What Is OUR, SHA and BEN Charges?

When a client abroad sends you money, the payment instruction includes a charges option. The option decides who pays the bank fees on the way. Fees can arise at the sender's bank, at one or more intermediary banks, and at the receiving bank in India. OUR means the sender covers every fee, so the full amount should reach you. SHA means shared: the sender pays the sending bank's fee and you pay the fees of the banks after it. BEN means you cover all fees, and they are deducted from the amount before it is credited. In practice, banks do not always apply these options in the same way, and some intermediary fees are only known after the transfer. For a closer look at those fees, see the page on intermediary bank charges.

For example, an Indian copywriter invoices a client in Germany for EUR 1,000. If the client selects SHA, the German bank charges its own fee and any later fees are deducted from the EUR 1,000 before conversion, so the credited amount can be slightly lower than the invoice.

• Invoice amount: The charge option decides whether the full invoice value reaches your account. A short credit can leave a gap between the invoice and the money received, which then needs explaining to the client.
• FEMA: The FEMA Export and Import Regulations, 2026 require the full export value to be realised within nine months of the invoice date for services (Regulation 5). A small shortfall from deducted fees is something to discuss with your AD bank.
• Bank compliance: Your AD bank records the inward credit against the invoice in EDPMS. If the credited amount differs from the invoice, the bank may ask you to explain the difference, so keep the remittance advice with your records.
• Income tax: Deducted bank fees reduce the amount credited but not the invoice value. Check with your tax adviser how to record the fee in your books.
• Bank charges: Under Regulation 19(3), an authorised dealer bank must keep the charges it levies reasonable and proportional to the services rendered. Your own bank's fee for an inward credit sits in its published schedule.

The sender selects a charge option when placing the transfer, and the banks apply it as the payment moves from bank to bank.

1. The client's bank asks the sender to pick OUR, SHA or BEN on the transfer form.
2. The sending bank deducts its own fee, either from the sender (OUR and SHA) or from the transfer amount (BEN).
3. Intermediary banks, if any, pass the payment on and may deduct a fee from the amount when the option is SHA or BEN.
4. Your Indian bank receives the funds, converts them to rupees and applies its own inward remittance fee if its schedule includes one.
5. You compare the credited amount with the invoice and ask your bank for the remittance details if a difference appears.

Compare the invoice amount with the amount credited, then ask the sender for the charge option used. A worked example with hypothetical numbers shows the effect of each option.

1. Assume an invoice of USD 1,000 and total deductions of USD 25 by the banks in the chain (hypothetical).
2. With OUR, the sender pays the USD 25 separately and you should receive USD 1,000 before conversion.
3. With SHA, the sender pays the sending bank's share and the remaining fees are deducted, so you may receive less than USD 1,000.
4. With BEN, the full USD 25 comes out of the transfer, so you receive USD 975 before conversion.
5. Ask your bank for the remittance details or transfer message to see the charge option recorded and any deductions made.

• OUR guarantees full amount: OUR tells banks the sender pays all charges. Some banks may still deduct a fee from the amount, so check the credited amount against the invoice.
• SHA means equal split: SHA means each side pays its own bank's fees. It does not mean the total fee is divided in half.
• Receiver chooses: The sender selects the option when placing the transfer. A receiver can ask the sender to pick a particular option but cannot set it directly.
• Only banks matter: Intermediary banks can add fees that neither side sees at the time of sending, so the final deduction is sometimes unknown until the funds arrive.

• Intermediary bank charges: Fees taken by banks between the sender's bank and the receiver's bank.
• Correspondent bank: A bank that handles payments on behalf of another bank in a different country.
• SWIFT MT103: The message format used to send a single customer credit transfer between banks.
• Wire transfer: An electronic transfer of funds between banks, often across borders.
• FX markup: The margin added to the base exchange rate when converting currency.

Every rule and definition on this page is linked to its official source, checked on the dates below.

1. RBI, Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 (FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB), Regulations 4(2), 5(1) and 19(3) (checked 9 Oct 2026)