Payments

Wise, Remitly or Western Union: Which Can Receive Australian Dollar Export Payments in India, and at What Cost?

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 31 October 2026
Last modified: 31 October 2026
Fees checked on: 28 October 2026
Reading time: 7 min read

Short answer

In 2026 Remitly's Australian service is limited to personal, family or household use, and business use breaches its terms.¹ Western Union delivers to India under RBI's Money Transfer Service Scheme, which excludes trade-related remittances.²³ Wise lets Indian businesses receive AUD among 24 currencies.⁴ On published fees for AUD 7,100, Skydo costs about 0.69%.⁵⁶

Applies to	Rules involved	Platforms compared	Last verified
Indian freelancers and businesses invoicing Australian clients in AUD⁷	RBI Money Transfer Service Scheme; 2026 FEMA Regulations; Payment Aggregator Master Direction³⁸⁹	Skydo, Winvesta, Payoneer, Remitly, Western Union, Wise⁵¹⁰¹¹¹¹²⁴	31 October 2026

Invoice amountCurrencyHow the client pays

1,500 AUD = ₹95,921 at the reference rate for 13 November 2026 (European Central Bank data).

Estimated rupees received, on published fees

Sorted by estimated rupees received, highest first. Only providers that publish both their fee and their conversion markup for this currency and method can be estimated.

#	Provider and route	Best for	Fee (+GST)	Markup	You receive	Cost
1	WinvestaLowest estimated costGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,875	0%	₹94,046	1.95%
2	SkydoTransfer to Skydo local account details or international SWIFT account	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹2,113	0%	₹93,808	2.20%
3	PayoneerLocal bank transfer to Payoneer receiving account details	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork	₹0no GST stated	1 to 4%	₹92,084 to ₹94,962	1.00 to 4.00%
4	PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹4,240no GST stated	3 to 4%	₹88,014 to ₹88,931	7.29 to 8.24%

Not estimated because pricing is not fully published: PingPong, Tazapay, TransFi, Wise.

Where a provider says GST applies to its fee but not at what rate, the range runs from no GST to 18%, the rate Skydo, Stripe and Winvesta state on their pages. Estimates use each provider's published fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge, checked 2026-10-28, against the reference rate. They exclude charges taken by intermediary banks and your own bank, and the rate a provider actually applies at the time of conversion. Check the provider's pricing page before you choose. The order is calculated only from these published numbers; no provider can pay to change its position, and there are no affiliate links.

Wise, Remitly and Western Union all move Australian dollars to India, but only one of the three lets an Indian business receive payment for its own invoices.⁴¹³ This page corrects the common framing that all three are interchangeable for export receipts, then compares the providers that can take AUD invoice payments. For the full AUD guide, see receiving AUD payments in India.

Why are Remitly and Western Union not export payment routes from Australia?

Remitly and Western Union are personal remittance services, and their terms and RBI's scheme rules keep them to personal transfers.¹¹²³ That is why the title of this page was corrected from "the cheapest way to get Australian dollars into India".

Remitly Australia: the service is available only to individuals for personal, family or household purposes, and use for business purposes breaches the agreement.¹
Remitly Business: the business product is offered to businesses in the US and Canada: its US agreement covers US-registered businesses with a US-resident account holder, and its Canada site covers businesses in Canada.¹⁴⁴⁰
Western Union: its money transfer terms say it accepts payments and sends money only to accounts used for personal, not business, purposes.¹²
RBI scheme: Western Union Financial Services is authorised in India for inbound cross-border money transfer under the Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS).² Under MTSS, remitters and beneficiaries are individuals only, each remittance is capped at USD 2,500, and trade-related remittances are not allowed.³

Money from family in Australia is a different question; this page covers payment for services.

How do Wise, Remitly and Western Union compare for Australian dollar payments to India?

Wise is the only one of the three that publishes an Indian business receiving product for AUD, and the three lowest-cost AUD providers on published fees are Skydo, Winvesta and Payoneer.⁴⁵¹⁰¹¹ The table lists ranked providers by estimated cost on AUD 7,100, cheapest first, then the rest A to Z.

Platform	Best for	Fee	FX markup	Settlement	FIRA	RBI PA-CB status	Source
Skydo	Local bank transfers from major markets¹⁹	USD 29 plus GST from USD 2,001 to USD 10,000. Estimated cost on AUD 7,100: 0.69%⁵⁶	0% markup on the mid-market rate (product page); retail rate set by Skydo or its partner banks (terms)²⁰³⁹	Within 24 hours (product page); T+1 to T+3 business days (terms)²⁰³⁹	Free FIRA on every payment²⁰	PA-CB-I & O²	Skydo fee FAQ⁵
Winvesta	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee¹⁰²¹	0.99% plus AUD 10 per transaction up to 2,000 a month per currency; 18% GST. Estimated cost: 1.33%¹⁰	0% markup advertised²²	Not published for AUD; USD 1 and EUR or GBP 2 business days after processing²³	Free e-FIRA within 24 hours²⁴	Says it is an OPGSP; not on the RBI PA list²⁵²	Winvesta charges FAQ¹⁰
Payoneer	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork²⁶	Free to receive (multi-currency account page); fixed fee or 1% for non-local currencies (pricing page). Estimated cost: 1.00 to 4.00%²⁷¹¹	1% to 4% to INR¹¹	Within 24 hours (multi-currency account page); within 48 hours (pricing page)¹¹²⁷	Free digital FIRA per transaction²⁸	In-principle PA-CB authorisation; under process on 16 October 2026²⁹³⁰	Payoneer fees page¹¹
Remitly	US business clients already using Remitly¹⁴³¹	No fee for the receiver in India; the sender pays³²	Rate shown to the sender; no markup published³³	Not published for Australia	Not published³²	Not on the RBI PA-CB list²	Remitly Australia agreement¹
Western Union	Personal transfers between individuals¹²³	Transfer fee shown to the sender before authorising¹²	Margin added to interbank rates¹²	Not published on the India receive page³⁴	Not mentioned on the India receive page³⁴	Authorised under MTSS, inbound only²	Western Union terms¹²
Wise	Bank transfers to local account details⁴	2 USD equivalent per transfer to INR (help article); free e-FIRC (receive pricing page); 18% GST. Cost not estimated⁴¹⁵¹³	Currency-dependent fee; no INR percentage published¹³	INR within 1 to 2 days⁴	e-FIRC per transfer within 3 working days⁴	PA-CB-I²	Wise India help article⁴

Which RBI rule governs money from Australia in AUD?

The 2026 FEMA Regulations govern AUD payments for exported services, and the Money Transfer Service Scheme governs personal transfers through operators such as Western Union.⁸³

Rule	Best for	Plain meaning	Source
2026 Regulations, regulations 3 to 5	AUD invoices for services	EDF to your bank and realisation within nine months of the invoice	⁸¹⁸
Payment Aggregator Master Direction, paragraph 11(d)	Receipts through Wise, Skydo or another PA-CB	₹25 lakh maximum per transaction	⁹
MTSS Master Direction, paragraphs 1.1 and 3.4	Personal money from family	Individuals only; USD 2,500 per remittance; 30 remittances per beneficiary a year; trade-related remittances excluded	³
Deposits and Accounts Master Direction, paragraph 3.1	Exporters who want to hold AUD	An EEFC account can take 100% of foreign exchange earnings; convert by the last day of the next month	³⁵

What does each option charge for AUD?

Each AUD option charges a fixed amount, a percentage or a conversion margin, and only some publish all three.⁵¹⁰¹¹¹²

Option	Best for	Published charge	Source
Skydo	Local bank transfers from major markets¹⁹	USD 19 plus GST up to USD 2,000; USD 29 plus GST to USD 10,000; 0.3% plus GST above	⁵
Winvesta	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee¹⁰²¹	0.99% plus AUD 10 per transaction, plus 18% GST	¹⁰
Payoneer	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork²⁶	Free to receive (multi-currency account page); fixed fee or 1% for non-local currencies (pricing page); 1% to 4% on conversion to INR	²⁷¹¹
Remitly	US business clients already using Remitly¹⁴³¹	Sender pays; no receiver fee	³²
Western Union	Personal transfers between individuals¹²³	Transfer fee plus a margin on the exchange rate	¹²
Wise	Bank transfers to local account details⁴	2 USD equivalent per transfer to INR (help article) plus a conversion fee; free e-FIRC (receive pricing page)	⁴¹³

Which option is cheapest at AUD 2,800, AUD 7,100 and AUD 14,200?

Skydo has the lowest estimated cost at all three AUD amounts on published fees, followed by Winvesta, and the gap widens on larger invoices because Skydo's fee is flat up to USD 10,000.⁵¹⁰ The table works out the rupees from published fees at today's rate.

Platform	Best for	INR on AUD 2,900	INR on AUD 7,400	INR on AUD 15,000	Cost on AUD 7,400
SkydoMost INRTransfer to Skydo local account details or international SWIFT account	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,83,334	₹4,69,986	₹9,55,815	0.68%
WinvestaGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,82,526	₹4,66,928	₹9,47,251	1.33%
PayoneerLocal bank transfer to Payoneer receiving account details	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork	₹1,78,030 to ₹1,83,593	₹4,54,282 to ₹4,68,479	₹9,20,842 to ₹9,49,619	1.00 to 4.00%

Not estimated because pricing for AUD is not fully published: Wise.

Ranked by INR received on AUD 7,400. Reference rate: European Central Bank data for 13 November 2026. Fees, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charges as published by each provider, checked 28 October 2026. Ranges appear where a provider publishes a range or does not state its GST rate. Intermediary bank charges are excluded. See the methodology.

For example, the estimated cost is 1.14% with Skydo and 1.59% with Winvesta on AUD 2,800, and 0.34% with Skydo and 1.25% with Winvesta on AUD 14,200.⁵¹⁰ Payoneer stays at 1.00 to 4.00% because its conversion fee depends on your account.¹¹

What documents and GST apply to AUD payments from Australia?

AUD payments from Australia need the same Indian documents as any service export.⁸³⁶

Document	Best for	Who issues it	Source
FIRA or e-FIRC	Each AUD receipt	Platform partner bank or your bank	⁴²⁸²⁴
Export Declaration Form	Every service export from 1 October 2026	You, to your AD bank	⁸
LUT (FORM GST RFD-11)	Invoicing without IGST	You, on the GST portal	³⁶
e-BRC	GST refund records	You, on the DGFT portal	³⁷

Export status: work for an Australian client is an export of services only when all five conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act are met.⁷
GST: an export of services is zero-rated, so a registered supplier with an LUT invoices without IGST.³⁸³⁶
Australian payment rails: Direct Entry (BECS) and the New Payments Platform carry domestic AUD payments.¹⁶
Treaty: the India-Australia DTAA covers certain technical services under Article 12 (Royalties).¹⁷ See receiving money from Australia.

What changes in 2026 for AUD payments from Australia to India?

Three 2026 changes apply to AUD payments for services.⁸¹⁸²

EDF for all services: from 1 October 2026 under the 2026 Regulations.⁸
Nine-month realisation: from the invoice date, from 1 October 2026.¹⁸
New PA-CB authorisations: RBI lists Skydo as PA-CB-I & O from 8 January 2026 and Wise as PA-CB-I from 12 March 2026.²
MTSS update: RBI updated the MTSS Master Direction on 29 September 2026; the personal-only scope still applies.³

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 31 October 2026. Provider fees, conversion markups and RBI payment aggregator (PA-CB) status were checked on 28 October 2026. Rupee amounts use European Central Bank reference rates for 13 November 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to receive AUD in India from an Australian client?+

On published fees for AUD 7,100, Skydo costs about 0.69%, Winvesta about 1.33% and Payoneer 1.00 to 4.00%.⁵¹⁰¹¹ Wise does not publish a conversion percentage for INR, so its cost is not estimated.¹³ The order changes with invoice size, so check your own amount in the calculator.

Can my Australian client pay my invoice through Remitly?+

Remitly's Australian user agreement makes its service available only to individuals for personal, family or household purposes, and says business use is a breach.¹ Remitly Business is offered to businesses in the US and Canada.¹⁴⁴⁰

Can I receive freelance payments from Australia through Western Union?+

Western Union pays out in India under RBI's Money Transfer Service Scheme, which allows only inward personal remittances between individuals and excludes trade-related remittances.²³ Payment for freelance work is a trade receipt, so use a bank or an authorised payment aggregator instead.

How much is Wise's fee for AUD received by an Indian business?+

Wise's India help article says it charges an equivalent of 2 USD in the received currency for the transfer to the INR bank account that issues the e-FIRC, and its India receive pricing page describes the e-FIRC as free.⁴¹³ Conversion is at the mid-market rate plus a fee that depends on the currency, and 18% GST applies to Wise fees.¹³¹⁵

How do Australian clients send AUD to an Indian freelancer?+

Australian payers use Direct Entry (BECS) and the New Payments Platform, launched in February 2018, for domestic payments.¹⁶ With local AUD account details from a platform, the client pays as if paying an Australian supplier; otherwise the client sends a SWIFT wire to your Indian bank.

Does Australia withhold tax on payments to Indian freelancers?+

The India-Australia tax treaty treats certain technical services as royalties under Article 12, with rates of 10% to 20% depending on the payment.¹⁷ Whether your service falls inside that definition depends on what you deliver, so confirm with a chartered accountant.

How long does an Australian client have to pay my invoice?+

Under regulation 5 of the 2026 FEMA Regulations, payment for exported services must be realised within nine months from the invoice date, or twelve months if invoiced or settled in rupees.¹⁸ Your AD bank can extend the period if the client pays late.⁸ The deadline is the same for every currency.

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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