Several Indians are migrating abroad for better career prospects and a finer standard of living. When you relocate abroad for education or employment, your citizenship status changes from an Indian resident to a non-resident Indian. As you gain an NRI status, different banking rules apply. The most important rule is you need to operate finances through an NRI Account.
An NRI Account exclusively meets the banking needs of an NRI. Any NRI and Person of Indian Origin can open such an account. You can open an NRI Account with any leading bank authorised by the Reserve Bank of India. Make sure the bank you open an account with has a global presence. This enables you to open and operate your account from anywhere globally. Following are the various banking benefits you can enjoy on opening an NRI Account:
Make seamless Remittance
Remittance is the primary banking requirement of every NRI. The account allows you to make seamless Remittances at preferential exchange rates. For example, your mother lives alone in your home country. You may wish to transfer funds to her to help meet her daily expenses. Here, you can easily deposit funds in your Non-Resident Ordinary or NRO Account and financially support her.
Secure your earnings
An NRI Account allows you to secure your earnings and earn competitive interest rates. You can park your Indian and foreign earnings securely in your NRO Account. It is maintained in Indian Rupees and allows you to access your funds through Internet Banking or ATM withdrawal.
If you want a financial instrument that secures your earnings in foreign currency, a Non-Resident External or NRE Account should be your pick. The principal amount and interest earnings here are fully repatriable and tax-free.
Invest in profitable instruments
While you reside abroad, you can continue to maximise profits by investing in many NRI Investment instruments. Equities, Mutual Funds, and Fixed Deposits are popular to consider investing in. For this, you should mandatorily hold an NRI Account. When you open NRI Account online, you get access to the Portfolio Investment Scheme. The RBI initiated this scheme to enable NRIs to invest in Indian instruments and markets.
Moreover, as an NRI Account holder, you can also sign up for professional investment assistance and channel your money to better investments.
Safeguard from forex fluctuations
Do you fear your investment will take a hit when the INR value drops? Consider investing in Foreign Currency Non-Resident or FCNR Fixed Deposits. This FD earns you stable returns like other FDs. However, here you have the advantage of holding your investment in a foreign currency. You can hold your FCNR in six major world currencies.
This helps you safeguard your investment from forex rate fluctuations. Hence, investing in NRI Fixed Deposit is a smart choice.