The Small Finance Bank has set a new benchmark in transparent cross-border banking
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, May 4, 2026: AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), India’s largest Small Finance Bank and the first institution in over a decade to receive in‑principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to transition into a Universal Bank, has launched a customer‑centric forex proposition aimed at eliminating embedded charges on international fund transfers. With this offering, AU SFB becomes the only Indian bank in the private sector to provide zero forex margin and zero bank charges on both inward and outward remittances, enabling customers to transfer money to and from India at truly transparent exchange rates, without any hidden mark‑ups.
The initiative covers outward remittances (Send Money Abroad) under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for resident Indians sending fund overseas for education, family maintenance, investments and other RBI permitted purposes as well as inward and outward remittances for NRIs through AU NRE and NRO accounts. With this move, AU SFB strengthens its positioning in transparent forex services, international remittances, and customer‑centric digital banking solutions.
Outward Remittances: Eliminating the ‘Invisible Cost’
For resident Indians and Non‑Resident Indians (NRIs), whether parents funding overseas education, individuals supporting family members abroad, or customers transferring money for investments and other permitted purposes outward remittances have long carried an often-invisible cost. While transaction charges, GST, and Tax Collected at Source (TCS) are visible, an additional forex margin, often up to 2% remains embedded in bank exchange rates.
AU SFB’s new initiative eliminates these embedded costs, providing zero forex margins and bank charges, enabling customers to send money abroad with maximum savings. It includes:
· Zero forex margin – processed at AU SFB’s applicable Interbank Reference Rate (IBR) at the time of transaction
· Zero transaction charges - no bank charges on the transfer
· Zero foreign or correspondent bank charges - helping ensure that no AU‑levied deductions apply on the transfer amount
Inward Remittances (NRI): Honouring Every Rupee Earned Abroad
The second pillar of the initiative focuses on NRIs across key overseas corridors, who regularly send money to India for family support, investments and long‑term savings. AU SFB is introducing:
For many NRIs, even after comparing rates across banks and platforms, a certain amount of value erosion is often experienced during the remittance process. AU SFB’s initiative seeks to minimise this loss to the extent possible, by ensuring that when remittances are routed through AU SFB - either between AU accounts or via its authorised partner network, the money earned overseas reaches families in India with greater transparency and minimal erosion, subject to third‑party institutions involved in the transfer process.
Commenting on the launch, Uttam Tibrewal, Deputy CEO, AU Small Finance Bank, said, “In our experience, the most persistent cost in forex transactions has not always been visible - it has been the lack of transparency around what customers finally receive. At AU, we believe banking should simplify lives, not leave customers second‑guessing outcomes.
Whether it is a parent supporting a child’s overseas education or an NRI working miles away to provide for family back home, every remittance carries hard work, intent and emotion. Our endeavour with zero forex margin and zero bank charges is to make the process as fair and straightforward as possible, so that the value a customer sends or earns is preserved to the maximum extent within the banking system. This initiative reflects our long‑standing commitment to building a transparent, customer‑first bank.”
These propositions are designed for:
All remittance services are delivered through AU’s secure, RBI‑regulated banking ecosystem, combining digital convenience with branch‑enabled support.
Accessing the Services
· Inward and outward remittances (NRI): Available for customers opening or operating. AU NRE and NRO accounts, enabled through fully digital onboarding in compliance with FEMA and RBI norms. NRI account opening link: https://www.au.bank.in/nri-banking#
Tax-efficient FCNR and NRE deposit solutions for NRIs
For NRIs managing overseas earnings, AU SFB offers a comprehensive suite of FCNR (B) and NRE deposit solutions designed for transparency and efficiency.
· FCNR (B) deposits enable UAE and GCC‑based NRIs to invest in major foreign currencies - USD, GBP, EUR and CAD, without any currency conversion risk, across tenures of one to five years, with returns of up to 5.35% p.a., semi‑annual compounding, and fully tax‑free, repatriable proceeds in India.
· Complementing this, AU SFB’s NRE Fixed Deposits offer INR‑denominated returns of up to 7.25% p.a., with complete repatriation and tax‑free interest benefits.
