Private sector lender Axis Bank has inked a deal with US-based bank Wells Fargo to offer remittance services for their NRI customers. Under the arrangement, Axis Bank’s NRI customers can send remittances to their bank accounts in India 24x7 through Wells Fargo's “ExpressSend Service”. Customers can send remittances at Wells Fargo's branches, on phone or online at their website. Beginning April 8, 2017, customers can send money directly to their beneficiary account at Axis Bank a $0 transfer fee. Meanwhile, in December 2016, Wells Fargo added more than 2,500 Axis Bank locations and 12,300 ATMs to its ExpressSend payout network in India. Back in 2012, Axis Bank had partnered with UAE Exchange and Financial Services, the remittances and currency exchange subsidiary of the UAE Exchange group, to extend its mobile based Instant Money Transfer (IMT) for cross-border inward remittances. NRIs could send money to a registered mobile number of their choice in the country, by using any of Xpress Money’s locations present in over 125 countries. Recipients would have instant access to this money and they can withdraw it from any Axis Bank ATMs by using the codes sent to their registered mobile number. Note that the partnership is coming in at a time when the Reserve Bank of India is considering allowing wallets to undertake cross-border inward remittances. However, the wallets need to be fully KYC compliant and issuers can enable this facility only on explicit request of the customers. To begin with, a per transaction limit of not exceeding Rs 5000 for such cross-border transactions shall…
