Last Updated: 6th Jan 2019
Are you a frequent foreign traveller or someone who spend a lot on USD, GBP, etc currencies from your debit/credit card? here comes a great news for you. Indusind Bank has recently launched a Signature debit card for Exclusive customers that has 0% Foreign currency Markup fee when you spend/withdraw money on your card on any foreign currency other than Indian rupee.
Indusind Bank Signature Exclusive Debit Card
Table of Contents
Markup Fee Waiver
Generally, banks charge anywhere around 3.5%+Tax = ~4% for cross currency payments while some premium credit cards has 2% markup fee. So using this debit card can save you around 4% of your foreign expenses.
Suppose you spend 1 Lakh on a Foreign trip, this card can help you save Rs.4,000.
Reward Points
On top of it, you can save additional 1% through reward points that you earn while you swipe your card.
- 1 Reward Point =
Rs.0.50Rs.0.35 - Reward rate: ~1%
There is a certain cap for this reward points though (3k for signature cards).
So compared to a random Credit/Debit card, this Indusind Exclusive Signature debit card can help you save around 5% (markup fee + reward points). That’s Rs.5,000 in savings on 1L spend. Worth it right?
Indusind Exclusive Signature Debit Card Features
- 0% Markup fee on Foreign currency expenses
- 0% Markup fee on Foreign currency Cash Withdrawal.
- Rs.0 Cash Withdrawal Charge (Though, ATM’s in some countries may have ATM usage charge of ~Rs.150 per withdrawal)
- Better value with reward points
- 2 Complimentary lounge access per Quarter to Visa Lounges in India (Visa Signature Privilege)
How to get?
- Annual Fee: Rs.299+tax for exclusive customers.
Open an Exclusive Savings a/c by depositing 2 Lakhs and opt for this card, don’t forget to mention that you need this variant called – Signature Exclusive Debit Card.
Most of them in bank will be clueless as to what this product is all about. If so, talk to branch manager.
This card is a hidden Gem for those who spend a lot in foreign currency. I guess this variant was added to their system few months back and i’m unsure how long this gonna last. Indusind had similar feature on one of their credit card which they revoked now.
Hopefully, more banks come up with such 0% markup fee concepts in coming years. Or, if we have a bad time, this 0% markup fee benefit on this card can be expected to be revoked soon 😛
- CardExpert Rating: 5/5 [yasr_overall_rating]
Important Information
- Visa Variant: I have the visa variant and it works flawlessly both offline and online on sites including Paypal and many others. I’ve also used it in 4 countries so far to withdraw cash and do POS spends. It all works perfect!
- Mastercard Variant: It seems Indusind currently having problems with Mastercard variant, especially with online Usage. Even though Mastercard conversation rates are better than visa, its better not to choose Mastercard variant at-least for now. Please find a detailed issue in the comment below. Thanks to Vishwanath for sharing his experience!
Bottomline
Eventhough using this debit card makes sense, remember that this is a debit card. If you’re looking for a “credit card” with low foreign currency markup fee, have a look at these cards that has the lowest foreign currency markup fee of 2%
What do you think about this simple tip that can save you a lot of money on foreign trips/expenses? Share your Views in comments below 🙂
While 0% mark up is a good bait, one shouldn’t forget that banks charge varying exchange rate, which can be anywhere up from 1% to 4% of the normal exchange price.
Kapil, Yes, that’s around 1% i’ve seen. I’ve compared by charging HDFC Credit Card & Indusind debit card at same time and there is no big difference in exchange rate 🙂
So if i get this card and use in any foreign country then what it takes charges, i min except cross currency markup and atm withdrawal . Is that any hidden charges like currency conversion charges is to high compare to other banks or gst charges…??? Because many banks reduce their cross currency charges but as well as increse their other charges so problems remain at same. So should i take this card for foreing transactions, what is your opinion, it’s really reliable???
This is conversion rate you talking about, right??? 1% or whatever + 18% GST?
Citi Prestige with its regular 3.5% markup on foreign currency transaction with its 2 Prestige Points (8 miles) per 100 spent is still a better deal IMO than the HDFC 2% fee..
True. But it has high joining fee. Probably most Visa infinite Cards should be good to be compared as well 🙂
Thanks for the post Sid.
But it would be a great feature if they include it in some of credit cards by other banks too. As you told, mostly all banks including American Express charges 3.5% + service tax (excluding the exchange rate spread value charged by banks and payment gateways) on foreign transactions. I would say the HDFC cards that you mentioned in the post would attract 2.3% cross currency markup including the service tax as of now but it is not easily obtaining by a person who is new to the bank without any high value assets or HNI tag.
CC Industry is evolving fast in India, we can expect 0% markup fee on credits cards soon, likely with Amex as they already have such offers in other countries like USA.
which one is preferable this debit card or forex card i.e. SBI Travel card in US? My friends brother in US and my fried loads his forex card from SBI.
This Debit card obviously is best comapred to Forex cards/cash. Its a premium debit card with unmatched features. You don’t need to load/unload money and loose some $$ while doing so on forex cards.
hy sidhart,
thanks to u for such a beautiful guide. can u say if i gone to europe with this debit card in various hotel and shop..will somebody tell yr card is not working or not valid….. all are saying that amex will best in europe… can i use my any national bank debit card there (hotel and shopping mall) with a safety….you plse through some blog about how to use the credit card and debit card in a secured way in various places. as we the common people are very much anxious about the fraud activity of these card…..
Any card will be good as long as its on Visa/Mastercard.
Now the problem comes when the banks block your card (thinking its being misused) and you maynot be able to attend the call due to sky high roaming charges.
This is why Amex is great as they can send a new card almost anywhere if misused, etc.
Still its good to carry 2 or 3 cards when you goto foreign countries in different network like visa/Mastercard. So you’ll have backup.
The card looks beautiful. Is that really a matt finish or the image couldn’t capture the gloss?
Gold part is highly glossy, the black part is kind of matte finish type. Its a mix of both 🙂
Hi Siddharth,
So I can get this card by starting a savings account of 1L, right? but after receiving the card if the account value goes below 1L, what will happen?
Yes,
Its fine to go lower than 1L for a week or so.
But if balance not maintained, they will put AQB non-maintenance charge and the card will also be charged separately.
Basically all unwanted headaches 😀
I thought you had mentioned 2 Lakh?
Recently updated to 2L in some branches. Earlier it was 1L.
New sbi signature debit card is launched? Saw that in bookmyshow. But couldn’t find in the sbi website.
Hello Siddharth. Hope you are doing great. I was pretty confused with Indus select and Indus exclusive as i am staying in Poland and my parents would send me monthly expenses and fees. What would be the joining fee, annual fee and issuance fee for platinum and signature cards??? I am currently using a corp debit card which has all the charges in it while withdrawing cash from ATM. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance !
Shafwan,
Exclusive a/c Min Balance: 1L
Exclusive Platinum Debit Card: free with Exc. A/c.
Exclusive Signature Debit Card: Rs.299+tax
Hope it helps 🙂
Hello Siddharth,
Thanks a lot for the clarification. It helped a lot indeed. Good day and take care
Hi, I just opened an indusInd Select account. On the website it is written 0% fee for foriegn markup, so will i recieve the same 0% fee if i buy thing online in USD?
Yes you would 🙂
Hey Adrian,
Did you get the Select account kit? How many days it took to open Select account? and is markup fee 0% as mentioned in their website? Thanks in advance !
Hey Kapil,
Great article and very useful indeed. I am not sure if the terms have changed recently, but I notice on Indusind website for Select account, minimum balance is 50000 and there is 0 markup with the Select Debit card (No mark-up charges on foreign currency transactions done through Select Debit Card at ATMs/ Merchant outlets.). It is not clear if this is with the Platinium Select card (which is free) or the Signature Select card (which is chargeable at INR 500 per year).
Similarly for Exclusive the statement is a bit different not sure if it really means different (Cross Currency Mark Up fee waived off for Signature Exclusive Debit Card and 1% on Platinum Exclusive Debit Card and for International Merchant purchases and International ATM withdrawals.). A
As your rightly said the banks are clueless about this and am not getting consistent response. Lastly how do we ensure they charge us the right currency conversion. I deal a lot with forex in business banking and I know they are not very transparent in the rates applied and had to literally fight to get an online based rate booking.
Hi Siddharath,
Thanks for the post, really helpful. I am going to Dubai in Jan end. So was looking for Forex card so i had couple of Questions on this:-
1. My expenses might be around 1-2L (Family of 5 are going, mostly ladies :-)). So is it advisable to take Forex or this?
2. I might not end up buying much if the dont like, so will be encashing forex card on reutrn if so – Will forex card still be good?
3. Will they quickly open the account? As time contraint is there and i dont want my funds blocked.
Thanks,
Abhishek
Why do you want to have forex card while you can get everything done along with rewards using this debit card?
Since you mentioned that the difference in bank rates are normally 1%.. Wouldnt that be huge if i really end up buying so much?
No, it doesn’t matter much. Even if matters, we can’t do anything about it.
We can never buy forex as its exact value as on XE 🙂
That being said, this card is the best i’ve ever seen.
Thanks a lot Siddharth, I applied for one today and as you mentioned bank was bit unaware of this card and i had to press for the same. Bank Manager was intrigued about learning about this blog, and he opened this in front of me for reading review. Hope more get to see your great blogs.
Sounds great. Glad that bank managers are reading the reviews of their own product 🙂
Hello Abhishek did you get the welcome kit already? i have applied on 26th december,completed all formalities (without doorstep banking) cheque was encashed yesterday. No response yet from them. How long does it take to get debit card and get account activated?
Hi Siddharth,
Any difference between the Exclusive and Select savings account?
For Select savings account I could see the below:
“No mark-up charges on foreign currency transactions done through Select Debit Card at ATMs/ Merchant outlets.”.
1. Only 50,000 relationship value for the IndusInd Select account
2. This is the default card so no need to pay for the debit card charges as well.
3. BMS show offer is also there.
We would only miss the Visa Lounge access.
DId I miss anything?
Regards,
Ashok
It was there earlier on select variant. But not now i believe. Check their debit card charges file for the updated info.
Actually for updated version you should check their premium banking section as well as schedule of charges on the bottom of their website. 2% markup for platinum and 1% for signature card for select account.
Not true Shafwan. I received their signature exclusive debit card on 23 Jan and it is mentioned on the doc that forex mark up fee is 0%.
You are right Kapil. But i was talking about Select account not exclusive. I hold an exclusive card myself which has 0% markup fee 🙂
Hi Siddharth,
Is Markup Fee also applied when you make online purchases on Foreign stores while being in India? Please let me know. Thanks!
Yes. levied on any currency other than home currency, INR.
Any idea what would be the markup fees for ICICI Coral business debit card? I have already made 15 lakhs worth of international transactions this year and switching to this card can benefit in a good way. What do you think?
That’s 3.5% + tax.
Ofcourse, switching will save you a whooping Rs.60,000 minimum on 15L spend 🙂
Used this card for my Forex – Foreign Exchange was charged at Bank Interchange rate which is very good. One can withdraw money also and save! Since i took cash in dirhams which was 50 paisa more and including service tax costed me around 1600 more for 3000 dirhams. If one withdraws, i could have saved this as per withdrawal charges it will be 2 dollars maybe.
Points redemption is also very good – I got aprrox 2k for spending at best forex rates of around 90k
Siddharth, i was charged some weird TIPS Surcharge on 2-3 transactions , Bank is telling it will be reverted and i think they are unaware what it is. Did you come across this?
Yes, i’m aware of this Surcharge.
I escalated, but no one has any info on this and they never got refunded either.
Its too low (usually 2 digits) that i never mind about it after that.
Maybe this is charged due to the fluctuations on forex rates.
Hey Sid,
I found a similar card in Indusind which is as good as or equally good as Indusind Exclusive Signature. The World Select debit card (Mastercard version) for Select account in which the mark up fee is 1.15% to be precise but this 1% could be saved by Mastercard exchange rates which are usually better than Visa exchange rates by 1%. So the benefit is you do not have to open an Exclusive account to avail this offer but Select account with World Select debit card would be beneficial. Main benefit is for someone who cannot maintain 1L per quarter but can maintain 50k per quarter. Sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it?
Yes, its good indeed.
Hi Shafwan,
I recently received the same World Select Debit Card (Mastercard version). Wanted to know more about how the exchange rates are actually better than Select Exclusive Debit Card. Would be a great help. Thanks.
Thanks Siddharth,
I got my account opened. I usually spend 4000$ to 6000$ per month to pay for a few online services and this card has indeed helped me save a lot of money in the account opening month itself. I also noted the exchange rate charged by IndusInd was at par with was published on xe.com which is very rare to find as I have used HDFC/ ICICI / Amex / Yes Bank / SBI cards and almost other banks but never have been able to get a rate that matches xe.com
You surely helped me save a large amount of money. Thanks a tonn!!
Yes indeed. Glad that i was able to help 🙂
Hello Siddharth ji
Well recently one of my cousin opened a NRI account with IndusInd Bank and he was offered this Signature Debit Card… but the Joining fees was like a Bomb 🙂
Three different Joining fees
1. 5000/- plus taxes
2. 7500/- plus Taxes
3. 10000/- Plus Taxes
so i asked him to send me the comparative or feature chart for all this…
hardly any difference… except the free vouchers from some brands…
But no where they mentioned whether the free Airport lounges is Domestic or International as well.. Nor they mentioned about any Priority Pass…. so little confused about it… (whereas the Bank representative said this card allows free access even at Dubai Airport)
So dont know why did she mentioned particularly DUBAI… maybe not every card gives free access to Dubai Airport?
So thought maybe you can give some idea about it
Do they provide Priority Pass along with Signature Debit Card ? or the Card itself has feature for free Airport Lounges ? And does this card has free access at International Airport Lounges ?
Thank you for help
Looks like you’re bit confused about credit/debit card.
1. Priority pass is never issued on a debit card. She might have got confused with signature “credit” card.
2. No such special dubai access. Visa gives access to a set of domestic lounges with Visa Signature Lounge access Program
3. This signature card is different from the usual signature card. You need to have an Exclusive ac to get this.
My local branch manager says they do not have exclusive saving account and says it is only available in select branches. He offered a select savings account which also gives select signature visa debit card and the fees is 499, is the same one????
Its different.
Yes, you might need to change the branch.
So can I transfer 40k rupees to another account and still get these points?
It has to be Debit card retail spend.
Hi Siddharth, it says for “swipe transactions”. Do we get points with online spends on this debit card? or just the swipe transactions
I was going through the website and it says “Maximum points in a month will be capped at 2000 points” Can you please check and update the same.
Yes, for Plat cards its 2k, for signature its 3k
Hi Siddharth,
Can this card be used to fund another account and earn points from these transactions?
Fund other ac? Like?
Again, Indus Exclusive account and SIGNATURE EXCLUSIVE debit card – Are they available for NRO/NRE type of accounts?
Indusind have increased minimum AMB to 200,000 for Exclusive Savings Account wef May 2017
Noticed a while back. Sad part!
Hey Siddharth,
That’s a ton of information over here from your blog post + comments. Thank you so much.
As you said, does the points get capped at 3k points?
So it’s better to opt for a credit card if you’re spending over a lakh/month?
Am I right?
Yes, there is a cap. Obviously, you can get a CC to get more points on your spends.
Visa Signature cards usually offer free lounge access international as well. Does this apply to this card or its only domestic use for lounges.
Its only for Domestic AFAIK.
I have heard icici coral platinum debit card also does not charge foreign currency markup for current or saving account can someone verify this information for me please
Hi Sid,
Thanks a lot for this information and your information has been extremely helpful for me!
See what I did after following your information 🙂 –
Firstly, I opened 2 HDFC Savings account where in I have to keep a min. balance of 10K and 25K respectively. For this I’ve got 2 cards and I can earn 1500 cashback per month( 750*2 respectively). However from May 15 2017. they have limited the cashback to few merchants only 🙁
Secondly, I opened my Indusind exclusive account with signature card on May 5th 2017 (thankfully they had 1L min balance then) This account offers me 1500 Rs cashback every month and they have pretty good customer service too.
So overall, I could save about 36,000 Rs a year because of you. Thank you so much for all the information SID! You rock. If possible I would like to personally meet you personally in bangalore.
Glad to hear that. Happy that i was able to help you save a good money 🙂
Lets see, i’m visiting Bangalore quite rarely these days.
I spent $1500/day for trading purpose and every night I would look at my statements and wish if HDFC had reduced the 3.5 Markup Fees. They take half of my profits!!!
Last week I googled for a solution and ended up here. Very next day I went to the branch, and like someone has already mentioned above – not all branches have exclusive accounts. My nearby branch don’t. But I spoke to the manager, told him about your blog and how much I’m affected by HDFC rates. He called his boss immediately and took the permission to open an exclusive account. Hence I became the first exclusive account holder of that branch! 😀
I’ll get my card in a week. And hopefully it gonna double my profits. Thank you SID for all the info. 🙂
Just one question – you have mentioned above that the there is no big difference in the rates charged by HDFC and IndusInd. May I ask you what exactly is the difference? HDFC charged me around 64.5 INR/USD today morning.
Thanks once again! 🙂
Do you have any update on this?
How has your experience been? Are you saving money from this?
In your experience, does Visa or Mastercard have more favorable exchange rate for spending overseas? That will decide which card I use for international transactions.
I will highly appreciate if anyone using this card can tell me if the exchange rates are as per XE rates? My present card is providing me with at or below XE rates so Im wondering if it will be worth it going for this card? Im a heavy international spender.
Yes John,
Its few decimals higher than XE rates.
May i know which card you refer to that gives below XE rates?
Hi John,
I compared HDFC Infinia(Visa Infinite) with Yes bank First Exclusive card(Mastercard world) and Mastercard was cheaper. I made 2 international transactions at same time.
Hello, Siddharth, I’m a Citi Gold customer, the default Mastercard Debit attached to my account gives me below XE rates. If you can look up on XE, today 1EUR is 73.7 INR but I have been getting 73.24 with my card since morning, about the same difference applies every day. If I understand you correctly the Indusind signature card is always above XE rates? If Yes then can you give me an example?
Sounds good. Yes, Mastercard has the lowest rate AFAIK.
Xe value for $: Rs.66.4
Indus sign Charged: Rs.66.7
I did this experiment couple of months back.
I’ve scheduled a detail article on this as well. Should be up in few days 🙂
Hi Sid
And how much was the tips surcharge? Add that too
Hello John, this is because mastercard rates are always better than Visa and almost similar to that on Xe. Check out mastercard currency converter and Visa currency converter of each day and you will find Visa rates are always higher than Mastercard. Also banks do not have anything to do with exchange rates. Visa rates are updated at 3:30 am IST and Mastercard rates are updated 11:30 pm IST.
That will be a true comparison in my opinion. Offers aside, it’s important to know the real exchange rates charged by the bank. Thanks for the example!
Hi Sid,
Please let me know what is the mark up fee for ICICI coral Debit card.
Hi Siddharth, IndusInd appears to offer three cards for the Exclusive Account Status: (1) Visa Platinum Exclusive, (2) Visa Signature, and (3) MasterCard World Exclusive Card. Of these three products, which do you think will provide the best benefits for overseas ATM and POS transactions?
I visited the branch today, and they aren’t very sure. They’re running around to get me some answers this week. But would you know?
2/3 are same. 3 is better due to MC.
HI
Is this card a better option for using money abroad on a world tour or a forex card from private vendors like book my forex is better. Both are having 0% currency conversion charges. And now indusind is not giving cashbacks too on points earned on debit card. Only rewards from catalogue which isnt useful .
Hey Siddharth,
Great article, also the comment section is really helpful.
I have a question, how does this it compare with Jet Airways American Express® Platinum Credit Card. I will be doing a lot of international transactions(2500 USD and other currencies) and would love to get travel benefits.
Amazing article. Have been looking for a card with 0% markup and found one through your article. Would help me a lot as I travel to many countries which do not use the popular currencies offered by Forex cards. Thanks! I just hope they continue to offer this benefit.
By the way, my experience with Indus Ind has been great – everything happened sitting at home, and the Relationship Manager visited me twice – which is a big luxury in Bangalore traffic. They really pamper Exclusive customers. And it’s also great that they have a dedicated customer care for exclusive account which connects you to a human being pretty quick instead of minutes of pressing buttons and being on hold. And things like cash delivery at home, cheque pick up etc. just for a AQB of 2 lac is unbelievable !
Seems Indusind has stopped cash redemption of reward points on their debit cards. Sad, as I was consistently making Rs. 1500 per month from this debit card.
Now their reward redemption page redirects to a coupons website which isn’t even ready for debit card, it seems, as it only asks for your credit card number to login. Further, the redemption options are ridiculous.
Hi Sid
Wonderful article.
Can I get debit card rewards/cashback when I pay my credit card dues with with debit card at billdesk???
Or it defers from card to card? Or there is a better option?
If yes, on any particular card, please let us know and any suggestion which debit card is the best for cash back?
Thanks a lot
Well, seems the freebies be over 1 Oct 2017 onwards. The accumulation of 2-6 reward points per Rs. 100 against various spend slabs has been modified to Rs. 200, which means the spends need to be doubled to get the same value.
My recent account statement carried this bad news, along with another that the value per point would also be revised (the website/statement doesn’t mention by how much). Note that the current value of Rs. 0.50 per point is already auto devalued by considering the fact that the website doesn’t allow cash redemption anymore, and the limited options of gift vouchers are also available mostly against 2082 points per Rs. 1000 voucher, and not 2000 points as one would !
Whatever point devaluation happens, would also apply to points accrued upto 30 Sep, so high time to redeem them. There also Indusind has built a rat trap, by allowing only max 5000 points to be redeemed in a calendar month now.
With min balance requirement already doubled to 2L from 1L, a paltry interest rate of 4%, and TIPS surcharges on foreign currency transaction ( making the overall transaction ~0.7% expensive than XE official rate), I guess it’s time to bid goodbye to indusind bank exclusive account, and perhaps trade it against some of their modest account without the AMB requirements.
Hi Siddharth,
Really you have posted a highly impressive information , actually I m planning to travel dubai next month for a family vacation , so which card , you will prefer to me , as I have a mind to enjoy with around 5 lac approx and the card should also have facility to withdraw cash also from the ATM Counters .
I need AED in the card , waiting for your reply
Go for Indus Exclusive World Debit card (Mastercard ) .
Previously i was using Signature for overseas withdrawls and POS transactions here in Poland. Later i switched to Mastercard and i am saving more than Visa. MC rates are always better and same like Xe.
Here it is claimed that MasterCard variant has better exchange rate than visa variant. A research on this, which proves it, will help.
I am ready to do a sample transaction on ali express with my visa variant. If someone with MC variant can do it simultaneously, we can compare.
I’ve done that, check out the article: Which has the Best Foreign Exchange Rate?
I just opened an exclusive savings account with 2L as balance, still, it didn’t allow on Paypal. Upon contacting customer service, I was told “Paypal is a suspicious site and hence transactions are not allowed” …insane….gonna close the account. Have this 2L deposited on FD yielding 9% interest …I can get 18K per annum which is more sufficient to cover the FCY Markup Fee 🙂
When txn gets rejected, keep trying. You’ll get call from monitoring team, just ask them to approve. I had similar issue but got solved.
Hi Paddy,
Are you suing the VISA variant or the Mastercard variant. Did it get resolved for you ?
My entire family has grouped exclusive accounts with Indusind. I had the free Platinum Exclusive Card till now , while the others had the Signature at 299 a year. While upgrading, I ended up getting the World Exclusive MC instead, which has just arrived today. The benefits looked similar, but the longer list of lounges from MC was tempting. I use a basic LTF Credit Card, with no free access (Priority Pass but paid entry)
HI Siddharth,
Thanks alot for educating people like me 🙂 . I got a question – can i use this debit card or any other debit card for trading in foriegn exchanges ( like future markets of America ) .
Some future market dealers allows Visa/Mastercard to deposit funds and then we can use those funds to trade the futures internationally . Your inputs are much appreciated . Thank you
This maybe risky, you might need to check with the foreign txn limits and your auditor.
Hey Sid,
As usual a great article! Keep it up. Do you know any other debit cards from other banks with 0 % mark up fee? It’d be great if you could list those out.
Also, I’d love to see an article from you on saving tips / best practices with credit / debit cards for frequent travellers!
And I just started following you on twitter as well. 🙂
No other bank waives off markup fee. Idfc -2%
The card isn’t working for online debit card transactions at foreign websites, I’m redirected to mastercard secure code but then after entering the otp it says transaction declied by the bank and the customer care says they don’t support MOTO transactions
i am facing the same problem. Admin pls check if this issue is only for mastercard. WIll the problem be fixed if i switch to visa signature card?
Same here. Mastercard version. Doesnot work on any website .
@Maazin or Smit
Did you switch to VISA ? is the issue resolved ?
Same happened with me. Why don’t they support MOTO aka Uber rides? My ICICI bank allows them in Visa!
Hi guys
Just a few doubts
1. Select account can only get select cards and only exclusive accounts will get exclusive card, right?
2. If I am only interested in domestic lounge access through their debit card – Is there any benefit in opening exclusive account over select account? (both select and exclusive card seems to offer 2 visits/qrtr)
3. For the same purpose would the World Select/Exclusive MC debit card be more useful than Signature Select/Exclusive VISA debit card.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Siddharth, can you plz confirm if signature exclusive visa card works on foreign websites, I’ve given appointment to the executive & don’t want to open exclusive account if it doesn’t work online. Plz reply asap. Tia
It does!
Thanks a lot
They have started issuing World MasterCard for exclusive customers. I had tried using it on PoS in Vietnam and I am getting good rates. In addition to that, I got 5% cashback on my spending on food/ beverages. ATM pull was also offered very good exchange rate.
Hi there,
I just received and activated my world select master card i try adding it on paypal but it shows the error “the card was declined by the bank” and i tried to pay on some websites in USD i was redirected o the
OTP page after that it shows the same error “the card was declined by the bank” , my card it activated for international transactions is is in ACTIVE state , i tried to get in touch with the customer support they have no clue about it they are just just saying that “card is activated for international use and says try contacting paypal or other websites”, any information regarding this will be helpful and my Axis and Kodak card works fine on those websites and on paypal.
And the card works fine for INR transactions.
Thanks in advance 🙂
Same situation here. Mastercard Exclusive card is not working at all. But 1 thing I noticed is the “International limit” is set to 0 Rs. by default and therefore it will be declined by default. Try logging into netbanking or Mobile banking and increase it to maximum and , wait for the request to resolve and then try again. For me it is not even taking me to OTP page. It is just rejecting it directly. Which websites did you try that take you to the OTP page ?
Thanks for this blog Siddharth.
Based on current reviews, I will go for the World Exclusive Mastercard debit card.
Hi Sidharth,
I opted for the Mastercard variant (World exclusive debit card) very recently and I am unable to use it anywhere international online including paypal, amazon.com and google wallet. Could you please confirm if the VISA version (Signature Exclusive) is working on Paypal now and other international sites so that I can cancel this card and apply for that instead. It will be 300+300 loss for me and I don’t want to waste that money if the VISA card is also not working.
I am facing the same problem. Please look into the matter and update your article as some of us mostly want to open the account for 0% markup fee on international online transactions.
I had long ago deleted my IndusInd Exclusive Visa Signature card from my PayPal account. Considering your case, I tried adding the card back to my PayPal account. It went through flawlessly. I was charged Rs 2 as authentication charge which I am sure will be reversed by PayPal. I also tried adding it on my google play store. It went through successfully there too. I was charged Rs 50 as authentication charge by Google which I am sure shall be reversed too. Hence, I can confirm that VISA Exclusive Signature Card from IndusInd Bank is working on PayPal and Google Play/Google Wallet. And since that is the case, hence, it should work on other foreign platforms as well.
Hi Abhishek,
Thanks a lot for confirming this. I am going to cancel the Master Card and order a VISA card. Depending on whether my VISA card will work, It can be one of two things now –
1. Only VISA cards are working and MC is not
2. Old cards are working and new cards will not work
Regardless, and I will update you on the result
My request to you is to update the article with the information once I check with the VISA card, because a lot of people are opting for this just for the forex situation and THIS INFORMATION IS VERY IMPORTANT AS 2 lacs to open the account is not cheap.
Yeah may be VISA varient work but my world select MC is not at all working with PayPal, Skrill and Google wallet even my transaction limit is set to 3 lakhs and on cheaking with customer support the card is activated for international transactions but it is still not working on PayPal may be VISA varient of it work going to order a new card I’ll update everyone about the Same and anyone gets it earlier then me please update about the same
I have had a 2 week long conversation with multiple escalations and reached out to multiple teams including payment team in Indus. They take my complaint very seriously as I was an “Exclusive” customer. Other banks including HDFC don’t care soo much, even though you are a “Preferred Banking” customer.
Here is what they told me. For each transaction they receive a “Merchant code”. And based on the merchant code they classify the transaction. And currently any international merchant which can accept payment without OTP (Mastercard Securecode) will give out a transaction merchant code which they are for some stupid reason classifying as a Mail Order / Telephone Order(MOTO) transaction instead of an online transaction. And since MOTO transactions are blocked these transactions are not going through. They did acknowledge that these websites are not MOTO and that they are “working” on changing the classification. I highly doubt they will or even if they do , I think it will take several months.
So, I just ordered a VISA variant and it will arrive in 4 days. I will update you as soon as I receive mine. You can order based on my result 🙂
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing wealth of information on this Indusind Exclusive Mastercard debit card issue.
Thank you will be waiting for your update 🙂
Visa version Confirmed as working 😀
Feel free to order yours. I am posting a detailed comment below
Hello sir ,
Even the visa variant seems to have stopped working ( atleast online – tried it on Amazon.com , google play and multiple other US websites ) since last 2 days .Before that it was working flawlessly. Can you please check and confirm . I am in USA and i am facing a lot of inconvenience. I have already escalated the matter to customer care and they have asked for three working days. Any input from your side will be highly valuable .
Thank you
Dr. Bikram
I received my card today. I will get it activated tomorrow and post an update
Hi Everyone,
Please be VERY CAREFUL when ordering the debit card. If you choose the MasterCard version (MasterCard Exclusive World) it will NOT work. Like some of you I was trapped into choosing the MasterCard thinking that the lower conversion rates would somehow benefit me. The truth is it MASTERCARD WILL NOT WORK ON ANY INTERNATIONAL WEBSITE AT ALL.
As soon I discovered the issue, I started from customer support and escalated it to various levels reaching to different teams in Indus.If you are an exclusive customer, you get treated much better in customer support and you even have a separate phone number for exclusive customers with almost zero wait time. Basically they explained that –
For each transaction they receive a “Merchant code”. And based on the merchant code they classify the transaction. And currently any international merchant which can accept payment without OTP (Mastercard Securecode) will give out a transaction merchant code which they are for some stupid reason classifying as a Mail Order / Telephone Order(MOTO) transaction instead of an online transaction. And since MOTO transactions are blocked these transactions are not going through. They did acknowledge that these websites are not MOTO and that they are “working” on changing the classification. I highly doubt they will or even if they do , I think it will take several months.
So I just ordered the VISA variant and I can confirm that this one works absolutely fine and hassle free on paypal (asks for OTP) . PlayStore (asks for OTP) and websites like Steam (No OTP) , humblebundle.com (No OTP )and Amazon.com (No OTP). Since it works both WITH and WITHOUT OTP, it should work on all sites hasslefree.
The exchange rate was SHOCKINGLY LOWER than the price xe.com (356 charged vs 358.9 on XE) AND THERE WAS NO CONVERSION FEE on all my transactions.
The customer care support and the way they treat you as a customer was truly amazing and probably my best experience with any bank so far (including private banks like HDFC, Yes and ICICI ). I came to Indus for the Debit card, but I will stay here for the customer treatment. The personal Relationship Manager, Financial Advice and Wealth Management facility (although I don’t yet use any of these) is a big plus. All in all a good experience and an awesome card. Kudos to the Indus team.
I request the admin to update the article with this information as lot of people are being misguided to take the USELESS MASTERCARD. Please leave a warning for them to take the VISA card instead as it is working. The rest of the article was extremely helpful. Thanks ! 🙂
Thanks for sharing about the issue with MC in detail. Post updated 🙂
Hello Vishwanath,
Seems like the issue is only with your card or that particular card. I have been using it online and offline since more than a year now, never had a single problem.
Yes Bro, I too had the same issue with mastercard variant. I tried on Amazon.com, but mastercard variant didn’t work. I told them to give me Signature Exclusive Debit card but they sent me World Debit Mastercard and claimed both have same features. The customer care told me that it was a MOTO transaction and hence they are blocked. I ordered for Signature Visa Debit Card and waiting for it. Your comment giving me confidence that Visa card might work. 🙂
Yes, this is true. The mastercard does not work with many international sites.
I am a student studying abroad, so swiping and better lounge access is more important to me.
I live in Australia, I get charged almost the same rate as xe.com, sometimes even lesser
Hi Vishwanath,
I opted for a MC and facing the same issue as well. And the local IndusInd branch executive says that there is no option for a VISA card for Signature Exclusive. Could you please advise on how you managed to order the VISA variant.
Best
Madhu
You don’t need to go to the branch. Just call the customer care and ask them for re-issue and mention the card clearly as Signature Exclusive. Branch people might not be aware of it.
A big thanks man! Will be ordering the VISA varient tomorrow thanks a ton!
If open a joint account with my wife, on who’s name will this card be issued. I mainly want it so that my wife can also get lounge access.
Hi Sidharth
Is Mastercard variant problem only for Indusind forex card? I got HDFC Regalia Forexplus Mastercard variant. Will I face same problems?
I’m unsure about it. The issue is mainly for online txn’s. Are you actually planning to do online txn’s with forex card?
FYI: It seems the Visa Card variant has been stopped and there are only Master and RuPay variants now, that’s what I was told by the Nungambakkam, Chennai branch manager. I was sent a Master card when I particularly asked for a VISA Signature debit card! Should I take master card, not sure if this is true, can someone confirm?
Just got in as a Indusind Customer.
Looking at the review….feel I have made the right decision.
2 doubts(queries)
Is the card accepted at ALL Airports (I am referring to Airports outside India)?
and
2. How is their Rewards (earlier it was cashback right)??
Thank you in advance
Which card did you get, Mastercard or Visa?
Any updates on this Mastercard/Visa issue?
Even the visa variant has stopped working online . I am in USA right now and the visa variant is working fine at atms and POS terminals ( means basically everywhere where an otp is required ) . It is not working online on websites like Amazon.com and google play and all other websites which dont require you to enter an otp. I just had a chat with indusind customer care and they’re saying that from 12th of June 2018, they have disabled all such transactions which dont ask for an otp for security reasons . This applies to all indusind cards.
Can any member from the forum confirm that?
It’s working fine for me! Used online on a German site and the transaction went through fine without any issue although it didn’t ask for an OTP
Another Query – What is the value of 1 RP of Exclusive card variant? Is it 50 paisa or 30 paisa/
Hi Siddharth.
Are there absolutely no charges on this card for ATM withdrawals abroad?
Does this mean that the exchange rate for currency is the same as POS purchase or online transaction?
That’s correct. But ATM’s in some countries like in Vietnam add an extra ATM usage fee (or something similar) that adds up about additional ~Rs.150 (in Vietnam) per withdrawal.
Heck! Thailand ATMs charge an additional Rs.450+ per withdrawal!
Not Rs. 150 always. I used in Croatia and I was significantly charged more! But merchant swipes works like a charm in the MasterCard version, best rates almost similar to online xe.com. Love it! Used it in my Euro Travel.
You need to get that checked then. There is no ATM withdrawal fee associated with IndusInd Exclusive account or debit card. How much per transaction were your charged for ATM withdrawals/PoS swipes?
So if I have withdraw, USD in US or EURO in UK, no withdrawal charges??
Ok! So, Visa variant was declined today on the same site I used a week back. Called up customer care & they were clueless. Sent an email and no response came (as always). So, just keep it for International PoS purchases and International Withdrawals as long as it works.
Hi Siddharth
I have a couple of large forex expenses coming up. Can you tell me about the reward redemption value on this card ?
As per my experience, you get 6 points for every 200 rs spent. Maximum points – 3000 per month. So though you get accelerated reward points, spending more than 100000 will not get you any more than 3000.
Can someone confirm if visa signature card is working seemlessly on foreign websites (without otp)
Yes Darshan. It is working on international sites without OTP. In any case the OTP requirement is limited to Indian sites as per RBI.
Hi Siddharth.
Is the TIPS surcharge on POS transaction also levied on ATM withdrawals. If not, is it better to withdraw the amount required approximately instead of swiping the card.
I have not come across any TIPS surcharge on ATM withdrawals. Withdrew in France, England & Thailand.
Recently I have noticed an increase of these “Tips Surcharge” to 1.78% of the total value of the transaction made with Visa Signature for online transactions. The customer care says it is charged by the merchant bank while the merchant says it is charged by the card issuing bank. Has anybody else faced this issue?
It is shocking. They tell verbally but when asked for e mail, the call centre people say we are not authorised to do so.
When it is about banks out of India, we can not even ask the ombudsman.
I feel, we are made financial slaves.
I find the card worth it only if a person is heavy foreign currency spender. Must be spending at least 3-4 lakh per annum in foreign currency than it might be worth it , otherwise it is loss making card. I will demonstrate how.
If you keep 2 lakh in FD at 8% per annum you earn Rs 16000 as interest which after 20% tax comes to 12800.
They will give you a interest rate of 4% than is 8000 and after 20% interest it is 6400,
So if you can save more than 6400 in an year as currency conversion charge than it is a good deal for you, otherwise you lost money in a attempt to save on currency conversion charge.
The benefit does not end only with Cross currency markup charges.
There are other benefits like
1. Bookmyshow Buy 1 Get 1 tickets (3 tickets per quarter with maximum value of 900 rupees)
2. NEFT / RTGS / IMPS / UPI all free
3. So many benefits like Cash deposit, withdrawal, DD, etc.. are free
4. If you maintain 2L balance in one account, all other family members (up to 5 or 6) can get Zero balance Exclusive account with same privileges you enjoy.
It’s actually a very worthy deal!
I again does not agree with the points mentioned above.
1. ICICI gives 2 BOGO tickets per month on maintaining a balance of 10000.
2. NEFT/RTGS?IMPS?UPI are provided by almost all the banks free. Even if it is not free and than also a person with savings acc. with hardly send Rs. 100 per month on these, if he is a heavy user, otherwise spends will be less than Rs.100/month. Not worth the money deposited.
3. These benefits are hardly used by any saving acc. holders, mainly useful for current acc. Assess how much one spend on DD annually and than decide.
4. Same goes for all entire family. Getting an ICICI bank account with Sapphiro Debit card would be much more financial savvy.
But in the end everything depends on how much value you can extract. But getting this card by depositing 2L and than spending only 1.5-2L in foreign currency plus only 3×4 BOGO tickets would not be worth it. For a high spender in foreign currency, it is the Best ONE. But only for free IMPS and all and movie ticket , it is not.
hi,
I tried withdrawing some money at Dubai in AED using this card and it was declined thrice with the message, “request declined”
I don’t know what the reason is, I have the money in account as well as entered the right pin every everytime but the ATMs of 3 different banks at dubai, refused to dispense any money.
has anyone ever withdrawn in AED using this card and have they ever faced such a scenario and possible solution to problem.
The online swipes still seems to be an issue in the MasterCard version. I used for online USA purchase, it did not go through!
Can anybody update me with regard to the MasterCard version, please? Does it work fine for International PoS transactions/ATM withdrawals? Also, is it possible to hold on to both the Visa and MC variants or will the old debit card get blocked automatically on the use of the new card?
Hi Shivi,
I have used the Exclusive Master world debit card in multiple countries like Sri lanka, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, USA for cash withdrawal and POS transactions. I never faced any issue.
Hope it helps 🙂
Thank you SharathKumar Anbu!
Hey, is there any ATM withdrawl charge in Thailand?
Is using this card a better option than buying forex in India?
Thanks.
Atm charges apply in Thailand to all cards
Forex cards or Atm cards.
Even locals pay Atm Charges in Thailand
Good option is to buy currency notes directly instead of buying forex card.
Better option swipe Credit card/ Forex Card.
Best option swipe IndusInd Exclusive Debit Card.
@ Sam:
Hey, is there any ATM withdrawl charge in Thailand? – Yeah ATM withdrawal charges are charged by every ATM in Thailand.
Is using this card a better option than buying forex in India? – Carrying card is for convenience. Also depends on what Fx rate you are getting in India. Afaik, the best Fx rates are given in Bangkok if you exchange INR 500 notes (don’t take INR 2k notes)
Dear Sidharth Garu,
My monthly purchases are approximately Rs. 5000 to Rs 10000 both online and offline. Currently, I am using SBI Gold Debit card, which gives 1reward point worth 0.25 paise for every transaction worth Rs. 200 which is very less.
I heard that some banks are offering Rs.1 to every purchase worth Rs 100. Please , let me know of it.
Or else
Please Suggest any other best rewarding debit card.
Bonda Pavan Kumar
Hi Kumar
You should get DCB elite savings account and get 1.6% cashback quarterly. Min. balance is 50k (sometimes 25k). Max cashback is 20k annually (2k per month).
You can also look at Axis Priority Debit card if you can maintain 2 lacs balance. Benefit 10% cashback upto 2,500 per quarter.
As per their GRID based RP returns, you get 825RP points for up to 40,000 spent and not 1200 RP so you’ll need to spend 1,12,000~ to get 3,000 RP and not 1,00,000 which effectively reduces the cashback value to 0.9~%
I did around 1L and i still got 3k points. So it maynot be that case.
Hi Sid,
According to their 6x Rewards system
From To Amount Reward points / 200 Total Rewards points
0 5000 5000 2 50
5000 10000 5000 3 75
10000 20000 10000 4 200
20000 40000 20000 5 500
40000 100000 60000 6 1800
Total points for 1L = 2625
It could be possible that you might had some previous reward points or did some transactions post this 1L transaction in the same month and it could have got accumulated.
Is the point to cash conversion at 50 paise or 35 paise? At one place in the website, it is mentioned as 50p while on a different page, it is mentioned as 35p.
It’s 35 paise as of January 2019.
Yeah. I was under the wrong impression of 1L spends = 3k points; turned out to be 2,625 points! So, have to push spends to 1,12,000~ per month to reach 3k points now.
I spent 100k on this debit card in mid-December 2018 and got 2,625 points by December last week. I called up customer care and they told me about this grid-based allocation. They only told me to increase spends to 112k~ to get 3000 RP/month!
If each RP equals ₹0.35. On spending 1.12L if you are getting ₹1050 (0.9375% returns), I think DCB Bank makes more sense here. The max cashback that can be collected is ₹2,000 per month. Also the cashback rate is 1.6% (works on Cred as well, I have tested it personally)
I called up DCB BANK customer care and they specified this return of 1.6 percent is valid only on pos machine purchases. So it’s only a matter of time the online purchase reward rate is withdrawn!
How to enable international transaction on this card? This is so that the bank knows I am planning an overseas trip and hence do not block the card?
Will we get reward points if we use this debit card of CRED app. ?
Hey, When I withdrew money the ATM charged some fees. Do they refund that?
No!
Atm should not charge you fees for withdrawing money! Did u use this very variant of Debit card or some other? Was it Indian transaction or abroad?
ATM’s in most countries charge a small fee like 100-500 per withdrawal. This is called “ATM access fee”. Varies from bank to bank, even in same country. I was recently charged ~Rs.440 in Thailand. Ref: https://twitter.com/flywithsid/status/1083653691155013632
Hi Sid,
Make my trip is offering HDFC Forex plus card @zero issuance fee with lot of benefits like MMT black membership, 22 currencies loading, 10x points for loading through HDFC credit cards. I found this on my MMT app on mobile.
I am confused what to do. This card has no mark up. I was under impression FOREX CARD HAS MARKUPs. Which one saved money. Spend 4000 USD in 2 months.
Hi Madhu,
HDFC Forex Plus has higher conversion markup, then issuance fee, topup charge, ATM withdrawal fee, then 10x points is limited to 5k.
Hi, is this card now free with Exclusive account as mentioned on the bank website?
Yea. They refund the fee if you pinpoint the notice on their website. The customer care has absolutely no idea whatsoever about the updates on their site. Their in-branch operations are equally miserable. This is mainly an insurance firm. Don’t even think it’s a bank!
Anyone used this card in USA? How was the experience? Any problems? Have an upcoming trip.
Also chip vs swipe card in US? How is the acceptance of chip cards in US?
No issues in USA. All chip cards also have magnetic strip on them for swiping so it won’t matter in that area too.
After i got to know about Signature card and iconia amex. I immediately started relationship with Indusind (4 months back)
I was interested only in exclusive account due to the features.
The things which i hate about IndusInd
1) They are not sure about the AQB for this account. Some says 1lac and some says its 2 lacs. Website is also not updated.
Due to this confusion i had to go with Indus Select account with 1L initial funding as i can’t block more funds.
2) The most irritating thing is we have already seen iconia visa is being issued to many holders instead of amex variant. I applied for Visa Signature Select variant and was issued Masterworld
RM is useless. Customer support is more useless. I was told to block the card and select the appropriate variant. The new card got delivered and again it is Masterworld.
Now i have requested again from branch side. Let’s hope for the best.
Hi Himanshu,
1. The AQB requirement is half if you fill the form online and apply, i.e. for Select account it is 50K and for exclusive it is 1L.
2. Yes even me & my colleagues have faced similar issues about not receiving the credit card that we applied for. N for us it was not even between Visa/Mastercard but they sent us a different card altogether.
GT MAX
I don’t understand the concept of online and in-branch. Even it varies from location. They should have one eligible term for all just like with other banks.
This is the most annoying thing. Indusind is not transparent with the AQB maintenance. Even we have seen this with joining fees in credit cards.
I second that opinion. Their customer support is hopelessly pitiable. It doesn’t matter which variant you hold – Select, Exclusive or even Pioneer. They are utterly useless.
This debit card vs Forex card which makes sense. Usage of 2000 USD for next 6 months. Please guide.
Forex card also has no mark up as per the person. Is that correct?
So if i get this card and use in any foreign country then what it takes charges, i min except cross currency markup and atm withdrawal . Is that any hidden charges like currency conversion charges is to high compare to other banks or gst charges…??? Because many banks reduce their cross currency charges but as well as increse their other charges so problems remain at same. So should i take this card for foreing transactions, what is your opinion, it’s really reliable???
Please help which make sense – 12 Months stay in US.
IndusInd Select card with FREE ATM Withdrawals or Forex Card.
Am I correct in assuming that even forex card for 3.5% markup??
Yes Forex has markup. When you do withdrawal in overseas, we have both markup and withdrawal fee.
my spends are mostly online in foreign currencies (like shopping from amazon.com and other US sites.) Which card i should go for YES BANK FIRST PREFFERED CREDIT CARD OR Indusind Bank Signature Exclusive Debit Card?
Used this card to pay on cred app. 80000 INR. No rewards points after 3 days. Contacted customer care. they are saying transaction on cred app is not eligible for loyalty points. Can someone clarify. Previously I was using jet privilege debit card and I was getting JP miles. Now I tried this card for 6x rewards.
Here is the latest update, I asked for reason and they replied. Cred app transaction doesn’t come under any of below mentioned categories.
We regret to inform you that for the following transactions are not eligible to earn IndusReward Point:
*Transactions made on merchant categories – Mutual Funds, insurance and payment to government
*Transactions done via Debit Card under the NetBanking section
can you use Indus ind MasterCard world exclusive debit card to pay any credit card bills (of any and every Bank) and get upto 3000 points for doing so?
i too paid 3 L in last 3 months thru cred. no points credited. anyone got reward points for cred ?
@Sid
As this article was recently updated by you, please update main article mentioning Yes First cards also. They offer 1.75%+tax as foreign currency markup, slightly better than HDFC.
Hdfc has Global value programme which lowers the fx markup charges to a large extent and on some cards you even earn cashback as rp in international charges.
One doubt..
Does one have to activate international usage on this card. Or can I use it without doing so. Have an upcoming overseas trip. Planning to use this card for the first time overseas. Don’t want my card to be blocked while overseas.
Article says ” 0% Foreign currency Markup fee when you spend/withdraw money”.
What about Online transaction in some other currency? Will that transaction have any Markup fees and/or GST charges? Or online transaction in other currency will just debit the equivalent INR from the account according the the prevailing rate of conversion of currency on that day?
Online transactions also do not have any mark up fees. Can confirm this from personal experience.
While online transactions do not have markup fees, a variable amount under the head “tips” is added from the merchant bank end and IndusInd customer care is always clueless about it.
POS Surcharge charged on the account is due to fluctuation in FX rates. On the date of settlement, if the FX rates are higher, you will be charged something like Tips Surcharge. If the FX rates gets lower, you won’t get refund though. That’s how it works with Debit cards.
That’s correct for IndusInd debit cards. However, I always got a refund on my ICICI debit card. The zero mark up fee always makes up for this shortfall though.
Only with debit cards or credit cards too?
Not sure about credit card..
I received a refund from SBI debit card for the withdrawal and settlement day differential in amount.
That’s not entirely true… Indusind customer care gave me an exact calculation of all the “tips surcharge” when I raised a service request for the same.
Lucky you. They just told me to raise this query with the settlement (foreign) bank and they did not know what it was!
Sorry, but what’s “tips” surcharge? Please explain.
Hi ,
Any update on MasterCard Exclusive variant issue.
Does it resolved or still Mastercard variant is facing the issue.
Hi @sidhharth,
I have been following your blog since last year.I Really appreciate your knowledge and willingness to share about credit cards in our country.
Reading this particular blog has created a doubt between PIONEER World Debit Card & Signature Exclusive Debit card,knowing master card variant has certain issues & Information shared on their website has confused me to decide on which card to apply
(pioneer world – Buy one Get One – on bookmyshow.com (All on the first come basis)
3 Tickets in a quarter ( Max Value Rs.900/-)
Visa Signature Exclusive
Buy one Get One – on bookmyshow.com (All on the first come basis)
Signature Debit Card : 3 Tickets in a quarter ( Max value Rs 500/- )
Accelerated IndusRewards Points : Unique 6X rewards structure including kicker for Online and International usage (showing only for visa variant)
Your opinion the same would be really helpful
Thank You.
Also,Reward Structure
Pioneer Master – 1 Point = Rs.1 adjusted as cash option or transferred to credit card
Visa not clearly mentioned on the website
Hi, could somebody recommend which card I should choose, World Mastercard Exclusive or Visa Signature Exclusive ? I am in Australia and my main objective is to get better exchange rate when withdrawing cash. thanks.
World Mastercard Exclusive
Does anyone know any alternative for this debit card from Indian market ? I am interested on the forex rate and zero overseas ATM withdrawal fees.
TIA/ Anoop
@ Anoop A V:-
Pick up DCB Niyo Global Card – I have been using the same for a month now as a backup to this IndusInd debit card.
It comes with no Forex Mark-up around the world and you can load via NEFT on the move via NiYo App & use at Visa exchange rate globally for PoS/ATM transactions
Come across your blog while searching for Forex card, opened this exlcusive account and got Indusind Bank Signature Exclusive Debit Card, delivered in few days. Used for few trips in South Asian countries, working grt and Exchange rate is extremely good, less than 10 paise diff as the exchange rate which am getting for trasfer money to my NRI account.
Hi,
Can you tell me how much was the difference in exchange rate shown on XE.com and the exchange rate given on Signature Exclusive Debit card ? The exch rate for money transfer to India is a different story and it is not XE.com rate.
I am having master varrient of this card but unable to pay on Paypal. What can be the reason?
Aditya,
Check if intl. transaction option is enabled or not. if not, do enable from the app. Usually, it will work. Have you tried on other intl. sites? are you facing any issues??
Hi, I have IndusInd Bank’s World Debit Exclusive card and I am in Australia. Today I withdrew 2000 Australian dollars at a ATM at about 11:20am India time. Though XE.com showed exchange rate of 1AUD = Rs 47.65, my account was debited at the rate of 1 AUD = Rs 47.90. So I was overcharged by about 25 paise per Australian dollar, resulting in Rs 500 overcharge for 2000 dollars.
Is it normal ? Since there is zero cross currency mark up, I was expecting exch rate close to XE.com. What is the exch rate you people have got and with which card ?
Must be the atm fees at atm you used. Approx 10aud.
Is mostly shown on screen before making withdrawl
No, the atm fees was 2 AUD and I have divided the indian rupees by 2002 to arrive at the exch rate given.
Yes it is normal, they usually charge extra than current spot rate.
On inquiring i was told it is the buy sell spread that the bank takes and some margin is kept over and above that to avoid any fluctuations at the time of settlelemt.
Usually i have observed this being 0.25% to 0.5% of current spot rate
Xe rate is the inter Bank rate. You won’t get that rate. What you got was Visa/mastercard interchange rate. Mastercard rates are marginally better than visa rates.
I’d have used Indus Exclusive Mastercard world debit card if my overall ATM withdrawal for the trip was close to 10,000 AUD. Else, I would be happy with either of its Visa or Mastercard variants and/or NiYo card.
For PoS abroad and online transactions I would use HDFC Infinia.
Hi Siddarth,
Very thankful to you for your knowledge and very comprehensive site.
Re: foreign transactions only as sole criterion, how would you rate infinia vs. Indusind Signature Exclusive DC ? As I see it, the difference is 0.3% in favor of Infinia with credit facility to boot. Would you advise to go for the Indusind DC as well. Sorry if this has been covered earlier
Thanks in advance
DC for withdrawals. CC for all other Fx transactions.
Anybody got TCS charged on Fx withdrawal on this debit card?
I have used ATM withdrawal in Europe last year end, no charges were posted.
TCS started this year from Oct 1, 2020………
can you tell me a card which has high reward rates and zero or low markup fees on international transactions as I spend $250000 every year
Have you read about this card’s features?
I got TCS charges for international spends with this card. Even though these spends are for intl purchases. (And not for the categories mentioned under TCS) Spoke with IndusInd Exclusive Customer Support, they said ALL international spends are considered. I am not sure how to overcome this?
You can’t overcome this. TCS charges can only be claimed back or adjusted at the time of filing income tax returns.
Hi Shivi, thanks for your reply.
So the TCS charges can only be used as tax credit or could even be refunded in the bank at some later point during tax filing?
They can be refunded too. Depends on your tax liability.
International transactions and transfers were included under TCS clause beginning this year October.
H Shivi, thanks for the info.
So I believe this 7 Lakh limit also applies to credit card spending, right?
Although I have not been charged any TCS fees from HDFC bank (spending internationally with their credit card even though the spend > 7L)
Any idea about this?
Although such TCS charges are not applicable on credit cards, right? (considering the spend is more than 7L/financial year)
can you use IndusInd MasterCard world exclusive debit card to pay credit card dues of any and every bank and get reward points for doing so?
How much tax fee for international transaction?