Coverting cheque to local currency

Good idea?

[NubKnacker]

I live in India and I was just wondering if it was a good idea to convert my Adsense payout cheque to INR or get it in USD? Does Google take off some amount while converting the USD to INR or is it done at the exchange rate?

For encashing a cheque in USD I'd have to pay my bank approximately $5.50 (INR 250). Just wondering what would be a better option.

[Visit Thailand]

This really depends on what your bank charges and the exchange rate your and G's bank uses.

I pay a percentage and found, after one test, that it was better to keep the cheque in US$ as the difference between what I could have got direct with my bank even after the charges was quite substantial compared to what I received from G.

As far as I know there are no charges deducted from G it all relies on the bank charges and exchange rates used.

Of course a local currecny cheque will be cleared quicker if your bank does not purchase your cheques which if the amount is substantial could mean lost interest.

[thaiwebsites]

I tried it (converting to Thai baht) in my case. It turned out the the commission taken by the bank in Thailand that Google used, was much higher than I paid on the cheques.

[kartiksh]

It depends on the check amount you are receiving. i mean, Google doesn’t deduct anything for conversation but you will get better price from your banker if your payment in USD and its more than 1k. Else i prefer INR conversation via Google as they use Citibank and the rate applied are good compare to local banks in India for small three digit USD income.

[NibbleGuru]

I found that money given by google was lesser than the local bank. i primarily use ICICI.
There is one thing that you should notice though, a USD cheque will take approx 21 wokring days ~= 30 days including holidays. while INR cheque will clear in 1-3 days. i had posted a similar thread sometime back so u might waana look that...
good luck,
jayant

[NubKnacker]

Thanks guys. I run a small gaming site along with a friend and we barely manage $60/month although earnings have been better ever since we submitted sitemaps to google.

I think I'll take my cheque in INR for this time atleast since our hosting contract runs out in November. I'll try it in USD next time around which could be a couple of months. ;)