How Indians keep overpaying abroad even after buying ‘zero forex’ cards

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Earlier this year, I was in Dubai—a city Indians now treat like the third long weekend of every quarter. I was travelling with a friend who had proudly picked up a “zero forex" travel card just before the trip.

“At least I won’t get ripped off abroad," he said. One afternoon, he paid AED 120 for a quick lunch. The SMS came instantly: ₹2,910.

He frowned. The mid-market rate that day would’ve put it closer to ₹2,815. Not a disaster, but enough to feel slightly cheated.

“It’s supposed to be zero fees," he muttered. It’s a line I’ve now heard from more travellers than I can count. The irony is that he did everything right.

He avoided airport money changers, chose a card with no visible foreign transaction fee, preloaded it, and even cross-checked the schedule of charges. And yet, he lost money—quietly, invisibly, and in ways most Indians don’t realize. Indians are travelling more, and bleeding small amounts abroad without noticing it.

RBI data show overseas travel spending has touched $17 billion and is growing every year. Families now travel to Dubai, Bangkok, London, and Singapore more frequently, sometimes twice a year. But while Indian travel habits have evolved, the way cross-border payments are priced hasn’t kept pace.

Most travellers assume the villain is the visible “fee". It isn’t. The truth is simple: there is no such thing as a zero-cost card.

Every international transaction has two components. First, the upfront fee—the part providers want you to notice. Second, the exchange rate—the part they hope you won’t check.

When you Google a currency pair, you see the mid-market exchange rate, the midpoint between global buy and sell prices. It’s the fairest benchmark. But most “zero