Fintech issuer OneCard lowered the foreign-currency markup on its Metal Titanium credit card to 1.99 percent for transactions tagged to Dussehra holiday travel, according to emails sent to cardholders on Wednesday, pitching the promotion as rupee levels near 88.7 per dollar make European itineraries slightly cheaper than September peaks.
What changed in the offer
The promotion applies to point-of-sale and online spends in non-rupee currencies booked between 1 October and 15 October for departures through 30 November. ATM withdrawals abroad remain priced off separate fee tables. OneCard said the cap stacks with existing lounge and forex-insurance perks but does not apply to dynamic currency conversion at merchant terminals—a practice the issuer urged customers to decline.
Metal Titanium is OneCard's premium metal-bodied product aimed at young professionals; the bank sponsor behind the program is Federal Bank. Spokespeople declined to share uptake targets but said Europe routes to London, Paris, and Rome accounted for the bulk of pre-festive travel searches on its app last week.
Why forex markup matters now
Indian travelers increasingly put overseas hotels and rail tickets on credit cards for chargeback protection, even when UPI is unavailable abroad. Issuers typically add a markup above the network exchange rate, often 2–3.5 percent, plus GST. A temporary cut to 1.99 percent narrows the gap with prepaid forex cards sold by banks, though still-limited acceptance of RuPay outside South Asia keeps Visa and Mastercard products dominant for long-haul trips.
Travel agents in Delhi and Bengaluru said clients are booking shorter Europe circuits after the RBI's growth-friendly policy tone steadied sentiment. They cautioned that visa appointment backlogs, not FX alone, remain the binding constraint for many families.
Regulatory frame
The Reserve Bank of India regulates cross-border card spending through issuer licensing and LRS-related reporting. Wednesday's monetary policy hold does not directly alter markup caps, but a firmer rupee following the statement can change the rupee cost of the same euro or pound charge. Card economics teams at competing banks said they are watching OneCard's promo before deciding on festive forex campaigns of their own.
Consumer checklist
Cardholders should confirm whether travel insurance bundled with Metal Titanium covers trip cancellation tied to weather or strikes. They should also note that promotional markups revert to standard schedules after 15 October unless extended. Paying in local currency at the terminal avoids DCC spreads that can exceed issuer markups.
How rivals may respond
HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and IDFC First have run similar seasonal forex promos in past festive quarters. OneCard's digital-only servicing model lets it test narrow promos without branch pamphlets, but sponsor-bank risk teams still cap total exposure. For households comparing instruments, the math favors credit cards when markups drop and reward points offset GST; prepaid forex wins when teenagers need capped cash abroad.
Settlement timing
Cardholders paying hotel deposits in euros will see authorisation holds separate from billed amounts; OneCard's app now surfaces expected settlement dates to reduce panic calls to helplines. Treasury teams at the sponsor bank said they modelled euro/rupee volatility scenarios using the RBI's post-policy rupee path before approving the promo cap.