NRI Banking was started in India as per the Government of India Non-Resident (External) Account Rules in 1970 which is under the view of Exchange Control Regulations. This move has hugely boosted the economy of India. The SBI bank NRI banking service is one of the most trusted set of banking norms in India. This service was launched keeping in mind the banking needs and demands of the Indians not staying in India presently but has roots of Indian origin. There’re a lot of services on offer for the NRIs from SBI like deposit schemes, loans, transfer of funds etc. The internet banking facility offered by SBI called SBI Online is safe and secure and it has made the NRIs to easily use the banking services offered by it. One thing to be mentioned here is that, a person who lives less than 182 days in India during the previous financial year and lives in other countries for the rest of that year except in other countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka is considered as NRI by the bank.
The SBI NRI account comprises of a lot of different accounts like NRE (Non-Resident External Accounts) Rupee account, NRO (Non Resident Ordinary Accounts) account, FCNR ( Foreign Currency Non Resident Accounts) besides the normal savings, current, fixed deposit accounts (in a variety of foreign currencies like Pound, Sterling, Australian$, Euro, US$ etc). One can easily visit the SBI website and download a form for opening an account of his preference. The nomination facility is also opened and it doesn’t require the person to be an NRI too. He/She can also be a resident of India.
As part of the SBI bank NRI banking services, the bank also offers car and home loans to their NRI clients. The car loan is offered to any Indian who has an NRI relative, having an account with the bank, as the sponsor and guarantor. The loans can be availed for buying different types of cars like the passenger cars, SUVs, MUVs etc. There’re numerous types of home loans on offer from the bank. Flexi home loans, realty home loans, Maxgain home loans are some of them. The loan can be taken for buying a residential house, construction or renovation of it or even buying the furniture or other such items needed to decorate the house. A minimum of Rs 3 lakhs to a maximum of Rs. 20 lakhs is offered by the bank as home loan.
Besides all these on offer as part of SBI bank NRI banking services, there’s also investment and tax benefit schemes for the NRI clients. The facilities grow more once they decide to return to India. The interest to be paid on NRE & FCNR deposits is devoid of Income Tax, 30% tax deduction on the income from the interest provided from NRO Accounts etc. One can invest in Government Securities & Treasury Bills, in Domestic Mutual Funds, Bonds issued by PSUs etc. The assets earned in the foreign country will lie within your rights and you can do whatever you want with them. If the client still has a foreign currency account, he can maintain it via this bank along with cash transactions between the NRI/FCNR accounts and the RFC account (in US$).