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Using an Indian Credit Card Abroad

By PointsExplainedLast reviewed

Enable international use

In your issuer's app or internet banking, switch on international (and, if needed, online international) transactions and set a limit.

Check your card's foreign currency charges

Look up the foreign currency transaction fee and any currency conversion fee in your MITC before you travel.

Pay in the local currency

If a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in rupees, you can decline and pay in the local currency.

Avoid cash advances

Cash from ATMs on a credit card can carry a fee and interest from the day of withdrawal, as it does at SBI Card.

Switch international use off at home

Turn international transactions off again when you return to reduce the risk of misuse.

Where this comes from

Sources

The documents this guide relies on. If one has changed since we read it, the document is right and this guide is out of date.

  1. RBI circular: Enhancing Security of Card Transactions (RBI/2019-20/142, 15 January 2020)

    Cards enabled at issue/re-issue only for contact-based use at ATMs and PoS in India; card-present international and card-not-present transactions must be enabled separately; switch on/off and limits 24x7 via mobile app, internet banking, ATMs, IVR; alerts on change of card status.

    rbi.org.in · Accessed
  2. SBI Card: Most Important Terms and Conditions

    SBI Card MITC: exchange rate determined by the network (Visa/Mastercard) on the settlement date, which may differ from the transaction date; foreign currency transaction fee applied on the INR converted amount; dynamic currency conversion fee on transactions at or above a threshold amount in Indian currency at an international location or at merchants in India registered overseas, markup not reversed on refunds; cash advance fee at domestic/international ATMs and finance charges from date of withdrawal.

    sbicard.com · Accessed
  3. Visa: What is Dynamic Currency Conversion?

    DCC definition; merchant must display amounts in both currencies, the exchange rate and fees/mark-up; choice to accept or decline; merchant must not choose for you or use font size/colour to influence; decline and report to the issuer if rules aren't followed.

    visa.com · Accessed
  4. Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Finance), 28 June 2023: Important changes w.r.t Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) and Tax Collected at Source (TCS)

    Ministry of Finance, 28 June 2023: credit card payments were to be brought under LRS (announced in March); implementation of the 16 May 2023 notification postponed, so transactions through international credit cards while overseas would not be counted as LRS or be subject to TCS.

    pib.gov.in · Accessed
  5. RBI FAQs: forex transactions by resident persons and unauthorised forex trading platforms

    RBI FAQs on forex transactions (updated as on 28 August 2024): residents may deal in forex only with authorised persons and for permitted purposes; dealing with unauthorised persons or on unauthorised ETPs attracts penal action under FEMA; RBI Alert List of unauthorised entities; LRS remittances not permitted for margins or margin calls to overseas exchanges/counterparties.

    rbi.org.in · Accessed
  6. Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Credit Cards and Debit Cards: Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2025 (RBI/DOR/2025-26/155, 28 November 2025)

    Para 68-69: lost cards blocked immediately; 24x7 reporting channels.

    rbi.org.in · Accessed
Questions

About this guide

Why was my card declined abroad?

One possible reason is that international use is not enabled. RBI's rules mean cards are issued enabled only for domestic contact-based use; the issuer must give you a way to switch on international transactions yourself, through its mobile app, internet banking, ATMs or automated phone line (IVR).

Should I pay in rupees or the local currency abroad?

If you are offered rupees, that is dynamic currency conversion, which, as Visa explains, includes an exchange rate and additional fees, and some issuers, such as SBI Card, add their own fee on rupee transactions abroad. You are entitled to decline it.

Is TCS charged on credit card spending abroad?

The Ministry of Finance said on 28 June 2023 that transactions through international credit cards while overseas would not be counted as LRS and would not be subject to TCS. Check for any later change before a large trip.
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