NiYO launches first-ever global travel card with zero forex mark-up

The new product is a cost-effective alternative to traditional forex cards

NiYO, the new-age digital banking solutions provider for salaried employees, has launched NiYO Global Travel Card, which is the first-ever forex card with ‘zero forex mark-up’. Travellers, using this card, will not pay any currency exchange premium and international transaction fees – unlike a regular forex card.

With the NiYO Global Travel Card in her pocket, the overseas traveller will effectively have no need for the usual multi-currency forex cards or travellers’ cheques – all the while making international transactions cost-effective across 150-plus countries and 35 million merchants worldwide.

Besides the cost-effective feature, NiYO Global Card also offers instant digital onboarding, convenient loading from the user’s bank account via NEFT/IMPS.

Comparison Table

ATM, ECOM or POS Transaction of $1000
Particulars	Forex Card	Credit/Debit Card	NiYO Card
Currency Markup per $1000	$10-20	$10-20	$0
Foreign Currency Exchange Fees	$0	$20-35	$0
Cross Border Charges	$0-20	$20-35	$0
Cash Advance Fee	$0	$25	$0
TOTAL (Approximately)	$10-$40	$75-$90	$0

The card is supported by a cutting-edge mobile app, which gives users the ability to lock and unlock either the full card or a payment channel anytime, anywhere in the world. The app also provides real-time notifications on usage, exchange rates and refunds, while helping users find convenient ATM locations, avail nearby offers – thus making it one of the most modern cards in the world today.

Further, business travellers can submit claims on-the-go by adding bills for each transaction right in the app. These claims can be instantaneously approved by their employer organisations via the NiYO Corporate Portal.

NiYO CEO and Co-founder Vinay Bagri said, “The forex card market in India is worth $17 billion; around 20 million people are expected to travel abroad this year. By 2020, this number will rise to 50 million. With such a staggering number of Indians travelling abroad, we aim to capture a lion’s share of the market.”

NiYO CTO and Co-founder Virender Bisht said, “Our aim has been to facilitate hassle-free experience among our customer. Forex is one of the key components for travel and remains a concern. International travellers are always burdened with high currency exchange rate charged by banks, which varies between 1-3% of the amount transacted. Banks also charge either a flat fee or a set percentage of the transaction amount in addition to the currency exchange charge. Moreover, people are also very worried about card security abroad. This card is a one-stop solution for all of these problems. We have invested our best effort and technology in the designing process to provide the safety feature along with other components. The card has already been reviewed and appreciated by many top executives from the India Inc. and today, we are glad to present it to our customers at large.”

Founded by Vinay Bagri and Virender Bisht, NiYO works at the intersection of financial services, HR and technology. NiYO was launched in July 2015 and since then has already clocked in more than 3000 corporates and is being used by over 5 lakh salaried employees in these organisations.

About NiYO

NiYO is a fintech startup conceptualized in 2015 that offers digital banking solutions for salaried employees across various sectors. Currently, with over 5 lakh customers and relationships with 3000 corporates, NiYO is growing to be a truly trusted digital banking platform across India.