YES BANK Niyo Credit Card Launched: Lifetime Free, 0% Forex & International Lounge Access

Updated: October 12, 2026

Niyo has launched the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card, a Visa-powered travel credit card built around zero forex markup, no joining or annual fee, domestic-spend rewards and access to international airport lounges.

Niyo describes it as its first unsecured credit card, issued in partnership with YES BANK. The card was officially unveiled around Global Fintech Fest 2026 and has subsequently started rolling out to users.

On paper, the proposition is attractive: ₹0 joining fee, ₹0 annual fee and 0% forex markup, combined with Niyo Coins on domestic spending and international airport lounge access.

However, one headline benefit requires an important qualification.

Niyo advertises “Unlimited International Lounge Access”, but its current lounge terms require credit-card users to redeem 30,000 Niyo Coins for each Lounge Pass.

So this should not be confused with unconditional unlimited complimentary lounge visits.

YES BANK Niyo Credit Card: Key Benefits

The combination of lifetime-free pricing and zero forex markup is the most important part of this card's proposition.

The Biggest Benefit: 0% Forex Markup

For international travellers, the strongest feature of the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card is straightforward: foreign-currency transactions carry zero forex markup.

Niyo advertises zero forex markup on international spending, while YES BANK's current card terms separately exempt the NIYO Credit Card from its normal foreign-currency conversion charge.

This can make a meaningful difference for overseas spending.

For example, consider ₹1 lakh worth of foreign-currency transactions.

A credit card charging a 3.5% forex markup would add:

₹1,00,000 × 3.5% = ₹3,500

That is before GST applicable on the forex-markup fee.

With a 0% forex-markup card, that issuer markup is avoided.

The underlying Visa exchange rate still determines how the foreign-currency transaction converts into rupees, so 0% forex does not mean you receive the exact interbank exchange rate displayed on currency websites.

It means the bank does not add its normal foreign-currency markup on top of the applicable card-network conversion rate.

For someone travelling internationally or regularly spending on foreign websites, this can be the most valuable feature of the card.

What Does “Unlimited International Lounge Access” Actually Mean?

This is where the marketing headline needs context.

Niyo advertises the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card with “Unlimited International Lounge Access.”

However, Niyo's current Lounge Pass terms state that credit-card users need to redeem:

30,000 Niyo Coins for one Lounge Pass.

There is no fixed quarterly numerical limit on how many Lounge Passes a credit-card user can generate, provided sufficient Niyo Coins are available.

That means “unlimited” refers to the absence of a fixed quarterly pass limit.

It does not mean a cardholder can simply swipe the card and enter international airport lounges an unlimited number of times for free.

Each pass requires 30,000 Niyo Coins.

This distinction is important.

Niyo currently states:

10 Niyo Coins = ₹1

At that conversion rate:

30,000 Niyo Coins = ₹3,000 of stated Niyo Coin redemption value.

A more accurate description of the lounge benefit is therefore:

International lounge access with no fixed quarterly pass-count limit, subject to redeeming 30,000 Niyo Coins for each eligible Lounge Pass.

Niyo says its Lounge Pass network covers more than 1,200 international airport lounges outside India.

Each pass remains subject to participating-lounge availability and programme terms.

Does the Card Include Domestic Airport Lounge Access?

The current Niyo Lounge Pass programme is focused on participating airport lounges outside India.

Domestic airport lounge access in India is not presented as part of the current YES BANK Niyo Lounge Pass proposition.

That makes the benefit different from cards whose primary lounge proposition focuses on domestic airport lounges.

For the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card, the travel proposition is much more clearly centred around:

• zero forex markup;
• international spending;
• international Lounge Pass access through Niyo Coins.

How Good Are the Niyo Coins Rewards?

Niyo currently publishes three main earning rates for the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card.

The conversion is important because the headline earning rate can sound stronger than the actual rupee value.

At the currently published conversion:

• 5 Coins per ₹100 ≈ 0.50%
• 4 Coins per ₹100 ≈ 0.40%
• 2 Coins per ₹100 ≈ 0.20%

The rewards therefore are not the strongest reason to get this card.

Its real appeal is the combination of:

₹0 annual fee + 0% forex markup.

Also note that the published standard Coin-earning rates specifically refer to domestic online and domestic POS spending, along with travel booked through Niyo.

Cardholders should not automatically assume that normal international transactions also earn these same Niyo Coin rates unless separately confirmed in the applicable reward terms.

How Much Spending Could Be Needed for One Lounge Pass?

One international Lounge Pass requires:

30,000 Niyo Coins

If someone generated all those Coins purely through Niyo travel bookings at the highest listed rate of:

5 Coins per ₹100

they would need approximately:

₹6,00,000 of eligible spending

to generate 30,000 Coins.

At 4 Coins per ₹100, the spending requirement would be approximately:

₹7,50,000

At 2 Coins per ₹100, it would be considerably higher.

Cardholders may also accumulate Niyo Coins through other Niyo activities, promotions or offers, so these calculations do not necessarily represent the only way to obtain a Lounge Pass.

However, they illustrate why the lounge benefit should not be described as unconditional complimentary access.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

YES BANK's current card terms also list a 1% fuel surcharge waiver for the NIYO Credit Card.

The benefit applies to eligible fuel transactions between:

₹500 and ₹4,000

and is capped at:

₹250 per statement cycle.

Applicable taxes charged on the fuel surcharge itself may not be waived.

This is a useful secondary benefit, although it is unlikely to be the main reason someone chooses the card.

What About Interest and Cash Withdrawals?

Lifetime free does not mean borrowing on the card is free.

If the outstanding credit-card bill is not paid according to the applicable terms, finance charges can apply.

Cash withdrawals can also attract separate cash-advance fees and interest.

Therefore:

0% forex markup does not mean 0% ATM charges or 0% borrowing cost.

For international travel, using a credit card for purchases and using it for ATM cash withdrawal are two very different transactions.

Cardholders should check the latest YES BANK schedule of charges before withdrawing cash using the credit card.

Niyo's First Unsecured Credit Card

Another significant part of the launch is that Niyo describes the YES BANK partnership as delivering its first unsecured credit card.

This differentiates it from Niyo's existing secured credit-card products backed by fixed deposits.

An unsecured card does not require customers to create an FD specifically to obtain the credit limit.

Approval, eligibility and the final credit limit remain subject to YES BANK's underwriting and KYC process.

Niyo currently states basic application requirements including:

• age of at least 21 years;
• PAN;
• Aadhaar;
• Aadhaar-linked mobile number;
• successful eligibility checks and KYC.

Applications are handled through the Niyo app.

When Was the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card Launched?

Fresh Economic Times coverage appeared in early October 2026, highlighting the partnership between Niyo, YES BANK and Visa.

However, the product had already surfaced around Global Fintech Fest 2026.

Therefore, October coverage should not necessarily be treated as the exact launch date.

The more accurate description is that the product was unveiled around Global Fintech Fest and received wider coverage and rollout attention in the weeks that followed.

What About the Free Niyo Premium Offer?

Community launch material has reported that the first 10,000 card activations may receive one year of Niyo Premium.

However, CardRecommend could not independently verify those exact promotional conditions as a permanent benefit on the current public YES BANK Niyo Credit Card information.

For that reason, it should be treated as a possible limited-time promotional offer, rather than a permanent core feature of the credit card.

If the offer appears in your Niyo app while applying, check the eligibility period and complete terms before relying on it.

YES BANK Niyo vs Scapia Credit Card

Scapia is one of the most obvious competitors because it also focuses heavily on international travellers and zero-forex spending.

Both products target users who want to avoid the 2%–3.5% forex markup commonly charged by traditional credit cards.

However, their lounge propositions differ.

Scapia's major lounge proposition has traditionally focused on domestic lounge access subject to qualifying monthly spending.

The YES BANK Niyo card instead focuses on international Lounge Passes obtained through Niyo Coins.

That means the cards should not be compared simply by reading the word “unlimited”.

The conditions behind the lounge benefit matter.

For someone primarily interested in 0% forex spending, both products belong in the same competitive segment.

For lounge access, the use cases are different.

YES BANK Niyo vs ixigo AU Credit Card

The ixigo AU Credit Card is another important zero-forex competitor.

It has built much of its proposition around travel rewards, zero forex markup and travel-related benefits.

The YES BANK Niyo Credit Card differs through its Niyo ecosystem and international Lounge Pass model.

Niyo does not impose a fixed quarterly number of passes for eligible credit-card users, but each pass requires 30,000 Niyo Coins.

The comparison therefore depends heavily on what the user values.

Someone wanting a simple, predefined number of complimentary lounge visits may prefer a traditional lounge structure.

Someone already using the Niyo ecosystem and accumulating large quantities of Niyo Coins may value the flexibility of the Lounge Pass system.

Who Should Consider the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card?

The card makes the strongest case for people who:

• travel internationally;
• frequently spend in foreign currencies;
• want a zero-forex credit card;
• do not want to pay an annual fee;
• prefer an unsecured credit card over an FD-backed card;
• already use the Niyo ecosystem.

Because there is no annual fee to recover, it may also work well as a secondary international-spending card.

Even if it is not used frequently in India, keeping a lifetime-free zero-forex card available for international travel can still be useful.

Who May Not Find It Attractive?

The card is less compelling for someone whose main priority is earning high rewards on everyday domestic spending.

At Niyo's currently published Coin valuation, the standard domestic returns are approximately:

0.2% to 0.5%

depending on the spending category.

Several cashback and rewards credit cards can offer significantly higher returns on domestic expenditure.

It is also not the most straightforward option for someone specifically looking for unconditional complimentary airport lounge access.

The 30,000-Niyo-Coin requirement per international Lounge Pass is an important condition.

CardRecommend's Take

The YES BANK Niyo Credit Card is more interesting than its basic reward rate suggests.

Its biggest strength is not Niyo Coins.

It is the combination of:

unsecured credit + lifetime-free pricing + 0% forex markup.

That makes it a legitimate entrant in India's increasingly competitive zero-forex credit-card segment.

For international travellers, avoiding a conventional 3%–3.5% forex markup can generate far more value than earning an extra fraction of a percentage point in domestic rewards.

The lounge proposition, however, needs to be presented accurately.

Niyo's “Unlimited International Lounge Access” wording can sound like unlimited complimentary visits.

Under the current programme, each Lounge Pass requires 30,000 Niyo Coins.

The “unlimited” element therefore refers to there being no fixed quarterly numerical ceiling for credit-card users with sufficient Coins.

That does not make the benefit useless.

It simply makes the economics very different from an unconditional complimentary lounge programme.

Strong zero-forex proposition.

Excellent lifetime-free pricing.

Useful as an international-spending or backup travel card.

Average domestic reward value.

International lounge access is useful, but the 30,000-Niyo-Coin requirement must be considered before valuing the benefit.

For most travellers, the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card is best viewed as a:

zero-forex payment card first, and a rewards/lounges card second.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The card currently carries ₹0 joining fee and ₹0 annual fee.

Yes. Niyo advertises zero forex markup on international transactions, and YES BANK's current terms exempt the NIYO Credit Card from its normal foreign-currency conversion charge.

Yes. Niyo describes it as its first unsecured credit card in partnership with YES BANK.

Unlike an FD-backed credit card, it does not require the customer to create a fixed deposit specifically to secure the credit line.

Final approval remains subject to YES BANK's eligibility and underwriting process.

Niyo markets the card with “Unlimited International Lounge Access”, but cardholders currently need to redeem 30,000 Niyo Coins for each Lounge Pass.

There is no fixed quarterly numerical limit on how many passes eligible credit-card users can generate if they have sufficient Niyo Coins.

The current Niyo Lounge Pass programme focuses on participating international airport lounges outside India.

Domestic Indian airport lounge access is not presented as part of the current Lounge Pass benefit.

Niyo currently states:

10 Niyo Coins = ₹1

That implies a nominal value of:

₹0.10 per Niyo Coin.

The currently published earning structure is:

• 5 Niyo Coins per ₹100 on travel booked through Niyo;
• 4 Niyo Coins per ₹100 on domestic online transactions;
• 2 Niyo Coins per ₹100 on domestic POS transactions.

The currently published standard reward structure specifically describes domestic online and domestic POS transactions.

CardRecommend would not assume the same earning rate applies to overseas purchases unless Niyo or YES BANK explicitly confirms it under the applicable reward terms.

A credit-card user currently needs 30,000 Niyo Coins for one eligible international Lounge Pass.

The offer has appeared in community launch material, but CardRecommend could not independently verify the exact terms as a permanent benefit on the public product information.

Treat it as a limited promotional offer and verify its availability inside the Niyo app before applying.

Final Verdict

The YES BANK Niyo Credit Card fills an increasingly important niche in India's credit-card market.

It is an unsecured, lifetime-free credit card designed primarily for international spending without forex markup.

That combination alone makes it worth considering.

Its domestic rewards are relatively modest once Niyo Coins are converted into rupee value, so it is unlikely to replace the strongest cashback or rewards cards for everyday spending.

Its international lounge benefit can be useful, but it should not be treated as unconditional free lounge access because every Lounge Pass requires 30,000 Niyo Coins.

For international travellers, the card's strongest use case is therefore simple:

Use it primarily as a lifetime-free zero-forex credit card and treat rewards and lounge access as secondary benefits.

Sources and References

Official product information covering zero forex markup, joining and annual fees, Niyo Coins, application details and lounge positioning.

https://goniyo.com/credit-card

Official YES BANK documentation covering NIYO Credit Card fees, foreign-currency conversion charges, fuel surcharge waiver and other card charges.

https://www.yes.bank.in/

Official information covering Niyo Lounge Pass eligibility, international lounge coverage and the Niyo Coin requirement.

https://goniyo.com/credit-card/international-lounge-access

October 2026 coverage of the travel-focused YES BANK Niyo Credit Card and the partnership between Niyo, YES BANK and Visa.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ai/ai-insights/niyo-yes-bank-and-visa-partner-to-launch-the-ultimate-travel-credit-card-vinay-bagri-anil-singh-global-fintech-fest-2026/videoshow/134709162.cms

Official company information and launch communications around the YES BANK Niyo Credit Card.

https://goniyo.com/

Disclaimer: Credit-card fees, rewards, eligibility criteria, lounge-access conditions, forex policies and promotional offers may change. Always check the latest Niyo and YES BANK terms before applying or making a financial decision.