Forex Card FAQ

A Prepaid Forex Card or a Travel Card is a popular and convenient way to buy foreign currency and use it on your travel abroad. They work just like a bank debit card. The card is issued by a bank or an authorized money changer and the required foreign currency is loaded into it.

Depending on the type of forex card you are being issued, you may be able to carry one foreign currency or multiple foreign currencies in a single card.

Forex card may either come in the magnetic strip variety or using a newer smart chip model as can be seen in the latest debit and credit cards.

1. It is safe and convenient than foreign currency notes on your trip.
2. Multi currency forex card avails 12 different currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, AUD, CAD, JPY, CHF, SEK, THB, AED, SAR).
3. Free spare cards available on purchase of forex travel card.
4. Conversion charges are low compared with Travelers Cheques.
5. Accepted over 14.50 million Merchant Establishments worldwide.
6. 24*7 access to withdraw cash at 10,00,000+ ATMs; anywhere in the World.
7. A 4 digit PIN helps to secure all your cash withdrawal transactions.
8. Can use it for making international payments via payment gateways.
9. Free SMS alerts on transactions to registered Indian mobile number.
10. Unutilized balance can be en-cashed via extravelmoney.com or let the balance remain on your Card (up-to $2000) so that you can use it for any future international trips.

Extravelmoney.com facilitates buying of multi currency Forex Travel Cards via our 6500+ tied up forex stores across India. You can ensure to get the best forex card rate by comparing exchange rates offered by your nearest RBI authorized money changers. You can place the order online and get the forex card home delivered.

With the Forex Cards safe in your pockets, you can enjoy your trip without having to worry about converting your Traveller’s Cheque or Indian rupee into local currency. For payments at merchant establishments, you can directly swipe your forex Card without any transaction fee.

Forex cards have some advantages over cash

1. Prepaid travel cards have better exchange rates compared to cash. For the same amount of money, you can buy more foreign currency in forex card than as foreign currency in hand.
2. Prepaid travel cards are safer compared to cash. Nowadays forex cards come enabled with chip and pin technology and hence provide more safety features. Cash is only safe as we keep it. It’s entirely dependent on how safely we handle it. Plus, travellers carrying an excess of cash in their wallets are very easy targets for thieves abroad.
3. In case of theft or loss of your prepaid travel card, you can have the card blocked and also transfer the funds to your new replacement card. This replacement card is usually given as a backup along with your forex card kit. In case of theft of cash, there is no protection for your stolen money. It’s as good as gone. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of cash.
4. When you are travelling to many countries, Prepaid travel cards allow you to load multiple currencies in them. When you are abroad and transacting with your forex card, it automatically detects which country you are in and pays using the preloaded local currency. Whereas, to carry different currencies as cash and making sure they don’t mix up and to pick out the correct currency, is a big hassle. That is something travellers can do without.

To know more read about the Comparison of Prepaid Forex Travel Cards vs Cash, Debit & Credit Card.

Forex cards offer a wide variety of benefits for travellers and students going abroad ;

1. Forex Cards offer better exchange rates for loading currencies than buying foreign currency as cash.


2. Forex Cards are loaded with foreign currency at locked-in exchange rates. Thus they are immune to the fluctuation of currency value in the forex market.


3. Forex cards are more secure than carrying cash as they come enabled with chip and pin technology for safeguarding the money in them.


4. Forex Cards can be used to carry multiple foreign currencies at the same time in a single card.


5. Forex Cards have no additional charges when swiping at PoS counters abroad, unlike Debit and Credit Cards.


6. Forex Cards have no Dynamic Currency Conversion Fee when used abroad since they are already loaded with the local currency of that foreign country.


7. Forex Cards are universally recognized and accepted, unlike Traveller’s Cheque which has become an outdated payment instrument.

To know more, read The advantages of Forex Card and its benefits for travellers

You can easily transfer money from your forex card to your Indian bank account. Simply head to your bank branch, request transfer of funds from your forex card to bank account.

If you have a different forex card which is not of your bank’s then what you can do is encash the funds in your forex card by approaching the bank/forex vendor from whom you bought the card. Once you encash the foreign currency in the card and get back equivalent Indian rupee, you can deposit that amount in your bank account.

However, if you are abroad, say in the US and have a forex card loaded with US dollars, then you can directly transfer the money in the card to your local bank account in the US for a small fee. All you would need is to approach your local bank in the US with ;

1. Your forex card
2. Local bank card (debit) or account information
3. Passport

These are the ways you can transfer money from your forex card to your bank account.

Forex cards cannot be used in India at ATMs or for swiping at PoS counters. They have a specific purpose and that is for use abroad. However, you may be able to use forex cards in India for online payments which have to be paid in foreign currencies.

Also, they cannot be used in Nepal and Bhutan.

Withdrawing money from a forex card is very easy. It’s just like the way you withdraw money from your debit card.

When you are abroad, go to an ATM, swipe your card and enter the amount of currency you want to withdraw and collect the money from the ATM machine.

When you are in India and want to withdraw money your forex card, go to the vendor who issued the card and encash the funds in your card. You’ll receive the equivalent Indian rupee back.

Yes forex cards can be used for online transactions where the payment has to be made in foreign currency. The card does not function in India at ATMs, PoS counters or in Indian e-commerce websites where the payment has to be made in Indian rupees.

Forex card is not a debit card. But it can be said to perform almost the same functions of your bank debit card. The exception is that a forex card is meant to be specifically used abroad. Also, forex cards are pre-loaded with the foreign currency of the country you are travelling to. The forex card is not linked to your bank account and the funds in the forex card are not part of the funds in your bank account.

No, forex cards cannot be used as a credit card. A credit card as the name suggests is a card which allows the user to purchase goods through it on the basis of credit given by the card company.

However, a forex card is somewhat opposite of a credit card. Funds are loaded into it beforehand itself by the user. The user of a forex card can only use the funds available in the card and no more. They won’t get any credit from the forex card issuer.

A multi-currency forex card is a prepaid forex travel card which allows the user to load multiple foreign currencies in one single forex card. Depending on the country you are in, the card will automatically choose the correct currency and make payments accordingly at PoS machines or withdraw the correct currency when using at ATMs.

A multi-currency forex card is very useful when you are planning to visit multiple foreign currencies in a single vacation or are planning to visit multiple foreign currencies within a span of 5 years.

It will depend upon the forex card that the customer is purchasing. Normally the validity is from 2 years to a maximum of 5 years.

There are few additional charges in a forex card. They are ;

1. Forex card encashment/surrendering charges
   When you are encashing a forex card a charge is levied on you. Usually this is very less around Rs 100. However, at ExTravelMoney most of our forex cards can be encashed free of charge!


2. Forex card reloading charges
   Many banks and money changers charge a fee for reloading forex card. Again this is usually around Rs. 100 and again ExTravelMoney offers customers free card reloads for forex cards purchased through us.


3. Forex card ATM withdrawal charges
   Many forex cards have a fixed ATM withdrawal fee of US$ 2-5 or it’s equivalent per ATM usage for funds withdrawal. For checking balance it is around US$ 0.5 or its equivalent.

Forex cards usually come along with their own net banking facilities. You would have a username and password through which you can login to your forex card net banking application and check the balance.

When you purchase a forex card, these facilities would be explained to you by the card issuer and you would get an envelope with the forex card and your login details.

Cross-currency fee is charged by the merchant overseas to convert the foreign currency in your card to the currency in which you are trying to pay using your forex card.

For example, if you are using a forex card loaded with US dollars in Germany, then payments would have to be made in euros. That means the dollars in your forex card would have to be converted to euros and this would involve a cross-currency fee which would be atrocious.

Usually, the cross-currency charge is 3 to 4% of the total transaction amount.

The KYC documents required to purchase a forex card are ;

1. Indian Passport
2. Confirmed Air Ticket showing travel within 60 days
3. PAN Card
4. Valid Visa (Mandatory for some countries)

Minimum amount of foreign currency to be loaded in a forex card, through ExTravelMoney, is USD 50 or its equivalent in other foreign currencies.

The maximum amount of foreign currency which can be loaded in a forex card is USD 2,50,000 or its equivalent in other foreign currencies.

Please Note : This forex card limit of USD 2,50,000 is part of the forex limit given to a resident individual in a single financial year as per the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) of RBI.

In case of loss or theft of the card, travellers can simply block the card by contacting the card issuer. This can be either be done by the 24*7 Phone Banking or Prepaid Net Banking facility provided along with a forex card. Then, the replacement secondary card, which is usually present along with your original Forex card kit, can be enabled and would be ready for use abroad.

If you forget your forex card PIN, you can get in touch with your card provider through the toll free number provided on your card. That way you’ll be able to regenerate the PIN.

Now buying a forex card online in India is very simple. ExTravelMoney offers 8 of the best forex cards in India through our online platform.

Here is how you can buy a forex card online through ExTravelMoney

1. Go to the link ExTravelMoney - Forex Card and select the foreign currency and its amount you want to load in the card.
2. Enter your location. You’ll be shown a list of forex stores near you along with their exchange rate. Select the one offering the best exchange rate.
3. Enter your phone number and email address, so that we can verify your order via OTP.
4. Once your order is confirmed, you’ll receive the forex store details like their bank account information and store address. Using this information, the payment can be made through online banking or as cash by directly going to the store.

Once payment is made, you can pick up the forex card from the store or it’ll be delivered to your address if you have chosen door delivery option.

Buying a forex card online has never been easier! Just 4 clicks in your computer or phone and a forex card will be made ready for you at ExTravelMoney.

Usually, at ExTravelMoney, if you order a forex card anywhere between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm on any given day, you’ll be able to get the forex card before 5:30 pm on the same day.

Depending on whether you have chosen door delivery of forex card option or not, the card will be delivered to your address or you’ll be able to pick up directly from the chosen forex store in your town or city.

When you are buying a forex card from us, reloading it is very easy. Simply visit ExTravelMoney’s online portal and select reload forex card option and complete the entire procedure online, even when you are in the midst of your travels abroad.

If you are in India and want to reload your forex card, you also have the additional option of reloading the forex card by directly going to the vendor store from where you purchased the card.

Depending on the card issuer, one or multiple foreign currencies can be loaded in a forex card.

At ExTravelMoney we offer forex cards with at least 16 currencies in them!

1. US Dollar	9. Swedish Kronor
2. Euro	10. UAE Dirham
3. Great Britain Pound	11. Saudi Riyal
4. Australian Dollar	12. Thai Baht
5. Canadian Dollar	13. New Zealand Dollar
6. Swiss Franc	14. Hong Kong Dollar
7. Japanese Yen	15. South African Rand
8. Singapore Dollar	16. Danish Krone

ExTravelMoney offers ATM cards which have 1st 3 foreign ATM withdrawals free of charge. After the 1st 3 ATM withdrawals, a fixed fee of US$2 for ATM withdrawal and US$ 0.5 for checking balance at ATMs abroad will be applicable.

Please Note: These offers change from time to time depending on the money changer issuing the forex card.

After placing your buy forex card order, our customer support team will be updating the order status to you via Email, SMS and directly through phone call if needed. These timely updates will let you know if your forex card is ready to be picked up from the store or out for delivery to your address (if you have chosen door delivery option).

All forex cards through ExTravelMoney.com are based on the Visa/MasterCard network. For enhanced security features, all major forex cards available through ExTravelMoney.com are chip based cards. These cards are more secure than forex cards just using magnetic strip. However, even now, some merchants are using card machines which only have swipe facility in them. So considering that, the forex cards also come equipped with a magnetic strip that can be used at such PoS terminals.

A customer can collect forex card instantly after the payment. The forex card will be loaded within 12 working hours.

The below table illustrates how much tax you’d have to pay on buying foreign currency in India ;

Tax on buying forex card in India

Transaction Slab	Minimum Tax – Maximum Tax
Slab 1 [Up to Rs 1 lakh]	Rs. 45 – Rs. 180
Slab 2 [Rs 1 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh]	Rs. 180 – Rs. 990
Slab 3 [Above Rs. 10 lakh]	Rs. 990 – Rs. 60,000

The maximum GST for forex transactions is capped at Rs. 60,000

Please Note: A typical individual availing forex under the LRS scheme won’t have to pay tax till Rs 60,000. That maximum limit is for companies or organizations.

Read more about GST on Forex transactions in India.

Customer complaints can be raised through our Email: care@extravelmoney.com

You can also reach out to us through;
Phone: 0-484-288-6900
WhatsApp: 0-484-288-6900

Communicate directly with our customer support agents through the channels mentioned above.

The various payment modes available for customers in ExTravelMoney.com are;

1. Cash - Only for buy forex transaction below Rs 50,000. If you are buying forex for more than this amount, then you need to opt for one of the below payment methods.
2. NetBanking - You can directly make payment from ExTravelMoney.com through our Payment Gateway which has the NetBanking option.
3. Debit Card - Through our Payment Gateway, you can choose Debit Card option to pay for your forex purchase.
4. UPI - One of the latest payment methods, UPI, is also available on our network.

At the time of collecting the foreign currency, the chosen money changer store will provide a bill of purchase to you.

The receipt will be provided by the money changer and not by ExTravelMoney.com

Yes, you can buy forex card with cash, provided your total transaction value is below Rs 50,000. This is as per RBI rule regarding cash payment for forex transaction.

If you’d like to purchase forex for more than Rs 50,000, you’d have to pay using NEFT/RTGS, NetBanking, UPI or Debit card.

You’ll need the following KYC (Know Your Customer) documents to buy forex card in India as per RBI Rule ;

1. Indian Passport
2. Any Govt approved ID proof
3. PAN Card
4. A confirmed air ticket showing travel within 60 days from the date of buying foreign currency.
5. Valid Visa

Yes, as per RBI regulations, original KYC documents must be produced at the time of purchasing foreign currency.

Yes, you can upload KYC documents online in ExTravelMoney through the below channels;

When you produce KYC documents for purchase of foreign currency, you have to show your original documents for verification and give to the store physical copies of the KYC documents.

By uploading KYCs online through ExTravelMoney, you need not provide these physical copies to the forex store. Instead, ExTravelMoney will share the uploaded KYCs to them. That way you can save time instead of taking photo copies.

Rate Lock Deposit is an additional feature that we provide to customers. It is not mandatory. When a customer pays Rate Lock Deposit to lock the exchange rate, the forex order will become valid for them for up to 2 working days. This is regardless of the fluctuations in the forex market. That Exchange Rate is guaranteed to them.

When customers complete that transaction via ExTravelMoney within the “Rate Lock Period”, this Deposit will be fully refunded to them.

A Rate Locked Buy Forex Card Order indicates an order whose exchange rate has been locked by the customer for 2 working days.

For “Locking The Exchange Rate”, you’ll have to pay a Fully Refundable Rate Lock Deposit along with the order Booking Fees. This will be a nominal amount.

This Rate Lock Deposit will be fully refunded to you upon completing the Rate Locked forex order (within the 2 days) with ExTravelMoney.

1. A Rate Locked Forex Card Order helps to avoid the exchange rate variations in the forex market. No matter how the market fluctuates, you’ll get forex for up to 2 days at the same exchange rate.
2. If you see a good exchange rate but don’t have the money at the moment to buy forex, simply lock the rate, arrange the funds and buy currency anytime within the next 2 working days.
3. You get back your Rate Lock Deposit upon completing the transaction with ExTravelMoney.com (within the Rate Lock Period).

That depends on the chosen forex store.

Some stores charge zero fees for delivery within a radius of 10km to 15 km.

However, other stores may have a delivery fee.

All these charges will be displayed transparently during the time of placing the order.

Door delivery is possible depending on the forex store you choose and the location where it has to be delivered.

Some stores offer “Door Delivery” of forex option.

It may either be free or door delivery charge will be levied by the store.

Typically forex stores will do delivery within a radius of 10km to 15 km from their location.

Encash your forex card.

If you have bought your forex card through ExTravelMoney, you can place an order for encashing your forex card with us.

If the total transaction value comes below Rs. 50,000 you have the option to collect the balance as cash. Otherwise, the funds will either be given as cheque or deposited directly into your bank account.

It is not necessary to surrender the backup amount in your forex card after returning to India from a trip abroad. The funds can be held indefinitely. However, sometimes an inactivity fee may be charged by the card issuing agency (usually after 6 months of inactivity). This would be a per month charge and would be about USD 8 to 10 dollars. Also, the validity of most forex cards is upto 5 years. So you must encash any leftover foreign currency before the end of this 5 year period or that money will be lost from your card.

Normally, no documents are required for encashment of forex card.

You can simply go to the store from where you bought the forex card and put in a request for encashment of forex.

You can contact our customer support team through the channels below to cancel your buy forex order;

1. WhatsApp: 0-484-288-6900
2. Phone: 0-484-288-6900
3. Email: care@extravelmoney.com

The refund process will depend on the payment mode chosen by you;

1. Bank Transfer (NEFT/RTGS) - You have already sent the funds to the money changers bank account through NEFT/RTGS and now want to cancel your Buy Forex Card order.
   
   In this case, you can directly contact the money changer through the contact details provided in the Confirmation Email sent to you. Intimate to the money changer your wish to cancel the order.
   
   The money will be refunded to your bank account within 5 to 7 business days.
   
   Please Note: There will be a cancellation charge which will be levied by the money changer.


2. NetBanking/UPI/Debit Card - You have already sent the funds to the money changers bank account through NetBanking/UPI/Debit Card and now want to cancel your Buy Forex Card order.
   
   In this case it may take anywhere between 5 to 14 business days for the funds to be credited back to your account.

Please Note: If you want to cancel a Buy Forex Card Order before making the payment then there is no extra charge for it. However, if it’s a Rate Locked Buy Forex Card Order, then there may be a cancellation charge by the money changer which will be deducted from your Rate Lock Deposit. The balance funds (if any) of your Rate Lock Deposit will be refunded to you.

Kindly refer to ExTravelMoney’s Cancellation and Refund Policy to know more about this.