Compare AU Small Finance Bank Multi-Currency Forex Card and HDFC Bank Multicurrency ForexPlus Card using the controlling cost, balance, rate, tenure, liquidity, limits, eligibility and current first-party bank evidence for this product type.
Compare the two source-backed records without collapsing unlike conditions into a winner score.
AU account holders who want a newer six-currency Mastercard travel card with transparent load/reload/refund fees and self-service e-commerce/contactless controls.
Multi-country travellers who want one prepaid card with a broad 22-currency wallet set and granular card/reload management rather than repeatedly converting through an ordinary debit or credit card.
littleden.blog · Comparison research sheet
Prepared 14 Sep 2026 · Source page: https://littleden.blog/compare-banking/au-multicurrency-forex-card-vs-hdfc-multicurrency-forexplus-card/
General product research only. Recheck the listed first-party sources before acting because product terms can change after the recorded review dates.
Each checkpoint reproduces the recorded product fields instead of assigning a winner. Read the condition, scope and missing-data state before treating a difference as useful to you.
Source review: September 10, 2026
Maintenance: Within the scheduled review window
2 attached sources. A review date is not a guarantee that terms have stayed unchanged.
Source review: September 10, 2026
Maintenance: Within the scheduled review window
3 attached sources. A review date is not a guarantee that terms have stayed unchanged.
The stored field wording is preserved. Product-type-specific evidence follows this generic comparison where deeper structured research exists.
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| Decision factor | AU Small Finance Bank Multi-Currency Forex Card | HDFC Bank Multicurrency ForexPlus Card |
|---|---|---|
| Issuance / reload / travel-card costs | Current schedule lists ₹150 load/issuance fee, ₹100 reload, ₹100 refund, ₹100 replacement, 3.5% cross-currency markup and 2% wallet-to-wallet transfer, plus currency-specific ATM fees. | ₹500 + GST issuance. Branch reload is ₹75 + GST per reload transaction/currency; HDFC's current product page states no reload fee through its Prepaid/Forex online portal. ATM fees are currency-specific; USD wallet withdrawal is USD 2. Cross-currency markup is 2%. |
| Loaded currency wallets | Up to six wallets: CAD, EUR, GBP, AED, USD and JPY. Minimum initial load is USD 100 equivalent and aggregate load is subject to the USD 250,000-equivalent LRS ceiling. | Prepaid balances held across up to 22 foreign-currency wallets. Load/reload/refund conversion uses HDFC's applicable card/forex rate and taxes; the card is not a savings-account balance. |
| Forex-card capabilities | Six currency wallets, locked-in load-time exchange rate, Mastercard acceptance, online/branch reload, customer portal controls, emergency cash assistance and card insurance/support resources. | 22 currencies in one card, contactless acceptance, online card management, PIN/block controls, multiple reload routes, back-up-card facility and currency-specific ATM limits. |
| ATM / load / usage limits | Current product page states USD 5,000 equivalent daily ATM and USD 10,000 equivalent daily POS/e-commerce limits across wallets, subject to local ATM/network limits. | Current HDFC schedule publishes currency-specific ATM limits, e.g. USD 5,000/day, EUR 4,700 and GBP 4,000; overall loading remains subject to applicable LRS/FEMA rules. |
| Traveller / KYC eligibility | Indian nationals travelling abroad and foreign nationals residing in India who maintain an AU Small Finance Bank account; NRI/NRE/NRO and non-KYC-compliant customers are excluded under the reviewed product rules. | Eligible resident travellers subject to KYC, travel-purpose documents and HDFC's current ForexPlus application requirements. Online reload is available to eligible existing HDFC Bank customers; branch routes remain available. |
| Prepaid card / funding / regulatory relationship | Standalone AU prepaid forex card funded through an AU account. It is separate from AU debit/credit-card international usage. | Standalone prepaid forex-card relationship. An HDFC account can make online reload easier but does not turn the ForexPlus balance into an ordinary deposit-account or debit-card balance. |
These fields come from each product's type-specific structured research, so service comparisons are not reduced to the same six generic rows.
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| Decision factor | AU Small Finance Bank Multi-Currency Forex Card | HDFC Bank Multicurrency ForexPlus Card |
|---|---|---|
| Currencies / wallet format | Mastercard prepaid card supporting six wallets: CAD, EUR, GBP, AED, USD and JPY. | HDFC currently markets Multicurrency ForexPlus with up to 22 currency wallets, including USD, EUR, CHF, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY, SGD, AED, SEK, HKD, THB, ZAR, NZD, OMR, DKK, NOK, SAR, KRW, BHD, QAR and KWD. |
| Purchase eligibility | Available to Indian nationals travelling abroad and foreign nationals residing in India who hold an AU account; not issued to NRI/NRE/NRO or non-KYC-compliant customers. | Issued under HDFC's ForexPlus/KYC/travel-purpose process. Exact documentation depends on traveller type/purpose. Existing HDFC customers have additional online reload routes; an HDFC deposit account is not required to define the prepaid wallet. |
| Load / reload | Minimum load USD 100 equivalent. Reload online through the customer portal or at servicing branches; current reload fee ₹100 plus taxes. | ₹75 + GST per branch reload transaction/currency on the current product page; HDFC states no reload fee when reload is done through the Prepaid/Forex online portal. NetBanking/Prepaid NetBanking/branch routes are supported subject to eligibility. |
| Exchange rate | Currency is loaded at AU's offered exchange rate on the day of transaction, locking that INR-to-wallet conversion for the prepaid amount. Published rates are indicative until actual debit/credit. | Load/reload/refund use HDFC's applicable forex/card conversion rate and statutory taxes. Same-wallet spending uses the loaded currency; cross-currency transactions use Visa/Mastercard wholesale/network conversion as applicable plus HDFC's stated markup. |
| ATM cash | Currency-specific ATM fees apply; current overall daily ATM ceiling is USD 5,000 equivalent, with local ATM-owner surcharges/limits potentially additional. | Currency-specific. Current schedule includes USD 2, EUR 1.50, GBP 1, JPY 250 and other wallet-specific withdrawal fees; daily ATM ceilings also vary by currency. |
| POS / e-commerce | Mastercard merchant and online use is supported; current daily POS/e-commerce ceiling is USD 10,000 equivalent. E-commerce/contactless start disabled and must be enabled through AU controls. | International merchant/e-commerce use is supported, including contactless where accepted. Same-wallet transactions avoid the cross-currency conversion step; merchant/acquirer DCC should still be declined where inappropriate. |
| Cross-currency | 3.5% markup when transaction currency differs from the funded wallet/cross-currency conversion is required. | Current Multicurrency ForexPlus markup is 2% when transaction currency differs from the available card currency. The current schedule also applies 2% to wallet-to-wallet transfers between card currencies. |
| Wallet conversion | 2% of transfer amount for wallet-to-wallet transfer under the current schedule. | Wallet-to-wallet conversion is supported across eligible currencies, with the published 2% cross-currency charge and applicable mid/card rate. Wallet availability and order remain controlled by current card terms. |
| Fees | ₹150 load/issuance, ₹100 reload, ₹100 refund, ₹100 card replacement, 3.5% cross-currency and 2% wallet-to-wallet, plus currency-specific ATM fees; taxes extra. | ₹500 + GST issuance; ₹75 + GST branch reload; ₹100 + GST back-up card on the current product page. ATM, balance enquiry and cross-currency charges are currency/transaction specific. |
| Refund / closure | Remaining balance can be refunded to the customer's AU account; current refund fee is ₹100 plus taxes. RBI post-travel retention rules still apply. | Refund/cash-out converts the remaining foreign-currency balance under HDFC's applicable card/forex rate and tax treatment. Exact cancellation/encashment fee should be checked at request time. |
| Replacement / emergency | Replacement fee ₹100 plus taxes. AU provides Emergency Cash Assistance and lost-card support; expired cards with balance can be replaced or refunded through branch support. | HDFC advertises back-up-card capability and online block/PIN controls. Replacement/emergency support terms are variant- and location-specific rather than assumed from ordinary debit-card replacement. |
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Reviewed September 10, 2026 · 2 attached first-party sources
Reviewed September 10, 2026 · 3 attached first-party sources