United Arab Emirates
activeFeaturedNeobankBusiness banking
- HQ
- London
- Fee
- Free personal
Niyo
Indian forex and salary card for people who actually leave the country.
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7.1Solid
AlternativesFive questions
At a glance
Is it a bank?
No. Niyo is not a bank. Your money sits with Partner banks (varies by Niyo product).
If it fails?
Partner-bank DICGC where a bank balance exists; forex wallets differ
Salary?
Not listed. An IBAN or sort code is not automatically a salary account.
Open from abroad?
Residency and KYC are gated. An App Store listing is not proof you can onboard.
Monthly fee
Product-dependent; forex cards often zero annual
Account number
No IBAN-class local rail on this file.
NeoBankDB Verdict
Licence first · score second
7.1
/10 · Solid
Pick Niyo for the trip. Pick a scheduled bank for the salary. Do not confuse the two in an alternatives table.
What it is
Niyo grew up as a prepaid forex card for Indians travelling abroad and later added salary and NRI-shaped products. The job is cheaper FX than a high-street bank, under RBI forex rules.
Best for: Indian travellers and NRI-adjacent users who want a forex card, not a full bank.
Last checked 2026-08-01. Not advice.
What it does well
- +FX-first in a UPI market
- +Travel fit
- +UAE overlap
What to watch
- −Not a universal salary bank
- −Partner soup
- −Support on blocked cards
Who holds the money
The account
- Platforms
- iOS · Android
- Account types
- Salary · travel · forex
- Partner bank
- Federal Bank / partner banks (product-dependent)
- Minimum balance
- ₹0
- Lowest monthly fee
- ₹0 core
- Who can open
- Indian residents
- Availability
- India
How money actually moves
- Who holds the cash
- Current account at a partner bank
- How money moves
- UPI / INR
- Built for
- Personal · Travel
- Settlement
- App-ledger instant; bank rails per corridor
- Freeze risk
- Fintech reviews can pause inbound while they check a transfer
- Card
- Niyo lists a physical card and a virtual card on visa, plus Google Pay. Confirm the live product in the app — a card is not a current account.
Licence first
Safety
Partner-bank DICGC where a bank balance exists; forex wallets differ
Who holds the money: Partner banks (varies by Niyo product)
- RBI (partner banks / AD-II)Forex / partner-bank · India
Fees
- Monthly
- Product-dependent; forex cards often zero annual
- FX markup
- Core pitch — live rates vs banks, still a spread
- ATM
- Overseas ATM fees on the card schedule
Features
- –IBAN
- –Fee-free core
- ✓Multi-currency
- –Apple Pay
- ✓Google Pay
- ✓Virtual card
- ✓Physical card
- –Metal card
- –Crypto
- –Stocks
- –Business
- –Kids
- –Halal
- Forex card
- Multi-currency
- Salary account variants
- UAE / NRI adjacency
Score
- Safety25%
- 6.6
- Fees20%
- 8.2
- Features15%
- 7.4
- App15%
- 7.4
- Global15%
- 6.4
- Support10%
- 6.2
Change log
Full logProduct
Niyo Global forex card remains the flagship SKU
Indian travel. Partner-bank issuing. Not a universal salary neobank.
Product
Niyo Global forex card remains the flagship SKU
Indian travel. Partner-bank issuing. Not a universal salary neobank.
Available in
Straight answers
FAQ
01Is Niyo a bank?
No. Niyo is filed as Forex / partner-bank. The money sits with Partner banks (varies by Niyo product).
02What happens to money in Niyo if it fails?
Partner-bank DICGC where a bank balance exists; forex wallets differ
03What does Niyo charge each month?
The monthly fee on this file is Product-dependent; forex cards often zero annual. Fees change — open the operator's pricing page if it is linked.
Ratings and reviews
4.5 / 5 from 2 published reviews on NeoBankDB.
Neha P.
India· 2026-08-27Verified userNiyo Global is the product. The salary account is just the on-ramp.
Arjun M.
India· 2026-08-27Verified userForex card beat SBI on a Japan trip. Blocking on a Sunday is the fear.
Alternatives
activeNeobank
- HQ
- Bengaluru
- Fee
- Free core
activeFeaturedNeobankCrypto card
- HQ
- London
- Fee
- Free
From NeoBankDB
Note17 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Zero-forex and travel cards
Travel is a tariff, not a charter. Scapia is a Federal Bank credit card. Niyo Global is a partner-bank forex SKU. Wise is an EMI. Revolut is a UK bank for eligible customers and an EMI wallet elsewhere. Put them on one page so a search for “zero forex card” does not land on a clone shop.
Read the noteNote22 Jun 2026 · 8 min
Indian neobanks in 2026: UPI won, so the apps sell metal and US stocks
RBI does not license a generic neobank. Jupiter, Fi, and Niyo wrap partner banks. Here is how to read the card.
Read the note