How to Receive Money From the US to India?

You can receive US payments through a bank wire (SWIFT), a gateway like PayPal or Stripe, a remittance service, or a virtual multicurrency account. A virtual account is usually the cheapest and fastest, because your US client pays into local US account details and you receive INR at the mid-market rate. Skydo gives you a virtual US account so clients can pay you like a local US transfer.

The cheapest option is the one with the lowest total cost, not the lowest headline fee. Gateways can cost 4 to 5% once you add the FX markup, which quietly eats more than a flat fee would. A flat-fee platform on the mid-market rate keeps more of every US invoice. On a $10,000 payment, Skydo costs a flat $29 with zero FX markup.

It depends on the method. A US bank wire (SWIFT) can take 3 to 7 business days, and some gateways hold funds longer. A virtual multicurrency account is faster, usually settling into your Indian bank within 24 hours. With Skydo, most US payments reach your account within a day.

Your US client pays into local US account details using ACH for most payments, or Fedwire for larger or urgent ones. For them it works exactly like paying any US vendor, no SWIFT, no international transfer form, no foreign wire fee on their end.

There is no official upper cap on inward remittances to India, so you can receive as much as your client sends. Large transfers can trigger extra compliance checks, and your bank or platform may ask for more documentation to satisfy RBI and anti-fraud rules. Individual platforms also set their own ceilings, and payments routed through an RBI-authorised cross-border payment aggregator carry a per-transaction cap under the PA-CB framework, so check before you raise a large invoice.

Not as USD. Under RBI rules an ordinary Indian savings or current account cannot hold foreign currency, so incoming dollars are converted to INR before they credit, at whatever rate your bank applies. Holding foreign currency needs a special account such as an EEFC (Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency) account, which comes with conditions and is uncommon for freelancers and small businesses. A virtual US account is the practical alternative: your client pays in USD, and you receive INR at the mid-market rate.

Four things. Your PAN, which your bank needs to record any foreign remittance credit, plus Aadhaar or a passport for identity. Your Indian bank account number with the IFSC code, and the SWIFT or BIC code if the money is arriving as a wire. The correct RBI purpose code for what you are being paid for, since a software consulting export sits under a different code from goods. And a FIRA for each payment, which is the document your CA will ask for at filing.

Yes, if the payment is arriving as a bank wire. Your client's bank needs the SWIFT or BIC code of your Indian bank to route it, along with your account number and IFSC. If your client pays into local US account details instead, the payment never touches SWIFT and no code is needed on either side.

Yes. A FIRA (Foreign Inward Remittance Advice) is your proof that a US payment came in legally, and your CA needs it for GST and FEMA compliance. Many banks make you request it manually and charge per certificate. With Skydo, an e-FIRA is generated automatically on every US payment and stored in your dashboard, ready to download.

GST does not apply. Services exported and paid for in foreign currency are zero-rated under Indian GST law, so you do not charge your US client GST. Income tax does apply. The earnings are added to your total income and taxed at your slab rate as an Indian tax resident, with no special exemption for foreign income.

Fees depend on the method. Banks add a wire charge plus a 2 to 4% FX markup, and PayPal can run to 4 to 5% all in. Skydo charges a flat fee with zero FX markup: $19 under $2,000, $29 from $2,001 to $10,000, and 0.3% above $10,000, so what you see is what you get.

It is convenient, and US clients already trust it, which is why most freelancers start there. Cost is the catch. PayPal charges 4.4% plus a fixed fee and adds roughly 4% on currency conversion, so the all-in cost can approach 8% of the invoice. You also get a weekly digital statement rather than a FIRA on each payment, which makes reconciliation harder at filing time.

For a bank wire, ask your client for the MT103 from their bank. It is the confirmation document for the transfer and lets you trace where the money is in the correspondent chain. With Skydo you can track the payment in your dashboard in real time, without asking your client for anything.

Yes. Skydo is authorised by the Reserve Bank of India as a Payment Aggregator, Cross Border (PA-CB), so your money moves through a regulated channel every time. You get a FIRA on every payment and funds settle directly to your Indian bank account.