IDFC FIRST Bank removes forex markup on all credit cards
IDFC FIRST Bank has eliminated forex markup for existing and new credit cardholders, with no spend threshold or card upgrade required. The change applies to overseas transactions including travel, cross-border e-commerce, subscriptions, education and business payments, while reward points or cashback remain applicable.
What happened
IDFC First Bank · IDFC FIRST Bank has waived forex markup on international transactions for all existing and new credit cards without spend thresholds or
Key facts
- Zero forex markup on all existing and new credit cards
- Typical Rs 1,00,000 international transaction avoids about Rs 4,130 in forex markup and GST
- Typical forex markup cited: 3.5% plus GST
- Customer business: Rs 6,04,776 crore as of June 30, 2026
- Over 40 million customers
- Around 20% YoY customer-business growth
Why this matters
IDFC FIRST Bank’s zero-markup proposition strengthens its differentiation in travel, education and cross-border commerce, potentially increasing the strategic value of partnerships with travel, payments and international merchant platforms.
What to watch
- IDFC FIRST disclosures on international card-spend growth, active-card additions, transaction mix and credit-card profitability.
- Whether the zero-markup policy excludes cash withdrawals, dynamic currency conversion, quasi-cash, wallet loads or certain business-payment categories.
- Changes to reward-point earn rates, redemption value, fair-use caps or foreign-transaction terms after launch.
- Matching announcements from major private banks, travel-card issuers, fintech-backed cards and co-branded card programs.
- Travel season demand, outbound tourism trends, overseas education remittances and cross-border e-commerce growth.
- Any increase in fraud, chargebacks, delinquencies or customer complaints related to overseas transactions.
- Market the offer heavily around summer travel, overseas education payments, international subscriptions and cross-border e-commerce.
- Target existing high-forex-spend customers with personalized spend-migration campaigns and travel partnerships.
- Use increased card engagement to cross-sell savings accounts, wealth products, personal loans and SME banking.
- Competitors are likely to review forex pricing, reward structures and premium-card value propositions rather than immediately cut all card fees.