DBS NRI Account

Different Types of NRI Account with DBS

As an NRI, you must grasp the differences between India’s three bank accounts available to you. It makes it easier for you to meet your investment goals, financial obligations and do proper planning for your residency.

Depending on the type, you have to open the DBS NRI accounts with earnings originating in India or your country of residence.

Accounts for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) at DBS

You have three types of accounts in general: 

1. NRE (Non-Resident External Account) bank accounts

   If you are an NRI, you need to open and maintain NRE accounts with profits originating in your country of residence, but they must be held in Indian rupee denominations.

   Consider the following scenario for a better understanding – Let us say that you work in Paris, France, and every month, you transfer 2000 euros to your mother's NRE account, deposited in Indian currency. Given the current currency rate of 1 EUR = 80 INR at the time, your remittance of 2000 Euro would be kept in your NRE Account as Rs 1,60,000.

   The NRE account with DBS has the following features:

   • Money needs to be kept in a savings account or deposited.

   • Interest earned in an NRE account is tax-free.

   • On NRE Savings Accounts, DBS Treasures offers a high-interest rate of up to 3% p.a.

   • The funds in your NRE savings account are fully reimbursable.

2. NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary Account) bank accounts

   You can open an NRO account with revenue produced in India and store it in INR denominations in the deposit account. Rent, dividends, and other income sources are the options that you can deposit into this account.

   For example, you are an NRI living in Newark, New Jersey but have a Mumbai residence leased to your brother. To obtain rent revenues from such a lease, you must first register an NRO account, into which your brother will deposit the agreed-upon rent sum regularly.

   The currency deposited by you in an NRO account is not converted as they are held in Indian Rupee denominations. 

   The NRO Account with DBS has the following features:

   • The foreign currency placed in the NRO account is converted to INR at the current exchange rate. Therefore, you need to withdraw only INR.

   • Money can be kept in a savings account or deposited.

   • On NRO savings accounts, DBS Treasures offers high-interest rates of up to 3% p.a.

   • Interest income is subject to a tax deduction at source in the FCNR (B) Account.

3. FCNR or (Foreign Currency Non-Residential Account)

   The FCNR allows Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) or Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) to make deposits in foreign currency. NRIs or PIOs should make these deposits in their home country's currency, and they must be held in any of the foreign currencies agreed by RBI in that account.

   US Dollars (USD), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), Euros (EUR), Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP), Singapore Dollars (SGD), Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), Japanese Yen (JPY), and Swiss Francs (CHF) are the currencies in which deposits can be held in an FCNR (B) Account (CHF).

   As a result, if you earn money in one of the above-mentioned currencies, your deposits in an FCNR (B) Account are not converted. But if you earn money in a different currency, your deposits made in that currency are changed to one of the currencies mentioned above.

Documents and Eligibility Criteria to Open a DBS NRI Account

In the case of NRI accounts, DBS follows unique eligibility criteria.

If you fall into the following categories, then you are eligible to open these accounts:

• If you are employed, own a business, or engage in some trade-in foreign countries.

• If you are employed by the Indian Navy, a foreign-registered airline, an oil rig, or an overseas shipping company that requires you as an employee to spend at least 182 days outside of India's home territory.

• If you are a government worker who holds diplomatic passports.

• If you are an international student who is pursuing your studies in another country

• Spouse of an Indian citizen or spouse of a person of Indian origin

The following documents are required for a DBS NRI account:

• Copy of Form 60 or PAN card

• Photocopies of several passport pages comprising information such as name, address, birth date, passport issue, and expiration dates.

• Proof of employment

• Copy of valid PIO/OCI card or any other proof of PIO status (as per Customer Identification Policy)

• Proof of overseas and Indian address (as per Customer Identification Policy)

• A copy of a valid PIO/OCI card or equivalent verification of PIO status (as per Customer Identification Policy)

Features and Advantages of NRI Account with DBS

Following are the features and advantages of a DBS NRI account:

• Easy to open: An NRI savings account with DBS Treasures is simple to open, contactless, and can be done from anywhere in the world.

• FCNR deposit: You have the option of booking foreign currency deposits at DBS Treasures, which lets you save money in a foreign currency. What's the best part? You will earn interest in your preferred currency.

• Tax liabilities: Interest earned in an NRE account is tax-free in India. Interest earned in an NRO account is subject to TDS according to Indian income tax legislation.

• More than one account: You have the option to open with DBS Treasures one or both types of NRI savings accounts:

• Savings Account (NRE) / Savings Account (NRO)

• Savings Account for NREs

Disadvantages of an NRI Account

1. Low liquidity 

   Individuals who want to invest in FCNR to protect their money from exchange rate changes need to only open a fixed deposit account with a maturity period of one to five years.

2. Prone to danger

   In an NRE account, deposits made in foreign currencies are subject to conversion into Indian rupees. As a result, the value of such deposits may change due to home currency appreciation (or depreciation of foreign currency), resulting in losses during repatriation.

In Conclusion

If you are someone with a source of income in India, you should open an online DBS NRI account to keep your money. If you have dependents in India or plan to return at some point, you should create an NRI bank account with DBS to ease remittance.

But remember that the three types of NRI accounts have terms and conditions and cater to different monetary needs.

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