Credit Card Forex Markup Calculator: What Does Spending Abroad Cost?
Enter the amount in foreign currency, today's exchange rate and your card's forex markup. You will see the rupee total, the effective exchange rate and how much more it costs than a card with no markup.
On this page
Calculator and results
A spend of 100 in foreign currency costs ₹8,851 on this card, ₹351 more than on a card with no markup: an effective rate of ₹88.51 instead of ₹85.
Enter today's rate; this page does not fetch live rates.
Example values; enter your card's figures from your statement or the bank's schedule of charges.
Total in ₹
₹8,851
Markup
₹298
3.5% of ₹8,500
GST (18%)
₹54
on the markup
Effective rate
₹88.51
against ₹85 with no markup
On a card with 0% markup the same spend is ₹8,500; this card costs ₹351 more. When a merchant offers to charge you in rupees abroad, choosing the local currency usually avoids the extra conversion markup.
Saved scenarios stay in this browser only. No sign-up.
Total in ₹
₹8,851
- What it is:
- A calculator for the cost of foreign currency spends on a credit card.
- What it calculates:
- Forex markup, dynamic currency conversion markup, GST, total in rupees, effective exchange rate and the extra cost over a 0% markup card.
Key Assumptions
- Default inputs are examples, not any bank's figures; enter your card's figures from your statement or the bank's schedule of charges.
- GST is charged at 18% on interest and fees, as stated in banks' card terms, and is never added to the balance that earns interest (Unpaid charges, levies and taxes are not capitalised for charging or compounding interest.)
- The exchange rate is the one you enter, not a live rate.
How does the Credit Card Forex Markup Calculator work?
The spend is converted at the exchange rate, then the card's forex markup is added as a percentage.
If a merchant abroad offers to charge you in rupees (dynamic currency conversion), its own conversion markup is added too.
GST at 18% is charged on the markup. The page does not fetch live exchange rates: you enter the rate.
Credit Card Forex Markup Calculator formula
Total = amount × rate × (1 + markup% + DCC%) + 18% GST on the markup
- Effective rate
- = total in ₹ ÷ amount in foreign currency
Credit Card Forex Markup Calculator: worked example
100 units of foreign currency at ₹85, 3.5% markup (example figures)
- Converted amount
- ₹8,500
- Markup
- ₹298
- GST on markup
- ₹54
- Total
- ₹8,851
- Effective rate
- ₹88.51
Credit Card Forex Markup Calculator: frequently asked questions
Should I pay in rupees or the local currency abroad?
Do foreign websites charge a forex markup?
Further reading
How Indian lenders work out your monthly instalment, why the interest portion shrinks every month, and what actually changes the number.
Why a flat 10% and a reducing-balance 10% are not the same loan, how much more the flat structure costs, and where you meet it in India.
Authoritative Sources
- RBI Master Direction – Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022 (RBI/2022-23/92, DoR.AUT.REC.No.27/24.01.041/2022-23, 21 April 2022, updated as on 7 March 2024)· verified 21 October 2026
- GST on card interest and charges: HDFC Bank credit card MITC (4 March 2026): "GST@ 18% of interest and late payment"· verified 21 October 2026
Report a problem with this calculator
Reviewed by Pradipta Ray, MBA (Finance) · Updated