If you have travelled abroad, there’s every possibility that you have some leftover foreign currency notes and funds in your forex card. Once you are back from the foreign land, you have the choice to either convert it there and then or play the waiting game if you think the currency value of the notes you have will rise.
There are a few rules that you must be aware about while keeping the foreign currency. One is that the maximum amount of foreign currency notes allowed is USD 3,000, and any excess must be declared at the airport by completing a CDF form which is also known as Currency Declaration Form.
According to Reserve Bank of India policy, an Indian person has the right to keep up to 2,000 US dollars in foreign currency or its equivalent indefinitely. Foreign currencies worth more than the previously mentioned limit must be encashed within 180 days once you are back in India.
Here are a few tips to deal with the leftover currency you have:
1. Don’t play the waiting game and expect the currency value to go up: A few travellers play the waiting game so that they convert once the currency value goes up. For example, if you went to the US and purchased US Dollars and you are now back in India, you want Indian currency to depreciate in respect to US Dollar so that you could fetch more INR during currency conversion.
It is highly advisable not to go for this strategy as it can backfire easily. If you are not a forex expert which many of us are not, you should not be making out predictions. We assume that during the time of your trip, there was not much currency fluctuation. So, you are not making much loss/profit on the currency conversion.
If you play the waiting game, there’s every chance that the notes you are holding may depreciate and you get less value when you go for the currency conversion process.
2. Encash the funds in your forex card and sell foreign currency notes via an online forex platform: A lot of travellers just opt for this simple method where they encash the funds for the local currency (Indian Rupee) and sell the leftover foreign currency notes. You can use the encashment feature if you have foreign currency on a travel card. You may simply contact the company that issued the travel card and request Indian rupees in return for the foreign currency that is available on the card.
If you want to sell your foreign currency notes, you can do so via our platform BookMyForex that will get you the best exchange rates which you won’t find anywhere else. You can simply place an order on our platform and you can do the entire process while sitting at home. Our designated person will visit your place and will give you the Indian currency in return for the foreign currency notes. You can see the rates at the time of booking the order. So, we have full transparency as far as it is concerned.
3. Keep the foreign currency for the next trip: If you travel frequently for work or frequently visit the same country, you should save the money for your next trip. If you think that you will be making a visit to that country anytime soon, you can decide not to encash the forex card and keep the currency notes to use it on the next trip. If you are abiding by the limit that is set by the RBI on keeping foreign currency, you can just keep the foreign currency to be used while you make the next trip abroad.
4. Keep a few foreign currency notes as a souvenir and gift it to family/friends: If you have leftover currency, you can keep a few currency notes as a token of remembrance. This can be done by people who think they won’t visit the country again. You can keep the coins and keep them as a showpiece. The other thing that you can do is that you can also gift a few currency notes to family or friends. This would be a very special gift.
How to unload funds from the BookMyForex travel card?
Only after you return to India would you be eligible for a refund. Please place an order online at www.bookmyforex.com for a refund of any residual or unutilized balances. Choose the option to “Reload/ Unload Forex Card” and place an order online. You must apply a properly completed and signed refund encashment form, as well as a copy of your passport. Upload both documents and the money will be refunded back to your account.
How do I sell the leftover currency notes?
Like we told you earlier in the article, you can follow a simple process and place an order on BookMyForex to get the best deal possible.
Step 1: Go to BookMyForex’s portal. Tap on ‘Sell Forex.
Step 2: Select your city and currency.
Step 3: Select the amount you want to convert. Upload the required documents and your order is placed. That’s it. It is that simple!
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