Best Forex Cards for Business in India

A corporate forex card is a prepaid card a company funds so staff can pay abroad at a rate fixed when money is added.

The best options for Indian companies are 1. ICICI Bank Corporate Sapphiro, 2. ICICI Bank Corporate Forex Prepaid, 3. HDFC Bank Multicurrency Platinum ForexPlus, 4. Axis Bank Multi-Currency, 5. Xflow, 6. Kotak Multi-Currency and 7. BookMyForex.

Most of these cards are built for business trips, where an employee pays for hotels, meals and taxis and draws local cash.

They work less well for recurring foreign software and online vendor bills, because those charges arrive every month and need a card the finance team controls from the office, rather than a card that travels with one employee.

You will find each card's joining, top-up and markup fees, who can apply, the documents a company needs and the real drawbacks.

That lets you pick one card for the whole team based on how many people travel, where they go and whether the spend is travel or online bills.

Each corporate forex card below suits a different kind of company, so the right pick depends on your bank, your team size and what the money pays for.

Six are travel cards from banks or a forex platform, and one is a USD card for online vendor bills.

1. ICICI Bank Corporate Sapphiro Forex Card - best for sole proprietors and small companies with an ICICI current account that want zero cross-currency markup on business trips.
2. ICICI Bank Corporate Forex Prepaid Card - best for companies that want no joining or annual fee on each employee card and manage cards in the InstaBIZ app.
3. HDFC Bank Multicurrency Platinum ForexPlus Card - best for staff who need a wide list of 22 currencies on one card for trips across many countries.
4. Axis Bank Multi-Currency Forex Card - best for Axis Bank account holders who want a travel card with up to 16 currencies and quick digital top-ups.
5. Xflow - Best for foreign SaaS and online vendor bills, with a prefunded USD virtual card that each department can use from the office.
6. Kotak Multi-Currency Forex Card - best for travellers who want a low issuance fee and 15 currencies from a large private bank.
7. BookMyForex Multi-Currency Forex Card - best for one-off business trips arranged through a forex platform, with no issuance or top-up fee.

Forex card charges differ more between cards than the headline rates suggest, because a card with no joining fee can still charge 3.5% when staff pay in a currency they did not add.

Check each of these forex card charges against how your team spends before you choose.

The other two cards price differently, and top-up fees vary too:

• BookMyForex Multi-Currency - no issuance, top-up, cash-out or annual fee on a card holding 14 currencies, though ATM and cross-currency fees can still apply.
• Xflow - custom pricing on a USD-only card for online vendor bills, not built for cash withdrawals.
• Top-up (reload) fees - HDFC Bank charges ₹75 plus GST per currency added, Axis Bank charges ₹100 plus GST per currency unless you top up digitally, and Kotak charges ₹75 plus GST with another ₹75 plus GST when you top up online.

On any corporate forex card, the cross-currency markup is the fee that surprises most finance teams, since it hits every payment made in a currency missing from the card.

GST of 0.18%, with a ₹45 minimum on amounts up to ₹1 lakh, also applies to the currency conversion itself on cards such as HDFC Bank and BookMyForex, which our guide to GST on foreign exchange explains.

For every business forex card, you get what it is, the fees and features, and the limits you will feel once several employees use it.

Six are travel cards from banks and one forex platform, while Xflow covers online vendor bills.

Fees are the ones each issuer lists for its card, and GST is added where shown. Issuers can change these charges, so check the current figure with the bank or platform before you buy cards for your team.

1. ICICI Bank Corporate Sapphiro Forex Card

Best for: sole proprietors and small companies with an ICICI current account.

ICICI Bank is a large private Indian bank, and its Corporate Sapphiro card is a premium prepaid Visa Infinite card for business travellers.

A company applies and adds money through the InstaBIZ business banking app, and the card holds up to 15 currencies with no markup when staff pay in a currency missing from the card.

ICICI Bank launched the card with Visa in June 2025 for entrepreneurs, proprietors and small corporates. You need an ICICI current account, and the card suits a small team that travels often and wants the same card on every trip.

Key features

• Zero cross-currency markup means an employee paying in a currency the card does not hold still pays no extra percentage, which keeps trip costs predictable for mixed-country travel.
• Each card includes two international airport lounge visits and travel insurance cover of up to ₹5 lakh, which is useful for senior staff who travel often for work.
• The card stays valid for five years and gives three free ATM withdrawals a month, so frequent travellers can reuse one card across several trips without reissuing.

Pros

• Spending limits can be managed online, so the finance team can adjust what each traveller may spend without visiting a branch or calling the bank.
• No annual fee applies after the joining fee, which suits companies that send the same few people abroad several times a year on one card each.
• Visa offers, a Meet & Greet service once USD 2,500 has been added and an optional international SIM give frequent travellers extra help on arrival abroad.

Cons

• The card needs an Indian business current account with ICICI Bank, so companies that bank elsewhere would have to open a new account before they can apply.
• The ₹2,999 plus GST joining fee is charged per card, which adds up quickly when a company wants to give cards to many travelling employees at once.
• Money left on the card comes back to the linked business account only through a request at a forex-enabled branch, which takes more effort than an app transfer.

2. ICICI Bank Corporate Forex Prepaid Card

Best for: companies that want no joining or annual fee and manage cards in InstaBIZ.

ICICI Bank Corporate Forex Prepaid is a standard prepaid travel card for staff from a large private Indian bank, applied for and managed through ICICI's InstaBIZ app.

It holds 15 currency wallets, including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AED and SGD, with no joining or annual fee, which suits companies issuing several cards.

Key features

• Fifteen separate currency wallets let one card cover trips to the US, Europe, the UK, Canada, the UAE and Singapore without buying a new card for each destination.
• Lost-card cover of up to ₹5 lakh protects the balance if an employee loses the card abroad, which matters when a company card carries a large trip budget.
• An optional international SIM is offered with the card, so a travelling employee can stay reachable abroad without arranging a separate local connection for each trip.

Pros

• No joining fee and no annual fee mean a company can issue cards to several employees without a per-card cost before any money is added.
• Cards are issued and topped up inside the InstaBIZ app, so the finance team can manage them from the same place it handles other ICICI business banking.

Cons

• Paying in a currency the card does not hold costs about 3.5% plus taxes, so staff on trips to unplanned countries can lose a noticeable share of each payment.
• Only one ATM withdrawal a month is free, so staff who rely on local cash during a longer trip will pay a fee on each withdrawal after the first.

3. HDFC Bank Multicurrency Platinum ForexPlus Card

Best for: staff who need a wide list of currencies on one card.

HDFC Bank Multicurrency Platinum ForexPlus is a retail chip prepaid card that companies can buy for travelling staff.

It holds 22 currencies, from USD, EUR and GBP to JPY, AED and SGD, and charges a 2% markup when you pay in a currency missing from the card.

HDFC Bank lists its charges per card, so your company budgets for one business forex card for each traveller. It suits firms whose staff cover many regions and who value a long currency list.

Key features

• Twenty-two currencies on one card, including CHF, SEK, KRW and QAR, give it the longest currency list of the cards here, which suits staff who visit many regions.
• The 2% cross-currency markup is lower than the 3.5% charged by several other cards here, so unplanned spend in a missing currency costs less.

Pros

• The ₹500 plus GST issuance fee is lower than the joining fee on premium business cards, which keeps the cost of giving a card to each traveller small.
• Fixed ATM fees per currency, such as USD 2 or EUR 1.5 plus GST, make cash withdrawals abroad easy to budget before an employee travels.

Cons

• The ₹75 plus GST top-up fee applies per currency, so adding money to several currency wallets before a long trip adds a fee for each one.

4. Axis Bank Multi-Currency Forex Card

Best for: Axis Bank account holders who want quick digital top-ups.

Axis Bank Multi-Currency Forex Card is a prepaid travel card from a private Indian bank that holds up to 16 currencies at a rate fixed when you add money.

You need an Axis Bank account to buy it, and you can buy it up to 180 days before the trip.

Key features

• Up to 16 currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, AUD, AED and JPY, let one card cover most business destinations, with the rate fixed at the time money is added.
• Applying for the card or topping it up digitally removes the ₹300 issuance fee and the ₹100 per-currency top-up fee, which keeps costs low for teams that buy cards online.
• The card can be bought up to 180 days before a trip, so the finance team can issue cards early for conferences and client visits planned months ahead.

Pros

• Instant digital top-ups through net banking or mobile banking let the finance team add money while an employee is already abroad, without a branch visit.
• Priority and Burgundy customers get the issuance fee waived, and Burgundy customers also get top-up and cash-out fees waived, which lowers the cost for those accounts.
• Support is available 24x7, so an employee with a blocked card or a failed payment abroad can get help at any hour, whatever the time zone.

Cons

• Top-ups and cash-outs at a branch cost ₹100 plus GST per currency, so a team that tops up several wallets in person before each trip pays a fee for each one.
• A flat 3.5% markup applies when staff pay in a currency the card does not hold, and each ATM withdrawal costs USD 2.25.
• The card cannot be used in India, Nepal or Bhutan, so staff on a regional trip that includes those countries need another way to pay there.

5. Xflow

Best for: foreign SaaS and online vendor bills.

Xflow is a cross-border payments platform that gives Indian businesses a prefunded, US-issued virtual card for paying global software and online vendors in USD. The business adds money by USD SWIFT or by NEFT/RTGS from its Indian bank account, then pays vendor bills from the card, with every charge tracked in the Xflow Dashboard.

Because the card is prefunded, it can only spend what the business has added. Teams can get a dedicated card for each department, and Xflow lets you pay foreign SaaS bills for cloud, design and marketing software.

Key features

• A US-issued virtual card lets the business pay global software vendors in USD, so monthly subscriptions renew on a card the finance team controls rather than an employee card.
• Dedicated cards for each department let the finance team see which team pays for which tool, instead of mixing every subscription on one shared company card.
• Every payment shows in the Xflow Dashboard, which gives finance one place to track foreign software spend instead of collecting card statements from each employee.

Pros

• The card is prefunded, so spend never goes beyond the money the business has added, which keeps foreign software costs inside the budget the finance team set.
• The business can add money from its Indian bank account by NEFT or RTGS, so finance can start paying overseas vendors from the account it already uses.
• The card can pay any global SaaS vendor, so the finance team can move every foreign subscription onto one platform it already tracks.

Cons

• Xflow cards work in USD only, so a vendor that bills in another currency needs a different payment method for that bill.
• Xflow cards are for online vendor bills, so staff who travel abroad still need a separate corporate forex card for hotels, meals and cash.

6. Kotak Multi-Currency Forex Card

Best for: travellers who want a low issuance fee and 15 currencies.

Kotak Multi-Currency Forex Card is a prepaid travel card from Kotak Mahindra Bank.

It holds 15 currencies and has one of the lowest issuance fees among the bank cards here, so it suits a company buying cards for a few named staff.

Key features

• Fifteen currencies on one card cover the common business destinations, so most employees can travel to the US, Europe or the Gulf on a single card.

Pros

• The ₹250 plus GST issuance fee is among the lowest of the bank cards here, which keeps the cost per traveller down for a growing team.
• ATM fees are fixed per currency, such as USD 2, EUR 1.5, GBP 1.5, AUD 2.5 or SGD 2.7 per withdrawal, so the finance team can estimate cash costs before a trip.

Cons

• Each top-up costs ₹75 plus GST, and topping up online adds another ₹75 plus GST, so frequent small top-ups become expensive over a year.
• A 3.5% markup applies when staff pay in a currency missing from the card, which adds up on trips through several countries.

7. BookMyForex Multi-Currency Forex Card

Best for: one-off business trips arranged through a forex platform.

BookMyForex is an Indian online forex platform, and its Multi-Currency Forex Card is a prepaid card you can buy without holding an account at any particular bank.

It holds 14 currencies and charges no issuance, top-up or cash-out fee, and a company pays from its own business account.

A company submits its documents once, such as its PAN, GST registration and a list of authorised signatories on letterhead.

After that, each trip needs a LERMS letter on company letterhead, signed by the authorised signatory, along with the traveller's passport, visa, ticket and PAN.

The card suits a company that sends staff abroad now and then and does not want to tie its forex card to one bank.

Key features

• No issuance, top-up or cash-out fee and no annual charge mean the company pays little to hold the card between trips, though ATM and cross-currency fees can apply.
• Fourteen currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, AED, SGD and JPY, cover the main business destinations for most Indian companies sending staff abroad.
• An add-on card costs ₹200, so a company can give a second card to a traveller as a backup without paying a full issuance charge again.

Pros

• No bank account is needed with a particular lender, so a company can buy cards for staff even when its main bank does not sell a forex card it likes.
• Company documents are submitted once, so later trips need only the per-trip papers, which saves time for a company that sends staff abroad now and then.
• No delivery charge applies to the card, so a company buying cards for staff in different cities pays nothing extra to have each one sent out.

Cons

• Each new trip needs a fresh LERMS letter signed by the authorised signatory, not the traveller, which slows things down for staff who travel often.
• Fourteen currencies are fewer than the 22 on some bank cards, so staff visiting less common destinations may pay a cross-currency fee more often.

The right corporate travel card depends less on the bank and more on how many people travel, where they go and whether the money pays for trips or software.

Match your situation to one of these pointers before you compare fees in detail.

• A few travellers who use ICICI's InstaBIZ app - ICICI Bank Corporate Sapphiro or Corporate Forex Prepaid keeps cards inside InstaBIZ, with Sapphiro removing the markup on missing currencies.
• Many staff visiting many countries - a card with a long currency list, such as HDFC Bank with 22 currencies, cuts how often employees pay a cross-currency markup abroad.
• No bank relationship you want to use - BookMyForex sells cards without a bank account at a particular lender, and the company documents are submitted only once.
• Recurring foreign software and online vendor bills - a travel card is the wrong tool here, so use a USD card the office controls, as in our guide to virtual cards for SaaS subscriptions.

A forex card for business travel is usually issued per employee, so count cards as well as fees. For domestic and foreign spend on one company card, our list of corporate cards for startups covers a different type of card.

Eligibility for a company forex card depends on the issuer, and some banks tie the card to an account you hold with them. Check the document list with the issuer before you apply.

BookMyForex also asks a limited company for its MOA, and accepts a signatory list on letterhead or a board resolution. Ask your bank what it needs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) runs the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), and its Master Direction says the scheme is not available to companies.

When your company sends an employee abroad and pays the costs, RBI treats those expenses as residual current account transactions outside LRS, and your bank checks that the trip is genuine.

The RBI Master Direction sets no per-trip cap for these employer-paid trips under FEMA, the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

An employee attending a conference on their own account falls within their personal LRS limit for the financial year, which our guide to the foreign remittance limit explains.

A corporate forex card keeps travel spend separate and fixes the rate in advance, but it brings costs and admin you should plan for. These four drawbacks grow once a company gives cards to several employees who travel every month.

Every drawback has a simple way to plan for it, so you can set rules for cards, currencies and unused money before your first team trip rather than after it.

Unused balance has to be cashed out before the money comes back

Money left on a card after a trip stays in foreign currency until you ask the issuer to cash it out.

On ICICI Bank Corporate Sapphiro, the balance returns to the linked business account only through a request at a forex-enabled branch, so plan who collects unused cards after every trip.

Until the money comes back, it sits outside your working capital and is exposed to rate moves.

A simple rule helps: ask each traveller to return the company forex card within a week of landing, and decide in advance whether the balance stays on the card for the next trip or returns to the company account.

Each currency sits in its own wallet and can run dry

A multi-currency card keeps each currency in a separate wallet, and the cards here hold between 14 and 22 of them. That creates three problems on the road:

• One wallet runs out - an employee can have plenty of euros left and still run short of dollars, so the finance team has to top up the right wallet quickly.
• Per-currency top-up fees - cards such as HDFC Bank charge ₹75 plus GST for each currency topped up, which raises the cost of spreading money across wallets.
• Planning effort - someone in finance has to guess how much each traveller will spend in each currency before the trip, and a wrong guess means a top-up abroad.

Paying in a currency you did not add costs extra markup

When staff pay in a currency that has no wallet on the card, the card converts from another wallet and adds a cross-currency markup:

Cards that lock in exchange rates on the day you add money only protect the currencies you chose, so list every country on the trip before you fund the card.

Travel forex cards are not built for recurring online vendor bills

A corporate travel card is issued to a person for a trip, so it fits badly with software that bills the company every month.

When a card sits with one employee, renewals fail while they are away and spend is hard to split by team, which is why a USD card the office controls suits those bills better.

A travel card also mixes trip spend with software spend on one statement, so the finance team has to split them by hand each month.

Keeping trips on a travel card and vendor bills on a separate card keeps each record easy to read and close at month end.