75,000 Indians ditch traditional forex cards as Wise Travel card launches
Hyderabad, Dec 08th: Wise has launched its multi-currency travel card in India today, entering the market just as the country records its highest-ever outbound travel figures and heads into peak international travel season.
India’s outbound travel surged to a record 3.89 crore departures in 2024, driven by leisure travel (42.5%), diaspora visits (34.7%) and business trips (14.9%). Spending has jumped even more dramatically – prior to FY22, Indians spent roughly $3-4 billion annually on overseas holidays according to data from the LRS, but over the last two years, this has shot up to an average of $17 billion.
Despite this travel boom, Indians continue losing substantial amounts to non-transparent markups applied on the exchange rate by traditional forex providers. Banks and travel companies have long dominated India’s forex card market, with most providers adding 2-4% margins to currency conversions – costs that are rarely made explicit to customers. On a ₹2 lakh foreign currency conversion, these hidden markups can cost travellers ₹4,000-₹8,000 extra compared to the mid-market rate.
The Wise Travel Card, available from today, uses the mid-market exchange rate – the rate visible on Google – with only a small, transparent conversion fee. Over 75,000 people joined the Wise Travel card waitlist in just a month, announced at the Global Fintech Festival, signalling demand for a transparent alternative to traditional forex cards.
Wise has built the card around how Indians actually travel and spend:
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40+ currencies supported: The highest number available on any forex card in India, covering major travel destinations like Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey and Georgia
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DigiLocker and video KYC: Complete digital onboarding in minutes without visiting a branch
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Instant digital card: Available immediately for online bookings and transactions while physical card ships
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IMPS top-ups: Instant account loading
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Smart Conversion: The card automatically selects the best available rate when spending abroad, even if you don’t have the destination currency in your card
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Real-time controls: Freeze and unfreeze card instantly in-app, receive spend alerts, and set custom spending limits.
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Works across 160+ countries on the Visa network: accepted at millions of merchants and ATMs globally.
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Free ATM withdrawals up to $200 a month: Beyond that threshold, a fee of 1.40 USD plus 3.25% applies.
“Indian travellers are heading abroad in record numbers, but they’re still paying hidden fees that can add hundreds or thousands of rupees to every trip. The waitlist numbers showed us something important: people are done putting up with complicated pricing. They want transparency, convenience, and a great product experience. We’re excited to bring this to international spending in India, just as the travel season kicks off,” said Taneia Bhardwaj, South Asia Expansion Lead at Wise.
Wise is waiving its standard 460 INR card issuance fee for customers who sign up before 10 February 2026. The card carries no annual fees, subscription charges or inactivity penalties.