MUMBAI: Wise has launched its multi-currency travel card in India today, entering the market just as the country records its highest-ever outbound travel figures and heads into peak international travel season.

India’s outbound travel surged to a record 3.89 crore departures in 2024, driven by leisure travel (42.5%), diaspora visits (34.7%), and business trips (14.9%). Spending has jumped even more dramatically – before FY22, Indians spent roughly $3-4 billion annually on overseas holidays, according to data from the LRS. Still, over the last two years, this has shot up to an average of $17 billion.

Despite this travel boom, Indians continue to lose substantial amounts to non-transparent markups on the exchange rate applied by traditional forex providers. Banks and travel companies have long dominated India’s forex card market, with most providers adding 2-4% margins to currency conversions – costs that are rarely made explicit to customers. On a ₹2 lakh foreign currency conversion, these hidden markups can cost travellers ₹4,000-₹8,000 extra compared to the mid-market rate.

The Wise Travel card, available from today, uses the mid-market exchange rate – the rate visible on Google – with only a small, transparent conversion fee. Over 75,000 people joined the Wise Travel card waitlist in just a month, announced at the Global Fintech Festival, signalling demand for a transparent alternative to traditional forex cards.

Wise has built the card around how Indians actually travel and spend:

• 40+ currencies supported: The highest number available on any forex card in India, covering major travel destinations like Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, and Georgia
• DigiLocker and video KYC: Complete digital onboarding in minutes without visiting a branch
• Instant digital card: Available immediately for online bookings and transactions, while the physical card ships
• IMPS top-ups: Instant account loading
• Smart Conversion: The card automatically selects the best available rate when spending abroad, even if you don’t have the destination currency in your card
• Real-time controls: Freeze and unfreeze cards instantly in-app, receive spend alerts, and set custom spending limits.
• Works across 160+ countries on the Visa network: accepted at millions of merchants and ATMs globally.
• Free ATM withdrawals up to $200 a month: Beyond that threshold, a fee of 1.40 USD plus 3.25% applies.

“Indian travellers are heading abroad in record numbers, but they’re still paying hidden fees that can add hundreds or thousands of rupees to every trip. The waitlist numbers showed us something important: people are done putting up with complicated pricing. They want transparency, convenience, and a great product experience. We’re excited to bring this to international spending in India, just as the travel season kicks off,” said Taneia Bhardwaj, South Asia Expansion Lead at Wise.

Wise is waiving its standard 460 INR card issuance fee for customers who sign up before 10 February 2026. The card carries no annual fees, subscription charges, or inactivity penalties.

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This minimal price correction follows the company’s ongoing efforts to absorb a significant portion of the steep rise in foreign exchange rates through increased localization initiatives

However, lower interest rates would ensure that customers face only a marginal increase in their Equated Monthly Instalments (EMIs)

The first price correction comes into effect from 1st June 2025, followed by a nominal 1.5% increase from 1st September 2025

• Mercedes-Benz adopts a two-stage deferred price correction for its customers w.e.f. from June and September 2025
• Forex rates increased steeply by 10% over the last four months, hiking the price of components and CBU products
• Mercedes-Benz India is passing only a marginal portion of the steep price increase to customers, as it continues to deepen localization initiatives
• Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS) has planned innovative financing solutions that will minimize any cost impact on customers
• Price corrections will range from Rs. 90,000 for a C-Class to Rs. 12.2 lakhs for the Mercedes-Maybach S 680
• The second phase of the price correction to the tune of 1.5% will be effective from 1st September 2025  
• Mercedes-Benz Financial Services’ innovative schemes will ensure the monthly EMI outflow for customers remains largely unchanged, despite the price revision  

PUNE: India’s most desirable luxury carmaker, Mercedes-Benz India, today announced an innovative two-stage price revision of the ex-showroom prices of its model range, effective from 1st June and 1st September 2025. This staggered price revision offers customers the flexibility to plan their purchases that match their financial outlay. The price revision is triggered by a steep increase in forex rates since January 2025, severely impacting the cost structure of components and products, specifically the CBUs. Mercedes-Benz India is passing on only a marginal portion of the cost increase to the customers, as it continues to increase localization efforts. Although Mercedes-Benz has continued to absorb this steep cost increase so far, it is now compelled to pass on minimal costs to the market to offset the impact on operational expenses and maintain business sustainability.

Santosh Iyer, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, shared:

Ex-showroom prices effective from 1 June 2025:

Ex-showroom prices effective 1 September 2025:

There will be an “On top” Price increase up to 1.5% w.e.f. 1^st September 2025.

Minimizing customer impact:

This two-stage price revision announcement allows customers to plan their purchases and finance schemes that best suit their requirements, instead of facing a steep upward price revision owing to the current pricing challenges in the market. In addition, the innovative and value-added services from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, like reduced EMI, partial ownership via STAR AGILITY, will significantly reduce any impact on customers’ cash flow, elevating their ownership experience. These schemes will ensure that the monthly EMI outflow for Mercedes-Benz customers will remain largely unchanged despite the minimal price revision, thereby minimizing the impact on their expenses. For models like the GLA and GLC, the EMI difference will be less than Rs. 2,000.

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