Mumbai: The Wise Travel Card has officially launched in India, entering the market at a time when outbound travel from the country has reached an all-time high of 3.89 crore departures.
The launch comes just ahead of the peak international travel season, highlighting a shift among Indian travellers toward more transparent and cost-efficient foreign exchange solutions.
India’s outbound travel numbers in 2024 were driven largely by leisure travel at 42.5%, followed by diaspora visits at 34.7% and business travel accounting for 14.9%. Alongside rising travel volumes, overseas spending by Indians has increased significantly.
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According to Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) data, annual spending on international travel, which stood at approximately $3–4 billion prior to FY22, has averaged nearly $17 billion over the past two years.
Wise Travel Card Addresses High Forex Markups
Despite this surge, Indian travellers continue to incur hidden costs due to non-transparent exchange rate markups imposed by traditional forex card providers.
Banks and travel companies dominating the forex card market typically apply 2–4% margins on currency conversions, often without clearly disclosing these charges.
On a ₹2 lakh foreign currency conversion, such markups can result in an additional cost of ₹4,000–₹8,000 when compared to the mid-market exchange rate.
The Wise Travel Card, now available to Indian customers, uses the mid-market exchange rate – the same rate visible on platforms like Google – along with a small, transparent conversion fee.
More than 75,000 users joined the Wise Travel Card waitlist within a month of its announcement at the Global Fintech Festival, indicating strong demand for greater pricing transparency in international payments.
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Key Features of the Wise Travel Card
Wise has designed the Wise Travel Card to align with the spending and travel habits of Indian consumers.
Key features include support for over 40 currencies – the highest available on any forex card in India – covering popular destinations such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, and Georgia.
The card offers fully digital onboarding through DigiLocker and video KYC, allowing users to complete registration within minutes. Customers receive an instant digital card for online transactions, while the physical card is delivered separately.
Additional features include IMPS-based instant top-ups, Smart Conversion that automatically selects the best available exchange rate, real-time spending alerts, and in-app controls to freeze or unfreeze the card and set spending limits.
The Wise Travel Card is accepted across more than 160 countries on the Visa network and provides free ATM withdrawals of up to $200 per month. Beyond this limit, a fee of $1.40 plus 3.25% applies.
Commenting on the launch, Taneia Bhardwaj, South Asia Expansion Lead at Wise, said that Indian travellers are increasingly seeking transparent pricing and convenience in international spending as outbound travel reaches record levels.
To encourage early adoption, Wise is waiving its standard ₹460 card issuance fee for customers who sign up before 10 February 2026. The Wise Travel Card carries no annual fees, subscription charges, or inactivity penalties.
