There are different ways to transfer money from Australia to Nepal, but using a reliable, safe and legal service is the right way to do it. A lot of people even use untrustworthy/dodgy methods and many have even lost their hard earned cash in the process. Today I am going to share with you how I save funds from my weekly salary and then transfer it to a Nepali bank account of my choice every month through a few tap of my finger on my mobile phone. In fact, my transfers happen so fast that sometimes my money is deposited into a Nepali bank account the very next day. Please note that the method in this post is applicable to any international students, visitors, permanent or temporary residents currently working and living abroad in countries like Australia, USA, UK and over hundred other foreign countries.
UP Digital Banking App
UP is my go to digital wallet to transfer all my savings- be it for a DSLR camera, a Nintendo Switch or international transfer for my family members in Nepal. The Up mobile app has a smooth and easy to use interface that allows you to create an “Up Saver” and setup recurring international payments when your savings reach a set goal or target amount. Let’s say you want to save NRS 25000 each month, you can allocate a certain amount from your paycheck every week or fortnightly (however, you get paid) and then transfer the fund from your salary account to your UP account (you will be provided an UP Payid or you can setup your own, and also an UP BSB and account number) . When the money from arrives in the Up App, it is in the “UP Payment” and then this fund can then be transferred to an “Up Saver” category. You can name your Up Saver anything you want and also set an icon so that it is easy to recognize.
For Nepal transfer, name the saver “Nepal Saver” and then you can setup a fund goal amount example “300 AUD”. You can setup auto transfer so that whenever you transfer the fund from your salary account to UP app, certain amount of fund is automatically saved in the UP saver. The advantage of having fund in an UP saver is that you cannot directly transfer or spend it- you will have to transfer the fund from “Up Saver” to “Up Payment” and then make any payment or transfers.
To simplify, here are the steps to open an Up digital banking account:
To earn $10 bonus: Scan the QR code below using a QR scanner app or click here:
- Download and install UP app on your mobile (Both Android and iOS is supported). Reminder: To earn $10 bonus please use a QR scanner app on your phone to scan the above barcode or you can click this link and it will take you to a webpage with further instructions.
- Login to Up account, using username and password in step 1.
- Go to Savers
- Create a new saver
- Name the saver account >> Choose an Emoji
- Enter the total amount you want to save in this account
- Enable Auto Transfer if you want money to automatically go to your Up saver of choice when money arrives in your UP account
- Choose saving direction i.e “to” your saver account
- Choose how often you want the transfers to occur (weekly. fortnightly, monthly etc) >> select amount
- Select start date
- Check details and tap “create saver”
Connect your Wise (previously transferwise) account with UP digital banking
The Wise or transferwise app is an excellent app that allows international money transfer at a competitive fee, excellent exchange rate and a fast speed. I have been very happy with the exchange rates provided by this app. The transfer time has been surprisingly quick with my recent transfer to Nabil Bank completed in the same day and previously transfers have been completed by the next business day (provided you made the international transfer before 12PM Sydney Time. Wise can be connected to your UP banking account and then you can make the international transfer to most of the Nepali banks and many other financial institutions. You will be able to see the list of banks later in the international payment section. Popular banks in the list include Global IME, Nabil Bank, NIBL – Nepal Investment Bank, Nepal SBI, Standard Chartered, Sunrise Bank, Siddhartha Bank, Sanima Bank, Nepal Bangladesh ban. NMB, HImalayan bank, Kist Bank, Everest Bank and so on.
Opening a Wise Account
Before you read the next step, please create a Wise account>> Click here: Sign up for Transferwise here for fee free transfer for up to $800 AUD or 500 GBP.
Once you create your wise account, you can now use your UP account for international transfer. Assuming, you have now saved enough Australian dollars to send to Nepal in your UP saver, here are the steps:
- Open Up app on your mobile phone >> Go to “Up” (from the top section) >>Payment settings
- In payment settings >> you can setup your phone number or email as payid or you can use the UP pay id example: ramsaran@up.me)
- Note down your Payid in the Up account so that you can transfer fund from salary account to Up
- You can also use the UP bank account number to transfer money but I use payid for instant transfer
- Once you have the UP Payid, go to your Salary account (could be Commbank, WestPac, NAB etc) and then you can send money from the Salary account to the UP Payid. Your salary bank account, should also have features to make automatic recurring transfer to another account (check that out if you want to enable auto transfer).
- After sending money from salary account to Up Saver follow steps below,
- On the Up app >> go to Savers >> Select the correct Saver (Example “Nepal transfer”)
- Select “transfer money” >> From “Nepal Transfer” >> To “Spending” (basically you are now moving money out of the UP saver to Up spending)
- Go back to main window of UP
- Select “Payments”.
- Tap the “+” icon at the bottom.
- Select “International Payment”
- Now you will be asked to enter target currency (example: NPR or Nepalese rupee)
- Enter the amount you want to send >> Select “Next”
- Select “Create New Contact”
- Enter details such as Name >> Choose who you are sending the money to (choose “to someone else”)
- Now you will see a list of Nepali banks and financial institutions >> Select the correct bank
- Enter the recipient’s account number (double check this) >> Select country >> city >> street address (you can enter region name and ward number- example Budanilkantha 1) >> postcode (44600 for KTM)
- On the final page you will be asked to verify and then finalize the payment
- You will be directed to the Wise account page to login and then you have to grant permission to UP app to make the transfer (you only need to do it once not for later transfers)
- Now you have successfully linked Wise to your Up account and have made an international transfer
- Once an international account has been saved in UP, you can easily select it from the list during your next UP transfer.
While the steps may seem too many in writing, when you actually use the Up app, you will realize that it is very easy to understand and in no time you will be able to transfer money back home in minutes. I have used UP for my international transfer since last two years and I have never had any issue. The transfer has always been on time and the customer support is super fast to respond to any of your query – in fact there is a live chat section on the UP app where you can chat with a customer service representative whose response time is blazing fast and demeanor extremely friendly. And almost forgot, you will also get an UP card, which you can use just as your other debit cards for online purchases, grocery shopping and so on.
Let me know the comments, about your experience with this app or if you have a better and cheaper method of international money transfer from Australia to Nepal. If you are still unclear about the steps on this post, drop a comment below and I will make a video on how it all works.