A great news for Google AdSense publishers in India! You will be able to receive your AdSense payments electronically via Wire Transfer in coming days! Its quite relieving, as getting AdSense checks (cheques) in India is not easy, especially in areas where Bluedart is not supported.

In India, publishers generally receive AdSense payments via checks through Bluedart courier service or else via Speed post. Wire Transfer payment mode was not supported here earlier before, and the publishers were looking for EFT or similar facility from a long-long time. The AdSense Payment Guide in India covers more about all that.

Google was beta-testing the Wire Transfer payments (not NEFT) in India in December 2013, and now in March 2014, it has finally launched the facility quietly. An important note here for publishers is that payments via Wire Transfers will accrue a small fee (Rs. 56-110 ~ $0.9-1.78).

Can you opt-in right now?

Yes, you can.

To be eligible for this month’s payment cycle, please make this preference change prior to Sunday, 16 March, 06:00 (AM) IST. (#)

Currently, Google AdSense is working on upgrading accounts in India with a payment self-hold to their new system – so if you have self-hold option enabled in your payment settings, then your account will be automatically upgraded to receive payments via Wire Transfer.

Can you still keep receiving payments via checks?

I’m not very sure about that, but in the announcement by AdSense Pro Payments at Google forums, they mention to replace cheque payments with Wire Transfers as per their new payment system in India.

As part of upgrading your account to our new payments system, we are replacing cheque payments with U.S. Dollar international wire transfers. We think you’ll find this to be a major improvement over cheque payments, and we welcome your feedback to let us know how this changes your payment experience. (#)

With Wire Transfers, you earnings will be transferred electronically to your Bank account pretty quick (within 3-4 days) – without having to wait for weeks and months and making trips to bank. In order to get so, you’re required to opt-in to the facility in your AdSense account.

Enabling Wire Transfers in AdSense Dashboard

  1. In your AdSense Dashboard, navigate to the Payment Settings section. If you’re using the new AdSense UI, click the gear icon on the top-right and click ‘Payments’ option.
    AdSense Payments Option
    Quick payment option in the new AdSense layout
  2. Now, you’re on the Payments page. Click the Payment Settings link as shown in the below screenshot:
    AdSense Payment Settings link
  3. Look for the Self-hold section in the Payment Settings page, and click ‘edit self-hold’ link there.
    Edit AdSense Self-hold settings
  4. Finally, check-on the Hold payments checkbox option, and click ‘Apply’ to save changes.
    AdSense 'Hold Payments' option

After a few hours of putting your payments on hold, your account will be upgraded for new forms of payments, and you will be able to see more options in the Payment section in your AdSense dashboard.

Before proceeding further, I recommend you to read this guide to know more on Wire Transfer for AdSense payments, SWIFT-BIC code and much more that you should know.

To configure Wire Transfer payment mode for your account, head over to the Payment Settings in the Payment section in the dashboard. Click the “Add a new form of payment” button.


It will take you to a page with the supported forms of payments in India. Currently, with upgraded accounts, Wire Transfer is the only form of payment you can see there. Below is a screenshot showing the “Wire Transfer to bank account” form:


You must fill all the fields in the above form except for the Intermediary Bank and FFC details sections; as these two are optional. It is recommended to confirm the IFSC and SWIFT–BIC codes from your bank before submitting the details.

Assuming you have all the required details, just supply them to the form, and without modifying any other option, finally click the save button.

Next, you’ll see a page as shown in below screenshot:


That’s it. I don’t know if there are more formalities remaining to complete the setup, but I’ll keep you posted on that further.

Can you revert from Wire Transfer to check payment again?

Why would one need to do that? Banks in some rural areas do not provide a SWIFT-BIC code or intermediary so that you may receive payments electronically. In such a case, you should contact the AdSense support regarding the issue.

Important Resources