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Check it if going abroad: A new forex card with no charges for ATM withdrawal, forex currency conversion and its lifetime free

Check it if going abroad: A new forex card with no charges for ATM withdrawal, forex currency conversion and its lifetime free

Economic Times29-04-2025

Forex card: BookMyForex has launched an new single currency forex card which offers no charges for ATM withdrawals and forex currency conversion. However, these offers are being run for an limited period. Also as an introductory offer, you can get up to 2% cashback up to Rs 7,500 for forex loading transactions.
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How does this single currency forex card work?
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How come this forex card is offering zero cross currency charges and no ATM withdrawal fee?
Other features of this forex card
Spend Globally: Enables users to shop, dine, and make payments in any currency across 200+ countries without incurring cross-currency charges.
Enables users to shop, dine, and make payments in any currency across 200+ countries without incurring cross-currency charges. True Zero Markup: Offers complete transparency with forex rates and comes with no hidden markups or extra conversion costs.
Offers complete transparency with forex rates and comes with no hidden markups or extra conversion costs. Free ATM withdrawals: Users can enjoy free international ATM withdrawals for convenient access to cash while abroad.
Users can enjoy free international ATM withdrawals for convenient access to cash while abroad. No-Fee University Payments – Ideal for students, the card allows foreign university tuition payments without any cash disbursal fees.
– Ideal for students, the card allows foreign university tuition payments without any cash disbursal fees. Lifetime Free Card: There are no issuance, reload, unload, or annual charges—ensuring full cost transparency and zero surprises.
How does this forex card help?
In countries where India does not have a direct currency conversion relationship
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Limited time cashback offers
Card top-up can be done by close relatives also
FAQs on BookMyForex single currency forex card
Are there any charges for ATM withdrawals?
This forex card comes with unlimited free withdrawals, meaning you won't be charged any ATM withdrawal fees. However, some foreign banks & ATMs may charge additional fees for cash withdrawals. These charges vary by country and bank, so it's always a good idea to check the ATM screen for any applicable fees before confirming a withdrawal. Are there any cross-currency charges on the single currency forex card?
No, there are no cross-currency charges. While the card is a US Dollar card, you can convert it to other currencies and make transactions without incurring any cross-currency fees.
You can get a single currency forex card without any cross-currency charges or ATM withdrawal fee by taking the recently launched BookMyForex Global Forex Card . This single currency lifetime free forex card, which is hosted on the Visa network, is denominated in USD (United States dollar). On top of it this card has no currency conversion charges and no ATM withdrawal or cash disbursement fees.Read below to know more about how the card works and how much money you can save using it and up to when.According to Sudarshan Motwani, founder and CEO of BookMyForex.com, at present this forex card is available in a single currency which is the United States of America (USA) dollar (USD).Motwani says you need to place the order via their app or website and then reload the card. When the card gets delivered at that time, the person conducts KYC using your documents. The person also takes a photo of the documents.'It is also offered to international students, irrespective of the destination currency. Same-day delivery is available for orders placed before 1 PM on a working day. To explore the full range of card benefits, fee waivers, and details of the introductory offer, travellers and students can visit bookmyforex.com,' according to the press release dated April 28, 2025.Motwani said that this feature of no cross-currency charges is an offer which they launched in collaboration with a global company. While he did not disclose the name of the company, but he revealed their arrangement with this company, namely distribution of income through MDR (merchant discount rate) which subsidises this and other features of the card. In a nutshell, MDR is known as card processing fees and merchants pay it to the banks as a percentage of the transaction amount. Generally, it's 1 to 3% of the transaction value.Motwani also revealed that these offers (no cross-currency charges and ATM withdrawals fee) are being offered as an introductory offer. 'For the time being the ATM withdrawal charges will be absorbed using the MDR income. BookMyForex is essentially a distribution platform where the partners are the ones who offer the card. We work with different partners from time to time which enables such offers.'According to the press release dated April 28, 2025, here are the featuresWhen asked about how this forex card can be used without any mark-up of forex rates, Motwani said that this is one of their core offerings since 2016 and they have made a deal with their partner payment processing company which is how this feature could be offered. This means any change in terms of this deal could impact on customers accessing this feature unless another partner is found offering similar or better deal.Motwani says: 'While the appetite for international travel among Indians continues to grow, especially to emerging destinations like Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Azerbaijan, most existing forex products still fail to solve one of the biggest challenges — cross-currency fees and hidden conversion charges. Whether it's credit cards, multi-currency cards, or even so-called zero-markup cards, travelers often end up paying 3% to 5% extra on every transaction when spending in unsupported local currencies. Add to that the burden of Rs 300 to Rs 800 ATM withdrawal fees, and managing money abroad becomes unpredictable and expensive. The Global Forex Card has been designed precisely to address these pain points and offer a smarter, more transparent solution for today's global traveler."Here are some possible use cases where this forex card can help:USD can be said to be a universally accepted currency, but the same thing cannot be said for other currencies with a few exceptions like Euro, etc. Motwani says this is one of the advantages of this card as it can be used in Europe or even in Africa or Latin America, as long as they accept VISA.'We have decided to launch this single currency forex card (USD) without any ATM withdrawal and cross currency charges to enable students, businessmen, tourists, employees, and others to use this card in any country in the world which accepts VISA cards. In developed countries, the need for ATM withdrawals are quite less as almost everything can be done by swiping the card, so the no cross currency charge feature comes handy. In other countries or places where cash is required, the no ATM withdrawal fee feature is helpful,' said Motwani.If you are making any international trip in a few days or months, then taking this forex card can help you save money. BookMyForex is offering up to 2% cashback on every new forex order. The maximum cashback is capped at Rs 7,500. This offer is not going to be a feature as they are only being offered for a limited time.For those uninitiated, in other forex cards, banks levy a foreign currency markup charges. For example: If you are transacting in Dubai you need to pay using AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham). So, the forex card which has USD currency needs to be first converted to AED and then only the payment can happen. Now suppose if 1 AED equals 0.27 USD, then the bank may charge 0.28 USD for 1 AED. This extra charge is called the markup over the interbank rate which was 0.27 USD for 1 AED. This can quickly add up in real time, if you are making big purchases.Nitin Motwani, Founder & CTO, BookMyForex says: "Today's global traveller is more informed and value conscious. They don't just compare airfares or hotel rates before planning their travel—they also compare forex rates and very well understand the hidden charges associated with foreign exchange. The Global Forex Card is built for this new kind of traveller'.Motwani said that close relatives in India are allowed to do a top-up in a customer's forex card, if they satisfy the definition as per RBI rules. The customers if they have internet access, then they can recharge their forex card online using the app too.

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