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Sending money to India

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Stoker48 Sat 06-Mar-21 14:55:56

Five years ago I visited Kerala and became friendly with a lovely young girl in our hotel restaurant. She was a local girl.
I had taken over lots of little toys and stationary etc and asked if she could direct me to best place to give.
She told me how she had been abandoned by her father after her Mum died and eventually ended up in an orphanage close to where we were.
She took me there and I have returned every year.
She has now married and just had a baby. No longer works. Her husband had a job on cruise ships but, of course, has had no work for over a year.
This is not a tale of woe from her but I know they live a very impoverished life.
I would love to acknowledge her wedding and recent birth but I am unsure of the best way to send money to India
I don’t want to ask her. Her written English is not good.
Plus, if it’s not practical, I don’t want to not follow through.
Has anyone experience of sending money there?
I don’t have address or bank details but assume I could get those.
Thank you in advance

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Aveline Sat 06-Mar-21 15:17:52

I've only ever sent money to Bangladesh. It was via the bank and seemed a bit of a palaver to me but it worked well enough.
Be very careful though!

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Missfoodlove Sat 06-Mar-21 15:19:08

If she has PayPal then that’s safe and easy.
When our son lived in India we used Western Union.
It was complex.
Or you can send vouchers.

www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwivvJ7n-pvvAhXRuHEKHRumDEUQFjAJegQIHRAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.giftstoindia24x7.com%2FGifts%2Fgift-vouchers%2F1.aspx&usg=AOvVaw39U2WujKgiigFrv9X7YVri

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Katie59 Sat 06-Mar-21 15:41:25

If she has a bank account it’s easy and cheap, but she probably hasn’t got one. Western Union is an option but expensive and complicated. Not sure about PayPal n

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Barmeyoldbat Sat 06-Mar-21 15:51:56

I haver sent money both to Laos and Cambodia by PayPal, we did try the banks but it was impossibly difficult. Didn't like where were sending the money but we were supporting a young monk at college and needed to pay his college fees Cambodia was a lot easier it sent $200 via PayPal to pay for medical expensive at a hospital. Our friend received it on his phone and then banked it in his account.

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Hithere Mon 08-Mar-21 02:20:38

Xoom.com

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mumofmadboys Mon 08-Mar-21 07:23:20

When my son was travelling in India I sent him money by Western Union. It was reasonably straightforward. I needed my sons passport number if I remember rightly but I may have got this wrong. You are given a code which you pass on to the recipient and they prove their ID and give the code and are then given cash. WU isn't all over India so you need to check there is a branch near where your friend lives. Good luck.

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Tommy16 Mon 08-Mar-21 08:43:33

World remit is cheap and easy,many ways of sending money give a very poor exchange rate,I've found world remit quite good

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Stoker48 Mon 08-Mar-21 12:40:30

Thank you all very much for your helpful comments.
I will look into your suggestions.

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Farmor15 Mon 08-Mar-21 13:18:11

We have relatives in India and have sent money by Western Union. Also paid deposit for hotel that way. It’s actually cheaper than bank transfer. As you have her address, you can check online where the nearest pick-up point is. WU is very easy for recipient.

I think you can do 1 or 2 transfers before having to register yourself with WU, which involves sending passport details - at least that’s how it was for me in Ireland- anti-money laundering regulations.

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