Last checked 30 September 2026
How you get an FIRC for a Wise payment to India depends on how the money arrived. If an Indian business was paid through its Wise Business account details, Wise creates an e-FIRC automatically and emails it. If someone sent a business INR transfer with Wise straight to an Indian bank account, the sender downloads a document from Wise, and the recipient uses it with the bank that paid the money out. For a personal or family transfer, Wise does not offer either.
Working out which route you are on first saves a lot of searching for a download button that does not exist.
Which route are you on?
| How the money reached India | What Wise provides | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Paid into an Indian business’s Wise Business account details | An e-FIRC, automatically | Wait for the email, or download it from the transfer |
| A business INR transfer sent with Wise to an Indian bank account | A No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the sender, or an e-FIRA for some transfers | The sender downloads it and passes it on; the recipient takes it to the bank named on it |
| A personal or family transfer | Neither | Use the transfer receipt and UTR as proof of payment, and ask whoever wants an FIRC exactly what they need |
FIRC, FIRA and e-FIRC
An FIRC is a Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate. An FIRA is a Foreign Inward Remittance Advice. Wise treats them together: either one “acts as proof of a foreign transfer to India”. An e-FIRC is the electronic version Wise issues on the Business route. What matters is not which name your accountant used, but how this particular payment was received.
Route 1: paid through Wise Business account details
Indian businesses, freelancers and sole proprietors can open Wise Business account details, such as USD, GBP and EUR, and give them to overseas clients. When a client pays, Wise converts the money to rupees and sends it to the verified Indian bank account. Wise says the money reaches the bank “within 1-2 days”, and the e-FIRC arrives by email “within 3 working days”.
Wise charges the equivalent of 2 USD for this, “to issue e-FIRC automatically”, on top of its conversion fee. It accepts up to INR 2.5 million per payment on this route, and at least 5 USD. Payments outside those limits are returned to the sender. You do not need anything from the client to get the certificate.
If the e-FIRC email does not arrive
Remember that the money and the certificate arrive separately: the rupees can land on Tuesday and the e-FIRC a day or two later. Once the transfer is complete, download the e-FIRC yourself on the Wise website:
- Go to Home and select the transfer.
- Open the three-dot menu.
- Select e-FIRC PDF.
If there is no e-FIRC option on a completed transfer, check the route. Wise says “e-FIRCs are not available for other types of INR transfers”. You may be looking at an ordinary Wise transfer to your bank account, which is route 2. Do not ask the client to pay again to get a certificate.
Route 2: a business transfer sent with Wise to your bank
Here the overseas customer does not use your Wise account details. They make a Wise transfer that pays rupees straight into your Indian bank account. Wise pays out rupees through partner banks in India, and the FIRA comes from the partner bank that handled your transfer, not from Wise.
What Wise gives the sender is a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Wise says NOCs “are only available for business INR transfers”, meaning “the sender and/or recipient must be a business”. The sender downloads it like this:
- From Home, select the transfer.
- Open the three-dot menu.
- Select No Objection Certificate, and send the PDF to the recipient.
The recipient cannot see the sender’s Wise account, so they have to ask the sender for it. The NOC shows which partner bank processed the transfer. That bank is the one that matters, even if your own account is at a different bank.
What each partner bank asks for
| Partner bank on the NOC | How to get the document, per Wise’s instructions | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank | Email both vostro@hdfcbank.com and indialink.helpdesk@hdfcbank.com, attaching the NOC | INR 177 if the transfer is under a year old; INR 354 if older |
| Yes Bank | Pay the fee by NEFT (not IMPS), then email dlmumfirc@yesbank.in with the subject “Request for FIRA”, the NOC and the fee payment’s reference. Yes Bank says it can take 7–10 days. | INR 354 |
| RBL Bank | RBL generates an e-FIRA automatically within 3 business days. The sender downloads it from the transfer (three-dot menu, e-FIRA PDF). The recipient then uses it to get the e-FIRC from their own bank. | Not stated by Wise |
Wise lists Yes Bank’s account details for the fee on its help page. Take them from there, and follow the steps exactly: Wise says not to courier documents to Yes Bank or visit a branch.
An example
A US company pays an Indian consultant ₹200,000 with a Wise business transfer to the consultant’s bank. Later, the consultant’s accountant asks for proof of the foreign payment. There is no e-FIRC, because the consultant was not paid through Wise Business account details. The steps are:
- The consultant asks the US company to download the NOC.
- The consultant checks which partner bank it names.
- The consultant follows that bank’s steps.
For RBL, the US company can download the e-FIRA straight away instead. The money having arrived does not mean the document came with it.
Family and personal transfers
If your brother in the UK sends money with Wise to your personal account in India for family costs, neither route applies. The NOC is only for business INR transfers, and the e-FIRC only for Wise Business account details. The missing button is not an error.
What you do have is proof of payment:
- the sender’s PDF transfer receipt;
- the UTR (unique transaction reference). Wise says it is attached to every transfer to India, appears on the recipient’s bank statement, and is in the email Wise sends the sender.
These are not an FIRC or FIRA, and should not be relabelled as one. If a bank, accountant or government office asks you for an FIRC on a personal transfer, ask them exactly which document they need and why. For whether money from family abroad is taxable, see is money sent to India taxable?
If the money itself has not arrived
Then the certificate can wait. Find the payment first. Wise says the UTR “can also be used to trace a payment if the money hasn’t been received”. The sender can also download the PDF receipt, and the recipient’s bank can search for the UTR. Once the money has arrived, go back to the document.
Choose the right purpose when paying
Wise asks for a purpose on every INR transfer; it says collecting it is “mandatory” for compliance. Wise warns that “an incorrect Reserve Bank of India (RBI) purpose code risks payment delays or outright rejection”. If a client is paying for your services, the transfer should use a business purpose, not family support. An FIRC or FIRA is only as useful as the payment it describes, so a correctly classified payment makes it easier to rely on.
When something is missing
- No NOC option: check whether it was a business transfer. If it was, and the option still does not appear once the transfer is complete, the sender should contact Wise with the transfer number.
- The partner bank has not sent the FIRA: check you followed that bank’s steps exactly, including any fee. Then follow up with the bank, quoting the UTR.
- Your accountant asks for a “FIRA” and you have an e-FIRC: give them the e-FIRC and explain how the payment arrived. If they specifically need a partner-bank document, ask what requirement they are meeting before starting another request.
Keep the Wise transfer number, the NOC or e-FIRA, the amount and date, the UTR, your bank details and the invoice together. Never create a new transfer just to get a document.
In short
- Wise Business account details: client pays, Wise sends rupees to your bank, the e-FIRC arrives by email, or you download it.
- Business transfer to your bank: the sender downloads the NOC, or the e-FIRA for RBL. You take it to the partner bank, or to your own bank for RBL.
- Family transfer: no Wise FIRC process. You have the receipt and the UTR as proof of payment.
Related: NRE or NRO: which account to send to, and what bank details you need to receive money from abroad.
How we checked this
We read these Wise help centre articles on 30 September 2026:
- The FIRC article: the definitions, the NOC and its business-only rule, the steps, the partner banks, and the e-FIRC and its limits.
- Receiving payments for Indian businesses: the timing, the 2 USD e-FIRC charge and the per-payment limits.
- The HDFC, Yes Bank and RBL Bank advice pages: each bank’s steps and fees.
- The UTR article.
- The guide to INR transfers and the INR purpose codes article.
The consultant example is hypothetical.
Sources
- Wise help centre: What’s a Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) and how can I request one?
- Wise help centre: Receiving payments for Indian businesses
- Wise help centre: Applying for advice from HDFC
- Wise help centre: Applying for advice from Yes Bank
- Wise help centre: Applying for advice from RBL Bank Limited
- Wise help centre: What’s a UTR number, and where can I find it?
- Wise help centre: INR purpose codes
Afromium does not make test transfers and does not give tax or legal advice. This page explains how Wise and its partner banks say they issue remittance documents; they can change their process and fees. Your accountant or adviser decides which document you need for your own situation.