In-depth review
AU InstaPay Credit Card
A lifetime-free, fully virtual RuPay card that AU issues only to its own existing credit cardholders — it shares your primary AU card's limit and exists to give that relationship a UPI-linked face. It pays 1% cashback on UPI spends at everyday categories, capped at ₹100 a statement cycle, plus a fuel surcharge waiver. Judge it as a companion card, not a first card and not a rewards card: the ₹100 cap keeps the earning nominal by design.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
1% on Other
1% cashback on UPI txns ≥₹200 at departmental stores, dining, pharmacy and grocery (min transaction ₹200, capped ₹100/cycle) — UPI txns ≥₹200 in eligible categories only
Lifetime Free
No annual fee — ever. Keep this card long-term without any recurring cost.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% waiver on fuel transactions, capped at ₹100/month
UPI Linked
Pay UPI QR codes from your credit line. What UPI payments earn can depend on the app you pay through, so check the rewards details.
For existing AU Small Finance Bank credit cardholders who want a virtual, UPI-linked companion card for everyday scan-and-pay spending and a little cashback — not for applicants who don't already hold an AU card.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026.
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | cashback | 1% | ₹100 |
Other: 1% cashback on UPI txns ≥₹200 at departmental stores, dining, pharmacy and grocery (min transaction ₹200, capped ₹100/cycle) — UPI txns ≥₹200 in eligible categories only
Earns nothing on: Non-UPI transactions · UPI txns under ₹200 · UPI spends outside departmental stores / grocery / dining / pharmacy
These spends earn no rewards at all — not a reduced rate, and not the base rate. They are also normally left out of any milestone or fee-waiver calculation.
Fees & charges
The numbers that matter beyond rewards — verify on the issuer site before applying. Fees below are shown inclusive of 18% GST, as of 11 Oct 2026.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | Lifetime free |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.49% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹100 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹500/yr in total.
1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹400 and ₹5,000, capped ₹100 per cycle
Should you get it?
- Best for: Existing AU Small Finance Bank credit cardholders, AU cardholders who want a UPI-linked companion card for everyday scan-and-pay spends
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on everyday spends (1% back).
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Fully digital — instant issuance via the AU 0101 app, ChatBot, IVR or website, no physical card wait
- Lifetime free and RuPay/UPI-linkable
- 1% UPI cashback and a fuel surcharge waiver
✕ Cons
- Only issued to existing AU Small Finance Bank credit cardholders — not a way to get your first card
- Shares credit limit with your existing AU card rather than adding a fresh one
- 1% cashback needs a minimum transaction of ₹200 and is capped at ₹100 per statement cycle
- AU's MITC prices its forex markup at 3.49%, but the card is virtual and AU's FAQ limits it to domestic merchants via UPI, so it is not a card for spending abroad
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / valid address proof
- 📄Existing AU Small Finance Bank credit card
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Statement credit / cashback adjustment
- 🎁Online rewards catalogue (vouchers, merchandise)
What your Cashback are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Direct cash adjustment — no conversion
It is not a standalone or first-card product — AU's own FAQ confirms it is exclusively for existing AU Small Finance Bank credit cardholders (currently a select base only), and it shares its credit limit with that existing card rather than adding fresh limit.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to already have an AU Bank credit card to get InstaPay?
What does it earn?
Is it lifetime free?
Will I receive a physical InstaPay card?
How has the AU InstaPay Credit Card changed over time?
Has the AU InstaPay Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the AU InstaPay Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the AU InstaPay Credit Card change in 2026?
The bottom line
A useful convenience add-on, not a starter card. Because it rides on your existing AU credit relationship, approval isn't about clearing an income or CIBIL bar from scratch — you already did that for your primary card. The value here is the virtual, instant-issuance UPI link and lifetime-free status; the ₹100 monthly cashback cap keeps rewards small, so treat it as a companion to your main AU card, not an earner in its own right.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 1 earn rule, 1 of them capped and 1 recorded perk.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the AU InstaPay Credit Card are taken from AU Small Finance Bank's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page. Last updated 11 Oct 2026. Reviewed by Devchandra Sah. Always confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. How we research →
Independence. CardAdvisor is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or authorised to act for AU Small Finance Bank. All issuer names, product names, and payment-network marks are the property of their respective owners and appear here for identification and comparison only. Card faces shown on this site are our own original illustrations — we do not display or host issuer card artwork or logos.
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Guides and reviews related to this card.
AU InstaPay Credit Card
A lifetime-free, fully virtual RuPay card that AU issues only to its own existing credit cardholders — it shares your primary AU card's limit and exists to give that relationship a UPI-linked face. It pays 1% cashback on UPI spends at everyday categories, capped at ₹100 a statement cycle, plus a fuel surcharge waiver. Judge it as a companion card, not a first card and not a rewards card: the ₹100 cap keeps the earning nominal by design.
AU NOMO Credit Card
A secured card issued against a fixed deposit — so no income or credit history is needed — that still earns like an unsecured rewards card: 2 points per ₹100 on retail, a 500-point welcome and quarterly milestones. Its real standout is a rare 0.99% foreign-currency markup that even many premium cards can't match. At ₹199 (not lifetime-free), it's an unusually capable credit-builder — and because it is issued on Visa, that markup works wherever Visa is accepted abroad.
Value timeline
Every real-world change to this card's rewards, fees and benefits we've tracked — newest first, each linked to its source.
Tracking since 2023 · last change Jul 2026
2026
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Jul 2026
Fuel fair-usage terms tightened — trigger halved, levy on the whole aggregate
1% fair-usage charge once monthly fuel spends exceeded 50% of the credit limit or ₹50,000→1% on the entire aggregate once a single fuel transaction exceeds ₹10,000 or monthly fuel spends exceed ₹25,000
From 1 July 2026 AU tightened its fuel fair-usage charge: the trigger dropped from ₹50,000 of aggregate fuel spend in a calendar month to ₹25,000 (or a single fuel transaction above ₹10,000), and the 1% charge is now levied on the entire aggregate fuel spend for the month rather than the portion above the threshold. Fair-usage charges do not apply to international transactions. The complimentary fuel-surcharge waiver bands are unchanged.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ FeeEffective 14 Jun 2026
New 1% fair-usage charge on transportation spends
No transportation fair-usage charge→1% on the entire aggregate once monthly transportation spends exceed 50% of the credit limit or ₹25,000, whichever is lower
From 14 June 2026 AU levies a 1% fair-usage charge when aggregate transportation spends (MCC 4111, 4112 and 4784 — local commuter transport, passenger rail and tolls) in a calendar month exceed 50% of the credit limit or ₹25,000, whichever is lower. The charge applies to the entire aggregate transportation spend for the month, not just the excess. IRCTC and select marquee travel partners are excluded, international transactions are out of scope, and AU exempts the ixigo AU co-brand variants entirely. This charge is separate from (and adds to) the April 2026 removal of reward-point earning on transportation MCCs.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2024
- ▼ FeeEffective 15 Aug 2024
Fair-usage fee added on high fuel/utility spend
AU introduced a 1% fee on fuel spend exceeding 50% of the credit limit or ₹50,000/month, and on utility spend exceeding ₹50,000/month, across its personal card range (Zenith+ was the sole exemption). InstaPay's own ₹100/cycle cashback cap and small ticket-size design make this a low-relevance clause in practice, but it is part of the card's current terms.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
2023
- ◆ LaunchEffective 2023
AU InstaPay launches as a virtual, instant-issuance UPI cashback card
AU introduced InstaPay as a virtual-only card (no physical card issued) with instant approval via the AU 0101 app, ChatBot, IVR or website, paying 1% cashback on UPI spends at departmental stores, dining, pharmacy and grocery (capped ₹100/cycle). AU's own FAQ states it is "exclusively available to our existing Credit cardholders* at AU Small Finance Bank... currently applicable for the select base only" — an upgrade/companion product for AU's existing cardholder base rather than a standalone first-time-applicant card.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: Reconstructed
Each change links to the issuer's own document — bank T&C, MITC, notice, press release or product page — where one is public. Where the bank published nothing, it's marked CardAdvisor Research and verified against the card's current terms. Independent of the live terms shown above. This timeline is one card's slice of our market-wide change record across every tracked card.
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Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/au-instapay#value-timeline">AU InstaPay Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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Applications are submitted to and decided by AU Small Finance Bank. CardAdvisor does not issue cards or process applications.