Indian Bank NRI Account: Services Available for NRIs

If you have Indian income, I would pay particular attention to the NRO side.

Indian Bank's current deposit policy says an NRO account can be maintained by a person resident outside India for bona fide transactions denominated in Indian rupees.

An NRI may use an NRO account for things such as managing legitimate Indian income and expenses. If you have rental income, dividends or similar income in India, this is more relevant than simply choosing an account based on the name.

There are also other deposit options. Indian Bank's deposit policy covers NRE/FCNR(B) arrangements and also describes the SNRR account for a person resident outside India who has business interests in India and needs to conduct permissible transactions.

Obviously, SNRR isn't something most individual NRIs will need, but it shows that the bank's NRI banking offering goes beyond a basic NRE/NRO savings account.

For normal personal banking, I'd focus on NRE, NRO, remittance, foreign exchange, digital banking and loan facilities first.

I use Indian Bank mainly for remittances and managing money in India.

One thing I didn't realize initially was that NRI banking isn't limited to NRE/NRO savings accounts. Indian Bank has a dedicated NRI and foreign-exchange section, so there are services around foreign exchange and remittances as well. The bank's current website lists “NRI / Foreign Exchange” as a dedicated service area.

I also use net banking and mobile banking for regular transactions. Indian Bank currently lists internet banking and mobile banking among its digital banking facilities.

My experience with online banking has been reasonably straightforward for normal transactions, although NRI-specific requests can sometimes involve additional documentation or bank verification.

If you're comparing Indian Bank with other banks, I'd compare the actual NRI services and charges, not just the savings-account interest rate.

I’ve been using Indian Bank for my NRI banking for a couple of years. I originally had a resident savings account and later got it converted to NRO after moving abroad.

The main facilities I use are the NRO account, online banking, fund transfers and account statements. I also use the account for rental income and other India-related payments.

Indian Bank has an NRI customer onboarding portal now, and it specifically lists requests such as opening a savings account, converting a resident account to NRO, periodic KYC updates, grouping accounts and updating email/mobile details.

That was useful for me because I didn't want to start from scratch with a completely new account.

For someone earning abroad, I'd also look at an NRE account separately. The purpose is different from an NRO account, especially if you're receiving money from overseas versus managing income generated in India.

I would also keep your overseas address, passport and other KYC documents updated. NRI banking can become frustrating when the bank has an old address or mobile number on file.