Useful
Links:
Indian Currency is the Indian Rupee
(Re/Rs). Since you are not allowed to bring in Indian currency, your
best option is the airport bank. Indian Rupee notes are printed in
denominations of Rs 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, and 10. The Rupee is divided
into 100 Paise. You will see only 1, 2, 5 Rs coins, though coins below
50 paisa are rarely seen.
You should keep small denominations notes for the small payments like
tips, bus tickets, and meals. When going to a remote area or small town
where encashing of travellers cheque will be difficult you can take 1000
Rs and 500 Rs notes, but you should be careful when using them and
should not be confused with 100 Rs.
Travelers cheques
Traveller's Cheques issued by reputable companies (eg Thomas Cook,
American Express) are accepted without difficulty. Traveler's Cheques
exchanged in banks or hotels, and can only very rarely be used directly
for Payment. You need identification documents like a passport to be
shown. Except in hotels, encashing Traveler's Cheques nearly always
takes up to 30 minutes or longer, So it is worth taking larger
denomination Traveler's Cheques and changing enough to last for some
days. Banks accept both Dollar and sterling. Other major currency
Traveler's Cheques are also accepted in some larger cities. If you are
traveling to remote areas it is advised that you buy Indian Rupee
Traveler's Cheques from a major bank, as these are more widely accepted
than foreign currency ones.
Credit cards
Major credit cards are increasingly accepted in the main centers,
though in smaller cities and towns it is still rare to be able to pay by
credit card. Visa and Master Card have a growing number of ATMs in major
cities, but many ATMs only deal with local account holder. HDFC bank
have the facility of withdrawing money from you overseas account. You
can use their ATM m/s to withdraw money in Indian Rupee, presently there
branches are in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur only in Rajasthan. Railway
Reservation center 17 major cities are now taking payment for train
tickets by visa card which can be very quick as the queue is very short.
International transfers
Don't run out of money in India unless you have a credit card against
which you can draw traveller's Cheques or cash. You can also use HDFC
ATM facility to withdraw money from your overseas account, but there is
a limit of Rs 15,000 in a day. Having money transferred through the
banking system can be time consuming. It's usually straightforward if
you use a foreign/private banks elsewhere it may take a fortnight and
will be a hassle.
You can also use Western Union for money transfer and they are having
agents in Rajasthan.
Banks & foreign exchange dealers
Name of some of the banks dealing in the foreign exchange:
