Our Methodology

How we collect, verify, and compare financial products to help you make informed decisions

Core Principles

Independence

We don't accept payment from providers to manipulate rankings. Our comparisons are based solely on rates, fees, and user value.

Accuracy

Rates updated every 6 hours from official sources. Manual verification ensures data quality.

Freshness

Exchange rates change constantly. We update data every 6 hours to ensure you see current market conditions.

Transparency

We disclose affiliate relationships and explain exactly how we collect and compare data.

How We Compare Remittance Services

Data Collection

  • Automated Scraping: We use Puppeteer and Cheerio to collect live exchange rates from 50+ provider websites every 6 hours (00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:00 IST)
  • API Integration: For providers with public APIs (e.g., Wise, XE), we fetch real-time quotes via API calls
  • Manual Verification: Top 3 providers for each corridor are manually verified weekly

Calculation Method

For each transfer, we calculate the total INR received (for India transfers) or total destination currency received. This includes:

  1. Exchange rate offered by the provider
  2. Transfer fee (fixed or percentage-based)
  3. Hidden markups (difference from mid-market rate)
  4. Recipient fees (if applicable)

Formula:

Total Received = (Send Amount - Transfer Fee) × Exchange Rate - Recipient Fee

Ranking Criteria

Providers are ranked by total destination currency received (highest to lowest). This ensures the best value for users, regardless of how providers structure their fees.

We also show the markup percentage (difference from mid-market rate) for transparency.

Mid-Market Rate Benchmark

The mid-market rate (also called the interbank rate) is the midpoint between the buy and sell prices of two currencies. This is the "true" exchange rate without any markup.

  • Primary Source: Reuters mid-market feed
  • Backup Sources: Bloomberg, XE.com mid-market rates
  • Update Frequency: Every 15 minutes during market hours

How We Compare Credit Cards & Forex Cards

Evaluation Criteria

  • Forex Markup: Percentage added to mid-market rate (0% is best)
  • Annual Fee: Cost of card ownership
  • Rewards Rate: Percentage back on spending
  • Lounge Access: Airport lounge benefits (domestic/international)
  • NRI Eligibility: Whether NRIs can apply

How We Compare eSIM Plans

Evaluation Criteria

  • Cost per GB: Price per gigabyte of data
  • Coverage: Number of countries supported
  • Validity Period: Days the plan remains active
  • Network Quality: 4G/5G support, carrier partnerships
  • Activation: QR code delivery speed, ease of setup

Data Update Frequency

Data TypeUpdate FrequencyMethod
Exchange RatesEvery 6 hoursAutomated scraping + API
Transfer FeesWeeklyManual verification
Credit Card OffersMonthlyManual review + bank updates
Forex Card RatesDailyAutomated scraping
eSIM PlansQuarterlyManual verification
Blog ContentQuarterly reviewEditorial audit

Affiliate Relationships & Monetization

Transparency is core to our mission. We participate in affiliate programs with some of the providers we compare. This means we may earn a commission if you click on a provider link and complete a transfer or sign up for a service.

Important: Affiliate relationships do NOT influence our rankings. We rank providers based solely on the total value users receive (exchange rate + fees). Whether a provider has an affiliate program or not has zero impact on their position in our comparisons.

Affiliate commissions help us maintain and improve RemitIndex. We invest revenue back into better data collection, more frequent updates, and comprehensive content to help NRIs make informed decisions.

Quality Assurance Process

  • 1

    Automated Monitoring

    Our system alerts us if any provider's rate deviates significantly from expected ranges or if scraping fails.

  • 2

    Manual Verification

    Top 3 providers for each corridor are manually checked weekly. We visit provider websites directly to confirm rates.

  • 3

    User Reports

    Users can report discrepancies via our contact form. We investigate all reports within 24 hours.

  • 4

    Quarterly Audits

    Full system audit every quarter to ensure data accuracy, update scraping scripts, and verify methodology compliance.

Questions About Our Methodology?

We're committed to transparency. If you have questions about how we collect data, compare providers, or any aspect of our methodology, we'd love to hear from you.

Contact Us
Last updated: March 10, 2026