Sending Money to India: The Advantages of Sending Cash Fast
While vacationing in India for a few weeks a while back, the unthinkable happened; I lost my wallet. I luckily still had a passport, but I had to find out a way to get money wired to India so I could get to the airport and come back home. Had I lost my passport as well, this would have been a very different story.
It was difficult at first to find a place where my family could wire money to from the United States. All that I had was a passport and suitcase, while I helplessly scoured for a place to get money sent. Finally, I found a place where my brother could send the money.
Ironically, just before I left for the trip my brother warned me to keep an extra stash of cash and an extra credit card in case I lost my wallet. Unfortunately I ignored him, figuring nothing like that had ever happened to me so it was better to keep everything in one place ” my wallet.
At the time, I didnt even have enough money to make a phone call but luckily a vacationing couple from Florida gave me enough to make a call and grab some food. When I called my brother, the first thing he asked was if hid extra cash and a credit card.
As soon as I figured out I lost my wallet, I was headed to to a town I planned to explore before I settled on a place to stay. So while I awaited the money, I had no place to go.
If you ever find yourself in a similar mess, make sure to have someone to get in touch with back home, then pass along the code of the location you would like the funds sent. This code is available at all locations and significantly speeds the process along. Also, to avoid getting shortchanged ask your sender to ensure the funds are converted converted to the correct currency.
Although it was still a spectacular trip, I really did learn a valuable lesson.