Unpacking Niyo Solutions’ zero forex markup cards

In immoderate case, by signing up with Niyo, you unfastened a regular savings relationship with 1 of the spouse banks. For a debit card, you person to unfastened a zero equilibrium savings relationship with either Equitas oregon DCB Bank, whereas its recognition cards are issued successful concern with SBM bank. For the prepaid cards, it has a necktie up with YES Bank.

Niyo facilitates the exertion process and lets you slope done its mobile app. “All the savings relationship functions that a lawsuit tin bash with a slope tin beryllium done with Niyo arsenic well. We, arsenic a tech company, marque the banking acquisition amended done our mobile exertion with superior idiosyncratic interface," said Vinay Bagri, co-founder and CEO, NiYo. To beryllium sure, you tin run the aforesaid savings relationship done the spouse bank’s netbanking work and by visiting the slope branch.

Next, you get a debit oregon recognition paper linked to this savings account. The recognition card, however, is simply a secured card. To beryllium sure, secured cards tin lone beryllium taken against a fixed deposit (FD). The recognition bounds is adjacent to the FD amount. If the lawsuit defaults connected measure payments, the paper is blocked and the FD is utilized to settee the outstanding bill. The paper is unblocked lone aft the lawsuit pledges a caller FD of the full amount.

Most importantly, the recognition paper is issued lone to passport holders. “Currently, recognition cards are offered lone nether our Niyo Global programme," said Bagri.

Niyo’s flagship merchandise is the Niyo Global paper offered arsenic some debit and recognition cards. In this story, Mint breaks down the salient features to assistance you determine whether you should get it.

Niyo Global

This is simply a question paper that is offered some arsenic a debit and recognition card. Do enactment that it is not a prepaid forex card.

The recognition paper is offered successful relation with SBM bank. “We started offering recognition cards successful January this twelvemonth and the reward strategy was launched successful July," said Bagri.

Note that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred SBM slope from transactions nether the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). This means if you unfastened an relationship with SBM bank, planetary transactions done with debit paper volition not get through. “Domestic transactions with debit paper and planetary payments made with recognition paper volition work," said Bagri.

Reward programmes are disposable with some the debit and recognition card. The secured recognition cards person a reward complaint of 1%, which means you gain ₹1 connected each ₹100 spent. The rewards are credited successful the signifier of ‘global coins’, with each coin valued astatine 10 paise. The reward complaint connected debit paper transactions is 0.2%, which means each ₹100 spent earns you 20 paise oregon 2 planetary coins. These reward rates use to home transactions. As for planetary transactions, debit cards don’t gain thing portion the reward complaint connected recognition cards is 0.2%.

A lawsuit tin gain planetary coins connected each home transactions, but connected substance charges and rent payments. The coins get accumulated successful the Niyo relationship and tin beryllium redeemed connected your purchases made with Niyo paper aft earning a minimum ₹100 worthy of coins (1,000 coins). “Once you person 1,000 coins, ₹100 is automatically redeemed from planetary coins connected the adjacent acquisition that you make," Bagri explained. Global coins tin beryllium redeemed connected some home and planetary transactions.

Compared to the manufacture average, the reward complaint connected Niyo Global cards is low. However, the reward strategy is not the large propulsion successful Niyo’s lawsuit arsenic its unsocial selling constituent is that it’s a zero forex mark-up card. A forex markup is the interest that a slope oregon recognition paper institution charges for enabling planetary transactions connected their card.

“We don’t connection rewards connected planetary transactions due to the fact that we person waived disconnected the markup fee," said Bagri. Most banks complaint forex markup connected planetary payments done with recognition and debit cards but besides connection rewards connected recognition paper transactions, which whitethorn partially oregon afloat offset the forex markup. For instance, connected a recognition paper that earns 2% cashback for planetary payments and charges 2.5% forex markup, you volition fundamentally wage 0.5% successful forex markup fee.

In a zero forex markup card, the forex markup charged by the slope is waived off, but the markup levied by the payments web is charged to the customer. “It’s miniscule, astatine 20-50 paise. Banks complaint astir 2.5-3.5% forex mark-up but we person waived that off," said Bagri.

There are a fewer zero mark-up debit and recognition cards disposable successful the marketplace and Niyo scores implicit these options. For instance, debit cards offered by Induslnd slope are disposable lone for members of its premium banking programmes— Exclusive (minimum ₹1.25 lakh wage oregon savings relationship equilibrium of ₹1 lakh) and Pioneer (a nett narration worth of ₹30 lakh is required). Niyo lets you unfastened zero equilibrium savings accounts.

Other fintech companies, including Jupiter and Fi, person comparatively lenient criteria connected their zero forex markup debit cards. In the lawsuit of Fi, accounts that necessitate ₹10,000 minimum equilibrium are offered zero forex markup of up to ₹50,000 monthly spends, and those with ₹50,000 minimum equilibrium request get zero forex interest connected each spends. When these conditions are not met, Fi charges 2.5% forex mark-up. Jupiter offers zero forex markup connected ₹25,000 and ₹1 lakh monthly spends connected non-salary and wage accounts, respectively.

As for zero forex mark-up recognition cards, IDFC First Wow is simply a secured card, similar Niyo. RBL Bank World Safari is an unsecured recognition paper but charges an yearly interest of ₹3,000.

Niyo Global cards are a bully outgo enactment for radical who question overseas often and for students studying extracurricular India. Sumanta Mandal, founder, Technofino, a integer level specializing successful reviewing recognition cards and different banking products, said “For recognition paper users, it’s a bully backup paper for instances erstwhile 1 needs to retreat currency from an ATM. For those who don’t usage recognition cards, Niyo Global tin beryllium their main paper for overseas spends." ATM withdrawal with a Niyo Global paper is charged a fee, which is decided by the spouse bank.

Bagri told Mint that Niyo volition motorboat its archetypal unsecured recognition paper successful concern with Federal Bank successful October.

Niyo Solutions claims that it has issued astir 1.5 cardinal Niyo Global cards truthful far, retired of which astir 1 cardinal cardholders person an progressive relationship with equilibrium successful the savings slope account.

Updated: 18 Sep 2023, 10:47 PM IST