, thanks in advance for any replies and I do plan to post help to others once im actually in India, instead of just asking questions!

thanks,

joe b.

indiamike

I will try to help you with questions 1 and 2, the others I am unsure of.

For question 2, besides Citibank, there is also Bank of America in most of the big cities. That would probably be a good choice for you because B of A is very popular down your way in Texas. If you do start an account with them make sure and tell them your plans and also to make sure the debit card they issue will work with ATM's overseas (I have had problems with this).

******a little footnote about debit cards********
______________________________ ___________

I would seriously advice not to use debit cards and stick to regular credit cards. Besides the fact that debit cards may or may not work, they do not offer the guarantee like credit cards do. Somebody steals your debit card and uses it, you are screwed. Someone steals your credit card and uses it, you can dismiss the charges. Personally I do all of my banking online and use credit cards quite a bit, when I need to make a payment I just log onto the internet and just transfer the funds from one account to another
______________________________ ____________

For question 1, yes you can start an account however you would probably need an address in India. If you are planning to stay in a place for a certain amount of time you can fill out a residency form and start one that one. Many volunteers do this. However if you are hopping from one city to the next it is probably not feasable.

I hope this helps some.
Mike

p.s...I checked the BofA website and they don't list the branches in India, however I do believe there is only about four or so of them, all of them in the major cities. I would check with your local branch and see if they know.

indiamike

See also this thread about banking in India

Can a foreigner open a bank account in India

jgbrowning

for the replies, and well, i feel like an idiot for not doing a search on the topic before posting.

I was planning on geting an ATM card. One that is not a debit card and cannot be used as a visa/mastercard. Dunno if they do those anymore.

I'll look into BOA. And into online banking... i must admit i have a somewhat unreasonable negitive feeling towards it.

danke.