Using credit and debit cards abroad to become costlier; banks hike overseas fees..

Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are raising Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) charges on their credit and debit cards, respectively. DCC applies when a customer uses their card to pay in rupees for purchases made abroad, allowing the foreign merchant—rather than the card-issuing bank—to handle the currency conversion process. Under the revised terms and conditions, Axis Bank will increase the DCC fee on its credit cards from 1.5% to 3.5%, effective August 28, 2026. Kotak Mahindra Bank will raise the fee on debit card transactions from 1% plus GST to 3.5% plus GST, starting August 1.

From August 28, 2026, Axis Bank will increase the DCC markup from 1.5% to 3.5% on its MyZone, Select, Privilege, and Neo credit cards. The charge on Magnus and Magnus for Burgundy cards will rise from 1.5% to 2%, while Olympus cardholders will be charged 1.8%. Kotak Mahindra Bank will increase the DCC fee on debit card transactions from 1% plus GST to 3.5% plus GST, effective August 1. Before these moves, ICICI Bank had already raised the charge on all its debit cards from 1% to 3.5% plus GST on June 21.

**Cost of Cross-Border Processing**