Changing INR to USD in India: the cheapest way, and what the rest cost you

I want to change INR → USD

The spread takes 216.61 INR if you convert inside your account with Canara Bank, and 626.36 INR at Punjab National Bank's banknote desk, up to 1,267.12 INR at HDFC Bank.

Same money, same day — a 409.75 INR difference for choosing how you pay rather than where.

Every figure is read from a bank's own published board, or derived from a margin it discloses — named in the evidence column, never inferred. We do not rank by any commercial relationship; the order below is the rate, and nothing else.

Which method costs least

This is the choice worth the most money, and the one most comparisons skip. Cash desks sit several points above card and transfer rates in every country we measure.

Method	Cheapest here	Costs you	How we know
Transfer / account conversion What the bank converts at when the money moves between accounts.	Canara Bank	216.61 INR	read from www.canarabank.bank.in
Pay by card The rate your card issuer converts at, plus the fee it discloses.	Canara Bank	340.76 INR	read from www.canarabank.bank.in
Buy banknotes at a branch The bank's own banknote board — the widest spread of the three, everywhere we measure.	Punjab National Bank	626.36 INR	read from pnb.bank.in

Cash withdrawals at an ATM are left out on purpose: they carry a per-withdrawal fee we do not collect, so listing them beside the others would flatter them.

Every bank's cash / banknotes rate

If you have to use a branch anyway, this is the order to try them in — 6 banks, cheapest first. The dearest takes 1.3% more than the cheapest.

Bank	Buys USD	Sells USD	Costs you
Punjab National Bank own board	95.0600	96.5900	626.36 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at pnb.bank.in.
Bank of Baroda own board	93.4500	96.8500	758.91 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.bankofbaroda.in.
State Bank of India own board	94.5000	97.1000	885.68 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at sbi.bank.in.
Axis Bank own board	93.4700	97.2900	981.60 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at application.axis.bank.in.
ICICI Bank own board	93.4600	97.3000	986.64 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.icici.bank.in.
HDFC Bank own board	92.8600	97.8600	1,267.12 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.hdfc.bank.in.

Cheapest (green), median (dashed) and dearest (red) selling rate on each day — 33 days on which at least two banks published, 2026-06-27 to 2026-08-11. This is why we can say who stays cheapest, not just who is cheapest today.

Every bank's transfers rate

If you have to use a branch anyway, this is the order to try them in — 7 banks, cheapest first. The dearest takes 1.3% more than the cheapest.

Bank	Buys USD	Sells USD	Costs you
Canara Bank own board	95.0500	95.7950	216.61 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.canarabank.bank.in.
Bank of Baroda own board	94.9100	95.8500	245.17 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.bankofbaroda.in.
Punjab National Bank own board	95.1500	95.8500	245.17 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at pnb.bank.in.
State Bank of India own board	95.7000	96.5500	605.90 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at sbi.bank.in.
ICICI Bank own board	93.7000	96.8200	743.65 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.icici.bank.in.
Axis Bank own board	93.7300	97.0300	850.25 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at application.axis.bank.in.
HDFC Bank own board	93.6500	97.0700	870.51 INR
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.hdfc.bank.in.

Tell me when this changes

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Rates are INR per 1 USD; "costs you" is the part of your amount the spread absorbs, against 95.3800, the reference these banks price from. Collection began 2026-06-24. Indicative information for comparison, not financial advice. What each country's rates are officially anchored to is on the references page. Generated 2026-08-11.