Bitcoin Forum

Hi
I am going to London form India to do my higher education, since the bank charges and cross currency charges are very high I am thinking to converting my inr to btc and btc to GDP.
Have any one done this befor ? And by doing this will I be able to safe on bank charges and other charges ?
And if you have any other methods which will benifit me as a student pls let me know.

As far I know India is not the most Bitcoin friendly country in the world. I've heard that there is no Indian exchange at the moment, so better see the legal aspects of Bitcoin in India with some local bitcoiner before doing anything.

But yes, if you manage to do the bitcoin stuff you probably will save some good money from bank fees.

Actually there are lots of people using btc and as far as I know there are 2 btc exchange in India. Unocoins etc.

Getting btc in India won't be a problem.  Do you know any exchange in uk where I can convert my btc to GDP ? And can you suggest me a wallets and other application and software which I can use for btc.

Are you in London and going to India, or in India and going to London?

My answer was given considering the first option.

And since I'm not in UK only thing I can recommend is Bitstamp, if you have an Euro account will be easy to withdraw.

about wallets, if I don't missunderstood you, you can refer to this topic:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=726981.0

And what is GDP? Googled and found Gross domestic product

I am going from India to London. And sorry its GBP

There is no easy answer to your question, you will have to calculate it yourself:

1. How much is the exchange rate and transfer fee at the banks? > Calculate how much INR you need to pay to get 100, 500, 1000 GBP (use different amounts imo as the transfer fee might be relatively more at small amounts)
2. Calculate how much INR you need to pay to get 100, 500, 1000 GBP by using the several Bitcoin exchange methods. Make sure to include all the fees! So also the % for selling BTC and the possible EUR>GBP exchange rate at the BTC exchange.
3. In theory you could also use other remittance companies or even PayPal.. you could check out how much INR you need to pay for these amounts of GBP. These companies generally focus more on sending INR with GBP(/EUR/USD) though.
4. I am sure there are actual money changers in London. Search for their websites and see how much the INR>GBP rate with be with your INR cash.
5. Compare the amounts with all the several methods. See the cheapest method :)

Important is to calculate INR > GBP "real conversion rate". Because a specific fixed fee, percentage, etc doesn't say much. You need to know how much you will exactly get.



I did these calculations (actually made a real-time script for it) for remittance from The Netherlands to The Philippines and by using Bitcoin it is actually the cheapest method (for the amounts I use), just not easier or faster, but that's ok for me.

Is it possible to share the scrip for me sir ?

Why not just carry the cash with you when you head to London and use a local money changer in London?

My script calculates: buying BTC with EUR with Kraken. Selling it at: rebit.ph, buybitcoin.ph, coinxchange.ph, coins.ph. And comparing it to worldremit.com (supports no Indian customers) and a local "cash money changer". Basically it's all focused on my situation and will not be helpful to you :(

You will really have to make the calculations yourself :p

This is a great option to, you should go with this or either exchange it via paypal maybe, and then transfer it to a bank.

This will likely be the cheapest way to get your local currency into GDP. Most banks will charge upwards of 3-5% on the exchange rate if you use them to convert currency (potentially more if one side of the trade is not a dollar, but this may be different in India). You would pay more at the airport/train station.

You could probably use a credit card to "only" pay 2-3% however you would likely have to start paying interest right away.

You would likely need to pay trading fees for when you both buy and sell your bitcoin, and this will likely add up to ~.75-1% of your total amount transacted, however it would may be less.

You can to check your balance on different exchanges to make it profitly, go here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=695082.0

It is only  allowed to carry limited amount of cash, not very much. The idea doesn't work.

I'd personally suggest you'd ask a local exchanger if there is any.. But it would safe you a good amount of bank charges.

These amounts sound about right. One important things that is missing however is the fact that there are few outlets that you can trade currency in person, generally only at places like airports (most airports will force you to pay for parking; read: pay a fee to visit places you can trade foreign currency). This will likely result in you selling more of your local currency then necessary, making it so you will need to pay the exchange fees a 2nd time when you sell your excess foreign currency.

With bitcoin on the other hand you can cheaply buy and sell small amounts and withdraw smallish amounts from an exchange into your bank account in a foreign country.

People have already experimented with Localbitcoins to move money internationally. Here is a well publicized incident from Uganda:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/05/22/using-bitcoin-to-send-money-to-your-brother-in-uganda-would-be-awesome-if-it-actually-worked/

If you are able to find the right vendor, then it is a perfect method.

I think BTC won't help you
expect, that place you going to study accept BTC / BTC is legal there  :)


Wow, but this is difficult if the country where you are is still not familiar / banned bitcoin
I hope that way could help lot people

I suggest you don't use bitcoin in this case for short term transfer, because there is a possibility that bitcoin value decrease and you don't have enough money to pay your tuition.

However, I believe as an long term investment, it is worth it.

I agree, I don't plan on ever spending btc or altcoin unless I absolutely have to.  For day to day stuff it's not worth it..... at least not yet ;)

Thanks guys for all your advice.
Can you guys suggest me some exchage agent or a website or a trusted member in london where I can sell my btc for £ ?

Isn't a bad idea!! You should have to try this process.I don't think anyone have done this before.If it will not help, there are many easy process out there.It's just only try!! 8)

I could not disagree more. We need more people spending their bitcoin for day to day transactions. The OP would subject himself to exchange rate risk, however generally speaking the price does not vary that much over the two days or so that he would be invested in BTC (this past week has been an exception, but prior to this week the price has been more or less steady).