Travelling abroad with the Niyo Global card — a review

One of the persistent pain points of travelling abroad as an Indian is the hassle of changing currency. We have very few easy-to-use processes: carrying cash that we receive at an exchange place or Forex cards issued by various banks. The issues with both these approaches is that we have to guess how much to exchange in various currencies before our trip and we’re never sure if we’re getting the best rates!

There is a new product that promises to change all that! If you haven’t heard of the Niyo Global card, its a card that promises to free us from the shackles of expensive forex cards by letting us transact in any currency without having to pay exorbitant fees. Amazingly, you can even transact using the card in India! To top it all off, adding money to the card is just a matter of sending a NEFT transaction.

Pretty bold claim! But does it live up to the hype?

Having heard all the buzz about this card, I set off to test if it really lived up to the hype — and what better way to test it than on a trip to Thailand and Singapore, two of the most common tourist destinations for Indians?

The Good

• Painless paperless application process: I was told what documents were required (PAN and Passport only, no Aadhar was asked for or given) and the agent came and simply took photos of my documents straight from the Niyo application. The entire process took about 20 minutes and was entirely paperless. The card was handed over to me on the spot and was activated the same evening!
• It really does what it says: I was able to find out the effective FX rate from INR to Thai Baht (THB) or Singapore dollar (SGD) and when I transacted, I actually did receive a rate close to (but not exactly) the mid-market rate. The rate offered was the same as the Visa rate which seemed to be about 0.5% over the mid-market rate seen on Xe, but I just put it down to the rates having moved during the day.
• The card is extremely easy to use: Topping up the balance, changing the PIN, locking it for online transactions — everything happens on the app at the tap of a finger. Convenience personified!

The Bad

Now, to be fair, some of the criticisms here aren’t really Niyo’s fault, but are just some general pain points to note.

• Low acceptance of cards in places like Thailand: It was hard to find a place that would take cards, and those that did, had insanely high minimum spend requirements (More than 300 Baht!). This limited the effectiveness of the card.
• High ATM withdrawal fees: Thailand has a flat 220 THB ATM withdrawal fee regardless of the amount withdrawn. Thus, travellers are encouraged to either withdraw large amounts at one go from the ATM, or carry large amounts of INR and change it when they land in Thailand. Both of these options are somewhat risky and discourage use of the card.
• Its unclear how to replace the card, especially if its lost abroad: Some Forex cards actually come in duplicate where one card is meant to be an instant replacement if the other is lost while travelling. A system like that would be quite helpful in this case as well.

The Ugly

• The team seems to be struggling with the demand for the card: I registered for the card on the website and didn’t hear back from them for almost a week. I had to call their support line twice before they sent out a person to take my KYC details. About a week after I received and activated my card, I received a call from Niyo offering me the card again! I think ramping up their customer support and integrating their CRM software would go a long way to increasing their efficiency.
• I haven’t had this experience personally, the fear of card skimming is ever-present while swiping abroad. While locking the card immediately after returning mitigates the risk somewhat, I still wonder what Niyo’s dispute resolution process will be like — especially since the actual transaction is handled by DCB bank.

As you can see, most of the issues I encountered were country-dependent. In contrast to Thailand, Singapore is a very card-friendly place and I was able to swipe everywhere with the Niyo card. I think it might be good for Niyo to tie up with a bank in Thailand or join something like the global ATM alliance to eliminate/reduce the ATM fees. This would very much increase the effectiveness of the card in a popular destination like Thailand.

However, in general, I was incredibly happy with the card. Not only did I save 3% on Forex charges (compared to the bank FX rates) while loading the card, I also did not have to worry about guessing and loading the correct amounts of SGD and THB. And now that I’m back, I do not have to worry about liquidating the balance — I can simply swipe in India or save the amount for my next trip!

If you’re planning to get the card, feel free to use my referral link which will get both you and I INR 500 on your first international spend!

[Update: I have some additional thoughts on this card here.]

Liked this review? Check out my other articles here!

Disclaimer: I am not associated with Niyo or DCB in any way except as a customer. All opinions here are my own and reflect my own experiences. All details are correct as of the time of publication. I am not responsible for any issues you face with the card — please do your own research before deciding to use the card.