In-depth review
Kiwi RuPay Credit Card
Kiwi is a lifetime-free RuPay card built to earn cashback when you scan a UPI QR code in the Kiwi app — one of the few cards that pays on the small everyday payments most cards ignore. The catch every reader needs upfront: the free card earns roughly 1–1.5%, and the advertised 'up to 5%' is not free. It needs the paid Kiwi Neon tier (₹999 plus GST a year), which Kiwi offers only to select YES and AU cardholders, plus ₹1.5 lakh of spend in the membership year. Judge it as a ~1% free UPI card unless you spend heavily.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
1% on Other
1.5% on scan-and-pay in the Kiwi app (6 Kiwis/₹100 at ₹0.25), 0.5% online, ~1% blended (modelled); only Kiwi-app payments earn. Monthly Kiwis capped at 1% of your credit limit. Paid tiers for select users, Neon ₹999+GST/yr (up to 5% on milestones) and Boost ₹49+GST/quarter (1% online)
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 ₹250/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.
UPI-first users who will pay through the Kiwi app and want a free card that earns on everyday QR-code spends. A practical secondary card for daily UPI; if Kiwi offers you the Neon tier, it pays for itself only at high UPI volume.
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% | — |
Other: 1.5% on scan-and-pay in the Kiwi app (6 Kiwis/₹100 at ₹0.25), 0.5% online, ~1% blended (modelled); only Kiwi-app payments earn. Monthly Kiwis capped at 1% of your credit limit. Paid tiers for select users, Neon ₹999+GST/yr (up to 5% on milestones) and Boost ₹49+GST/quarter (1% online)
Earns nothing on: Fuel · Utility Bills · Rent · Wallet Loads · Insurance · Education · Government & Tax · Cash Advances · Tolls & Road Fees · Gift Cards & Vouchers · Jewellery
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) | 3.99% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹250 |
Should you get it?
- Best for: UPI-first spender wanting a free card for QR payments, Daily small-ticket UPI spender (groceries, local shops, auto rides), Secondary everyday-UPI card alongside a primary rewards card
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on everyday spends (1% back).
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Lifetime-free base card with instant in-app issuance
- Earns cashback on everyday UPI QR payments made in the Kiwi app, including small spends
- Pure UPI focus, designed for scan-and-pay
- Optional Neon tier (for select YES and AU cardholders) reaches up to ~5% for heavy UPI spenders
✕ Cons
- The ~5% headline needs the paid Neon tier (₹999 plus GST a year, offered only to select YES and AU cardholders) and spend milestones; the free base is ~1%
- Kiwis are paid only on payments made through the Kiwi app, and monthly Kiwis are capped at 1% of your credit limit
- Kiwi assigns the issuing bank from your profile, so you cannot choose it
- 3.5% forex markup, so not for international transactions
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar card (all YES Bank asks for, with PAN)
- 📄AU Small Finance Bank also asks for address, employment and income proof (salary slip, bank statement or ITR)
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Redeem Kiwis as cash to the bank account linked to your Kiwi UPI ID (1 Kiwi = ₹0.25)
- 🎁Redeem from 500 Kiwis (₹125), in multiples of 500
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
The ~5% rate needs the paid Neon tier, which only select YES and AU cardholders are offered, plus milestones; the free base is ~1%, Kiwis are paid only on payments made in the Kiwi app, and monthly Kiwis are capped at 1% of your credit limit.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Kiwi on UPI?
How much cashback does Kiwi earn?
Is Kiwi lifetime free?
Which bank issues the Kiwi card?
Does Kiwi waive the fuel surcharge?
How has the Kiwi RuPay Credit Card changed over time?
Has the Kiwi RuPay Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the Kiwi RuPay Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the Kiwi RuPay Credit Card change in 2026?
The bottom line
Kiwi does one thing well: it pays you to scan QR codes in its app, for free. The base ~1% is ordinary, and the up-to-5% needs the ₹999 Neon subscription, which Kiwi offers only to select YES and AU cardholders, plus milestones, so judge it on the free tier unless you spend heavily on UPI. As a lifetime-free UPI card, it is a sensible everyday top-up.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 1 earn rule and the spends listed as earning nothing.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the Kiwi RuPay Credit Card are taken from YES 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 YES 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.
Compare head-to-head
See Kiwi RuPay Credit Card compared side by side with a close alternative.
Similar & related cards
Other cards worth comparing before you apply.
AU Kosmo Credit Card
Comparable AU option
Roarbank RuPay Credit Card
Comparable UNITY option
slice UPI Credit Card
Comparable SLICE option
AU InstaPay Credit Card
Comparable AU option
Fibe Axis Bank Credit Card
Comparable AXIS option
Axis Bank SUPERMONEY RuPay Credit Card
Comparable AXIS option
Read more
Guides and reviews related to this card.
Kiwi RuPay Credit Card
Kiwi is a lifetime-free RuPay card built to earn cashback when you scan a UPI QR code in the Kiwi app — one of the few cards that pays on the small everyday payments most cards ignore. The catch every reader needs upfront: the free card earns roughly 1–1.5%, and the advertised 'up to 5%' is not free. It needs the paid Kiwi Neon tier (₹999 plus GST a year), which Kiwi offers only to select YES and AU cardholders, plus ₹1.5 lakh of spend in the membership year. Judge it as a ~1% free UPI card unless you spend heavily.
slice UPI Credit Card
slice is a lifetime-free, UPI-first RuPay credit card — and after slice's merger with North East Small Finance Bank it is now a proper unsecured credit card issued by a licensed small finance bank, reporting cleanly to CIBIL. That makes it one of the better first cards for building a score. It earns cashback ('Monies') on everyday QR scans, carries zero forex on international online spends, and includes a built-in pay-in-3. The realistic earn is ~1%; the advertised 'up to 3%' needs balances most people won't hold.
CheQ AU Credit Card
India's first LED card — a CheQ × AU Small Finance Bank co-brand that glows on every NFC tap and quotes a headline 12% on utilities paid in the CheQ app and at partner brands. The catch is the point value: 2 points = ₹1 on travel/vouchers but only 4 points = ₹1 against bills paid through CheQ, so the real return is roughly half the marketing (≈6% on app utilities, ≈2.5% on the 5% categories). Lifetime free; the optional LED (Visa) variant carries a one-time ₹999 + GST.
Best RuPay (UPI) Credit Cards in India (2026): What Actually Earns on UPI
RuPay credit cards let you pay by UPI and earn rewards — but the earn rate on a UPI-QR scan is rarely the headline rate. Here's an honest map of the best RuPay/UPI cards in 2026, the UPI earn trap to avoid, and when the RuPay version of a card beats its Visa twin.
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 Jun 2026
2026
- ◆ BenefitEffective 29 Jun 2026
Kiwi Boost, a paid three-month add-on, introduced
0.5% on online payments→1% with optional Boost (₹49 + GST per 3 months, select users)
From 29 June 2026 Kiwi offers Boost, a three-month membership at ₹49 plus GST for select users it notifies. While it is active, online payments made with the card through the Kiwi app earn 1% instead of 0.5%; scan-and-pay stays at the base rate, and the membership does not renew on its own. The free card is unchanged, so this is an optional extra rather than a change to the card itself.
Verification: Kiwi ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ FeeEffective 15 Jun 2026
Forex markup raised from 2.75% to 3.50%
2.75%→3.50%
YES Bank's master MITC (version CMITC_V18) raised the foreign-currency markup on the Klick card, the YES Bank version of Kiwi, from 2.75% to 3.50% with effect from 15 June 2026. On ₹10,000 of foreign spend that is ₹75 more, plus GST. YES Bank's older Klick fee schedule still prints 2.75%; the dated MITC governs.
Verification: YES Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ BenefitEffective 15 Jun 2026
Fuel surcharge waiver band narrowed to ₹500–₹3,000
₹400 to ₹5,000 per transaction→₹500 to ₹3,000 per transaction
The same YES Bank MITC revision narrowed the fuel transactions on which YES reverses the 1% surcharge on the Klick card, from ₹400–₹5,000 to ₹500–₹3,000, from 15 June 2026. The ₹250 cap per statement cycle is unchanged, and fuel paid through UPI gets no waiver, which matters on a card that is digital-only.
Verification: YES Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ◆ BenefitEffective 23 Apr 2026
PNB added — Kiwi's first public-sector issuer
+ Punjab National Bank
Punjab National Bank partnered with Kiwi for the lifetime-free 'PNB Kiwi' RuPay credit-on-UPI card — Kiwi's first public-sector issuing partner, aimed at PNB's large semi-urban and rural base. Cashback on UPI and online spends, with no joining or annual fee. No standalone PNB press page was verifiable, so provenance is research-tier.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
2025
- ◆ BenefitEffective 18 Sept 2025
AU Small Finance Bank added (AU KOSMO)
+ AU Small Finance Bank (KOSMO)
AU Small Finance Bank partnered with Kiwi to issue the lifetime-free RuPay 'AU KOSMO' credit-on-UPI card, widening the pool of banks that can issue a Kiwi card. Same in-app scan-and-pay cashback model — only the issuing bank differs.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
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.
</> Embed this timeline on your site
Free to use. Facts only — dates, changes and before/after values. Please keep the credit line below the frame: it's the only part search engines can see, and it's what we ask for in return.
“ Cite this timeline
Quoting a date or a before/after figure? Copy the HTML version — it credits the record with a working link.
Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/kiwi#value-timeline">Kiwi RuPay Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
Want to know if this beats your current card for your spending?
Applications are submitted to and decided by the partner bank that issues your card. CardAdvisor does not issue cards or process applications.