Picture this: you’re checking out of a London hotel, your bank’s forex card declines, and when you finally sort it out, you discover you’ve paid ₹2,000 more than the Google exchange rate showed. This frustrating scenario plays out thousands of times daily for Indian travellers, who collectively made 3.89 crore international trips in 2024—only to encounter hidden markups, inexplicable fees, and opaque pricing at every turn. Now, global fintech Wise has thrown down the gauntlet with its multi-currency travel card, and the market’s response speaks volumes: 75,000 Indians joined the waitlist within a single month, signalling pent-up demand for transparent forex solutions. According to the Economic Times, “Wise has launched its multi-currency Travel Card in India, marking its official entry into the country’s fast-expanding outbound travel segment.” This isn’t simply another forex card competing on marginal differences; it’s a fundamental challenge to the hidden-fee business model that has enriched traditional banks whilst frustrating travellers for decades.
The Transparency Gambit: Real Exchange Rates and No Hidden Charges
Wise’s travel card attacks the forex market’s most egregious practice: embedding substantial markups within exchange rates whilst advertising “zero commission.” Traditional bank-issued forex cards typically offer rates 3-5% worse than the mid-market rate—the real exchange rate visible on Google or financial websites—effectively charging customers hundreds or thousands of rupees per transaction through invisible markups rather than transparent fees.
The Wise Travel Card employs the real-time mid-market exchange rate for all conversions, applying only a small, clearly disclosed conversion fee that varies by currency but remains visible before each transaction. This radical transparency means Indian travellers can verify they’re receiving fair rates by simply comparing against publicly available exchange data—something impossible with traditional forex cards where the markup remains deliberately obscured within the rate itself.
Taneia Bhardwaj, South Asia Expansion Lead at Wise, articulates the market frustration: “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.” This waitlist enthusiasm—75,000 sign-ups before launch—suggests that transparency alone represents a compelling value proposition for digitally-savvy Indian travellers increasingly unwilling to accept opaque pricing structures.
Beyond exchange rate transparency, Wise eliminates annual fees, subscription charges, and inactivity penalties that traditional forex cards employ to extract additional revenue. To further lower entry barriers, the company is waiving its ₹460 card issuance fee for customers signing up before 10 February 2026, effectively offering completely fee-free entry during the promotional period.
Digital-First Design for Modern Indian Travellers
The card’s architecture reflects contemporary expectations amongst India’s outbound traveller demographic, who increasingly demand digital convenience alongside cost efficiency. Supporting over 40 currencies, the card covers popular destinations including the UAE, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom, whilst also accommodating emerging travel hotspots such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, and Georgia—destinations seeing rapid growth in Indian tourist arrivals.
Credits: FreePik
Onboarding occurs entirely digitally through DigiLocker integration and video KYC verification, eliminating the branch visits and paperwork traditionally required for forex cards. Upon approval, users receive an instant virtual card for immediate online purchases, with the physical card shipped directly to their registered address. This mirrors the digital-first approach that has made UPI and digital wallets ubiquitous in domestic Indian payments, extending that convenience to international spending.
The Wise mobile application provides comprehensive card management capabilities including real-time transaction notifications, instant card freezing and unfreezing for security, customisable spending limits across categories, and complete transaction history with currency breakdowns. Money loading operates through familiar Indian payment rails—IMPS, NEFT, and RTGS—ensuring seamless integration with existing banking relationships rather than requiring new payment infrastructure.
Bhardwaj emphasises this seamless experience: “The payments experience abroad should be as seamless as paying in India, and that’s why we’ve built the Wise card specifically for the Indian market,” highlighting the localisation beyond mere regulatory compliance to encompass user experience design reflecting Indian digital payment norms.
Market Positioning Amidst Surging Outbound Travel
Wise’s launch timing capitalises on unprecedented expansion in Indian international travel. The 3.89 crore outbound departures recorded in 2024 represent substantial year-on-year growth driven by leisure travel amongst affluent millennials and Gen-Z, diaspora visits to relatives settled abroad, and business travel as Indian companies expand globally. This demographic increasingly researches financial products online, values transparency over legacy brand names, and willingly switches providers for materially better experiences.
The card functions across 160-plus countries on the Visa network, ensuring broad merchant acceptance globally. ATM withdrawals remain free up to USD 200 monthly, with nominal fees applying beyond that threshold—a structure encouraging card-based spending whilst providing emergency cash access. This global reach, combined with multi-currency support allowing users to hold and spend in appropriate currencies without unnecessary conversions, positions Wise competitively against both traditional bank forex cards and emerging fintech alternatives.
The real test lies in execution rather than features. Traditional banks dominate forex cards through established branch networks, existing customer relationships, and integration with broader banking services. However, their opacity and fee structures have created vulnerability that Wise aims to exploit. Whether transparency proves sufficient to overcome incumbency advantages will determine if this launch truly disrupts India’s forex market or merely carves a niche amongst digitally-native travellers. For the 75,000 waitlist members, at least, the answer seems clear—they’re betting on the challenger rather than tolerating the status quo. As Indian outbound travel continues its inexorable rise, the forex card market’s evolution may finally match the digital sophistication Indians expect domestically.