How Does Niyo Make Money From Travel Banking?

Niyo helps Indians pay and manage money while travelling abroad. Its app brings together bank-issued cards, account features, currency services and travel bookings. The headline attraction is a card with zero foreign-exchange markup on eligible international spending. That does not mean every Niyo service is free, or that Niyo is a bank. Its business is to bring travellers to financial and travel products that can earn income under different arrangements.

What does zero forex markup actually mean?

When someone uses a regular Indian card abroad, the bank may add a foreign-exchange markup to the card-network conversion rate. Niyo's eligible cards remove that extra markup. An international purchase is still converted into rupees using the applicable Visa exchange rate; the customer has not escaped currency conversion or changes in the exchange rate.

Zero markup gives travellers an easy reason to try the product. They can spend from a card linked to an Indian account instead of buying a separate bundle of foreign currency before each trip. For Niyo, that first transaction can start a longer relationship involving more spending, another card, a hotel booking or a paid membership. The company does not publish enough detail to calculate its own income from an average overseas card transaction.

Other charges depend on the card and banking partner. An ATM abroad, a replacement card or an annual debit-card fee can have separate terms even when card purchases carry zero forex markup. For example, Niyo's published SBM debit-card fee for eligible customers from July 2025 is ₹423 plus GST a year after the first year. It would still be wrong to assume Niyo keeps the full bank-card fee or that the same fee applies to every Niyo card.

Who holds the money and issues the card?

Niyo is run by Finnew Solutions and says it is not a bank. Partner banks including DCB Bank, SBM Bank India and YES Bank issue relevant accounts and co-branded cards. A savings balance is held under the banking arrangement, and a credit-card balance is owed to the issuing bank. Niyo provides the app, customer experience, product distribution and technology that connect the traveller to those services.

This distinction is central to the revenue story. If a customer keeps ₹50,000 in a partner-bank account, that is not ₹50,000 of sales for Niyo. Similarly, a ₹50,000 overseas card spend is a payment to a merchant, not ₹50,000 of Niyo revenue. Income for the platform depends on the commercial terms of its role, and the exact split of banking and card economics is not publicly disclosed.

The cards also differ in how customers fund them. A debit card draws on the linked account, while a secured credit card uses a credit line backed by a deposit under the partner bank's terms. Niyo can help people find and use either product, but it does not become the lender simply because its app displays the card. The bank's interest income and the principal borrowed should not be counted as Niyo's own operating income.

International transfers and physical foreign exchange add another regulated role. Niyo's disclosures identify Kanji Forex, an authorised dealer category II business, as the entity responsible for the foreign-exchange transaction and related compliance, with Finnew providing technology services. This is more precise than saying the app simply earns the full difference between two currencies every time a user sends money overseas.

How do travel bookings add another way to earn?

The same person who gets a card may need a flight, visa, hotel, insurance or eSIM before departure. Niyo presents these services within its travel offering. When someone books through the app, Niyo may earn an applicable convenience fee or receive income from the commercial arrangement with the service provider. The amount and structure depend on the product; Niyo does not disclose a single commission rate for every booking.

A ₹30,000 flight ticket illustrates the difference. Most of that money belongs to the airline and others providing the journey. Any applicable fee or agreed share that Niyo receives for helping complete the booking is a separate, smaller amount. For insurance, the insurer provides the cover and bears the insured risk. A travel booking is therefore another customer touchpoint, not evidence that the full ticket or policy price becomes Niyo's revenue.

This approach makes commercial sense because travel needs arrive together. A customer who trusts a card for spending abroad might prefer to arrange an eSIM or visa in the same app. Niyo can reach the customer without starting a fresh acquisition campaign for every product. The challenge is whether those additional purchases happen often enough, and at a high enough contribution, to pay for product support, promotions and customer acquisition.

What does Niyo Premium sell?

Niyo has a more visible source of direct customer income: a paid travel membership. Its Premium page lists a price of ₹999 for 365 days. In exchange, it offers a set of benefits such as travel-booking discounts, Niyo Coins, some fee waivers and lounge-related benefits under the relevant conditions.

This is distinct from a bank's deposit or a traveller's card spend. If someone pays for Premium, the membership price is consideration for the benefits Niyo provides over the membership period. The full ₹999 is not profit: the company must fund or arrange those benefits, maintain support and serve the member throughout the year.

The economics depend on how members behave. A traveller who pays for Premium and uses only a few modest benefits can look different from one who repeatedly redeems expensive benefits. At the same time, someone who books flights and hotels through Niyo because of the membership may bring in additional service income. Niyo does not publish a member count or the cost of benefits, so multiplying the plan price by the wider card user base would manufacture a revenue figure.

There is also a practical limit to a zero-markup pitch. Customers will compare the full cost of travel, including exchange rates, ATM charges, bookings, subscription fees and support quality. A card can be excellent at bringing someone to the platform while a poor travel-booking experience drives that person away. The products have to work together from the traveller's point of view.

What do Niyo's reported figures tell us?

Niyo says more than 1 million international travellers have used its travel offering. That is a measure of reach, not a count of paying Premium members or active users in any given month. Separate company channels refer to broader user totals, so it is especially important to label which customer population a number describes.

A report on Niyo's FY25 filings put operating revenue at ₹123.4 crore, up from ₹93.8 crore in FY24, while its net loss narrowed to about ₹77.8 crore from ₹143.5 crore. Those figures show a growing business that was still loss-making at the time. Other private-company databases show a different FY25 revenue and loss total, likely reflecting different underlying entity or calculation bases; the exact comparison should be tied to the accounts used before publication.

Even with growth, travel banking can be expensive to run. Card delivery and verification, partner integrations, fraud prevention, 24-hour traveller support, and marketing all need money. Travel can also be uneven during the year. The large number on a card transaction tells us little about how much Niyo keeps after those costs.

What should we learn from the model?

Niyo uses zero-markup cards to solve a clear problem for travellers, then offers more of what those travellers need before and during a trip. Partner banks issue the cards and hold account balances; the app builds the relationship; travel services and Premium add possible ways to earn beyond the first card transaction.

The important test is whether that relationship lasts. More than 1 million travellers using the service shows demand, while the reported FY25 loss shows that demand alone did not cover the full cost of building the business at that point. Repeated card use, bookings and memberships can improve the economics if Niyo's agreed income exceeds the cost of acquiring and serving each traveller. Zero forex markup starts the conversation; the wider travel relationship has to pay for it.