USD to INR: funding and paying out in India
Dollars from the US reach Indian beneficiaries mainly through the Rupee Drawing Arrangement, in which overseas exchange houses hold rupee Vostro accounts at Indian AD Category-I banks, or through the Money Transfer Service Scheme, and are credited over IMPS, UPI, NEFT or RTGS, all of which run 24x7. The main prefunding constraint is FX timing rather than payout rails: RBI's onshore FCY/INR market hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. IST, dealing outside those hours depends on an AD Category-I bank choosing to quote, and the interbank forex market closes on Negotiable Instruments Act holidays, so rupees for weekend and holiday payouts have to be bought in advance.
| Origin | United States (USD) |
| Destination | India (INR) |
| Instant rails in India | UPI (Unified Payments Interface), IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) |
| Holiday calendar | India bank holidays 2026 and 2027 |
The market
- Remittances to India reached a record US$155.1 billion in FY2025-26 (April to March), up 14.5% from US$135.4 billion in FY2024-25. source
- The United States was the largest source of India's inward remittances in 2023-24 with a 27.7% share, ahead of the UAE (19.2%) and the UK (10.8%), according to RBI's sixth remittances survey. source
- Maharashtra (20.5%), Kerala (19.7%) and Tamil Nadu (10.4%) received the largest shares of inward remittances in 2023-24. source
- Among bank channels, the Rupee Drawing Arrangement carried the highest share of inward remittances in 2023-24, followed by direct Vostro transfers by overseas banks. source
How recipients get paid
| Method | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| bank account | Nium pays INR in real time, 24x7, up to INR 500,000 via IMPS, real time via RTGS subject to an 18:00 IST cut-off, and same day via NEFT, choosing the fastest mode available. | source |
| bank account | dLocal supports payouts in India via bank transfers and UPI (to a virtual payment address). | source |
| cash pickup | Under MTSS, amounts up to INR 50,000 can be paid to a beneficiary in cash; larger amounts must be credited to a bank account or paid by instrument. MTSS caps each remittance at US$2,500. | source |
| card | Nium lists INR payouts to cards via Visa Direct. | source |
Payout rails in India
| Rail | Operator | Hours | Runs on holidays | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPI (Unified Payments Interface) | National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) | 24x7, including holidays. | yes | source |
| IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) | National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) | 24x7, including holidays. | yes | source |
| NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) | Reserve Bank of India | 24x7 since 16 December 2019. | yes | source |
| RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) | Reserve Bank of India | 24x7 since 14 December 2020. | yes | source |
Funding from United States
| Rail | Operator | Hours and cut-offs | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fedwire Funds Service | Federal Reserve Banks | Business day opens 9:00 p.m. ET on the previous calendar day and closes 7:00 p.m. ET. Customer transfer cut-off is 6:45 p.m. ET (banks set earlier cut-offs for their own customers). Closed Saturdays, Sundays and Fed holidays. | source |
| FedACH (including Same Day ACH) | Federal Reserve Banks | Business days only. Same Day ACH transmission deadlines 10:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. ET, settling at 1:00, 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. ET. Future-dated items settle 8:30 a.m. ET on the next business day. | source |
| FedNow Service | Federal Reserve Banks | 24 hours a day, every day, including Fed holidays; only between US institutions that have joined the service. | source |
| RTP network | The Clearing House | 24 hours a day, every day, including holidays; only between US institutions that have joined the network. | source |
FX and conversion
- RBI's market hours for over-the-counter FCY/INR trades, including forex derivatives, are 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. IST. Since January 2020, AD Category-I banks may also deal with resident and non-resident customers and with other banks outside onshore market hours. source
- In June 2025 RBI extended call money and repo hours but kept foreign exchange market trading hours unchanged. source
- Under RDA, AD Category-I banks in India tie up with non-resident exchange houses holding rupee Vostro accounts; RDA has no limit on the amount or frequency of personal remittances and is only for inward transfers. source
Who pays out in India
| Provider | What they offer here | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thunes | Supports bank account payouts across India with real-time processing for C2C, B2C and C2B flows, B2B payments on a T+1 basis, and cash pickup. | source |
| Nium | Pays INR to all banks in India via IMPS, RTGS and NEFT, to UPI proxies, by local and foreign currency wire, and to cards via Visa Direct. | source |
| dLocal | Supports payouts in India via bank transfers and UPI, in INR or USD. | source |
| TerraPay | Partnered with Raenest in February 2026 to enable local-currency payouts to freelancers in India and the Philippines. | source |
Stablecoin routes
| Provider | Route | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mudrex | RPFAS Technologies Private Limited (Mudrex) is registered with FIU-IND as a VDA service provider; users sell USDT for INR and withdraw rupees to a linked bank account. | source |
| CoinDCX (Neblio Technologies) | Neblio Technologies Private Limited (CoinDCX) is registered with FIU-IND as a VDA service provider and runs an OTC desk for large trades; minimum order 15,000 USDT or INR 12,00,000, whichever is lower, with INR deposits and withdrawals through the CoinDCX wallet. | source |
Prefunding this corridor
- Fedwire and FedACH do not run on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays, so USD funding of a foreign payout partner by wire stops on those days. source
- UPI, IMPS, NEFT and RTGS run 24x7, but interbank forex and money markets close on Negotiable Instruments Act holidays, so INR conversion for prefunding stops on those days. source
- MTSS Overseas Principals keep collateral in favour of their Indian Agent with a designated bank in India equal to three days' average drawings or US$50,000, whichever is higher; the US$50,000 minimum is held as a foreign currency deposit and the balance may be a bank guarantee, reviewed quarterly against the past three months' remittances. source
- Onshore FCY/INR market hours end at 3:30 p.m. IST, which is 6:00 a.m. New York time during US daylight saving time and 5:00 a.m. in winter, so conversions during the US business day depend on an AD Category-I bank quoting outside onshore market hours. source
Size the balance you hold in India for payouts during your top-up lead time plus local closures. Check this corridor's runway and the India holiday calendar.
Regulators
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI): Authorises Indian Agents under the Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS), which tie up with licensed Overseas Principals abroad to pay inward personal remittances in India. source
- Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND): Registers virtual digital asset service providers as reporting entities under the PMLA; 54 were registered as on 9 March 2026. The government states registration is not an endorsement. source
- US state money transmission regulators (origin side): Sending money from the US needs a money transmitter licence in each state that requires one. At the end of 2024, 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico managed money services licences through NMLS. source
Seeing this corridor in Polynopsis
Polynopsis shows the balance at each India payout partner, bank and wallet next to your USD funding accounts and the transfers in flight between them, and warns before the USD to INR corridor runs dry.
Frequently asked questions
Do Indian payout rails stop on holidays?
No. UPI, IMPS, NEFT and RTGS all run 24x7. What stops is FX: RBI's onshore FCY/INR market hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. IST, dealing outside them depends on an AD Category-I bank choosing to quote, and the interbank forex market closes on Negotiable Instruments Act holidays.
What is the difference between RDA and MTSS?
Under RDA, Indian AD Category-I banks pay out from rupee Vostro accounts of overseas exchange houses, with no limit on amount or frequency of personal remittances. MTSS caps each remittance at US$2,500, allows 30 remittances per beneficiary a year, lets up to INR 50,000 be paid in cash, and requires collateral of three days' average drawings or US$50,000, whichever is higher.
How large is the US share of India's remittances?
The United States was the largest source in RBI's 2023-24 survey at 27.7%. Total remittances reached US$155.1 billion in FY2025-26.
Are there regulated stablecoin off-ramps in India?
Virtual digital asset service providers register with FIU-IND as reporting entities (54 as on 9 March 2026), and the government says registration is not an endorsement. FIU-registered exchanges such as Mudrex and CoinDCX convert USDT to INR and pay out to bank accounts.
Other corridors
Sources
- Monthly Economic Review, June 2026 · Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India
- Changing dynamics of India's remittances: insights from the sixth round of India's Remittances Survey · Reserve Bank of India Bulletin
- Payouts to India · Nium Atlas
- India payouts · dLocal
- Master Direction: Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS), updated 29 Sep 2026 · Reserve Bank of India
- UPI FAQs · NPCI
- IMPS FAQs · NPCI
- NEFT transactions to be available 24x7 from Dec 16 · BQ Prime (BloombergQuint)
- RBI announces date for launching of RTGS 24x7 · Reserve Bank of India
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- FedACH Processing Schedule · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- About the FedNow Service · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- RTP network · The Clearing House
- RBI extends market trading hours (7 Dec 2022) · Reserve Bank of India
- Recommendations of the Working Group on trading and settlement timings (25 Jun 2025) · Reserve Bank of India
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 5805: Regulation of Virtual Digital Assets (30 Mar 2026) · Ministry of Finance, Government of India
- 2024 NMLS Money Services Businesses Report · Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS)
- Digital payments in India: a guide for businesses · Thunes
- TerraPay partners with Raenest to enable faster freelancer payouts across India and the Philippines · TerraPay
- Sell Tether (USDT) for INR in India · Mudrex
- CoinDCX OTC desk · CoinDCX
- Holiday Schedules · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Holidays (holiday matrix under the NI Act) · Reserve Bank of India
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.