In-depth review
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.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
1% on Other
1% base cashback (monies) on eligible spends including UPI/QR. The redemption rate is banded on your monies balance — 1% up to ₹3L, 1.5% to ₹5L, 2% above ₹5L, and 3% only with BOTH ₹5L in monies and a ₹5L average quarterly balance — so essentially everyone earns the 1% band
Zero Forex Markup — but no rewards abroad
No markup on international spends, but they earn nothing on this card, so a purchase abroad costs no extra and returns nothing.
Lifetime Free
No annual fee — ever. Keep this card long-term without any recurring cost.
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.
First-time and UPI-first users who want a free card for everyday QR-code spends, occasional international online shopping (zero forex), and credit-building, and who are happy to open a slice savings account first. Not a high-cashback or premium-rewards card.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 28 Sept 2026.
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | cashback | 1% | — |
Other: 1% base cashback (monies) on eligible spends including UPI/QR. The redemption rate is banded on your monies balance — 1% up to ₹3L, 1.5% to ₹5L, 2% above ₹5L, and 3% only with BOTH ₹5L in monies and a ₹5L average quarterly balance — so essentially everyone earns the 1% band
Earns nothing on: International · Rent · Fuel · Wallet Loads · Insurance · Education · Government & Tax · EMI Conversions · Cash Advances · Online Gaming
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 28 Sept 2026.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | Lifetime free |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.5% p.m. |
| Forex markupInternational spends are excluded from rewards on this card, so a purchase abroad costs no extra but earns nothing. A card with a small markup that still earns can work out better overseas. | 0% |
Should you get it?
- Best for: First-time card user building a credit score, UPI-first spender wanting a free card for QR payments, Occasional international online shopper (zero forex)
- 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, UPI-first card for everyday QR payments
- Zero forex markup on international spends (which earn no Monies)
- slice in 3 — two or three interest-free instalments on purchases of ₹2,000 or more
- Reports to CIBIL — useful for building credit history
✕ Cons
- The "up to 3%" needs very large balances; realistic everyday earn is ~1%
- No lounge access or premium perks — an entry/credit-building card
- Virtual-first card managed in the slice app
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / valid address proof
- 📄Income proof — salary slips (salaried) or ITR (self-employed)
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Redeem Monies as cash into your slice savings account
- 🎁Earn on UPI transactions via linked apps
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 advertised "up to 3%" needs roughly ₹5 lakh in unredeemed Monies and ₹5 lakh average balance, so the real everyday earn is ~1% — fine for a free first card, not a rewards engine.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use slice on UPI?
Is the slice card lifetime free?
What is slice in 3?
Do I need a slice savings account to get the card?
Does slice earn cashback on international spends?
What cashback does it actually earn?
Does it help build credit?
How has the slice UPI Credit Card changed over time?
Has the slice UPI Credit Card been devalued recently?
How did the slice UPI Credit Card change in 2025?
The bottom line
slice is a strong free, UPI-first first card: ~1% on everyday scans, zero forex on international online spends, a handy pay-in-3 option, and clean CIBIL reporting for credit-building. The "up to 3%" is largely theoretical for normal balances, so judge it on the ~1% base — within that, it is one of the best entry-level UPI cards going.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 1 earn rule and the spends listed as earning nothing.
Last updated 28 Sept 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the slice UPI Credit Card are taken from slice's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page. Last updated 28 Sept 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 slice. 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
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Guides and reviews related to this card.
The State of Indian Credit Cards 2026: We Analysed 280 Cards. Here's What the Marketing Doesn't Tell You
An original data study of all 280 active Indian credit cards. Only 1 in 6 is genuinely lifetime-free, nearly two in three charge the maximum 3.5% forex markup, and the average 'reward rate' is inflated by nearly half over the cash you actually get back. Full methodology and tables included — free to cite.
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.
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.
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 2019 · last change Jul 2025
2025
- ▲ BenefitEffective 1 Jul 2025
slice relaunches as a lifetime-free RuPay UPI credit card
UPI-first prepaid + term loans→Bank-issued RuPay UPI credit card
slice launched its flagship UPI credit card (press dated 1 July 2025) — a lifetime-free RuPay card linked to UPI, up to 3% cashback (realistically ~1% for normal balances), zero forex markup on international spends, and "slice in 3" interest-free instalments. As a bank-issued unsecured card it reports to CIBIL; opened to all users after a phased rollout.
Verification: slice ↗ · Confidence: High
- ◆ BenefitEffective 14 May 2025
Merged bank renamed slice Small Finance Bank
The RBI notified the change of name from "North East Small Finance Bank Limited" to "slice Small Finance Bank Limited" on 14 May 2025 (Gazette 16 May 2025), giving the merged entity the slice brand as a licensed small finance bank and the issuer of record for the new slice card.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
2024
- ◆ BenefitEffective 27 Oct 2024
slice completes merger with North East Small Finance Bank
slice completed its merger with North East Small Finance Bank effective 27 October 2024 — a rare case of an Indian fintech becoming a regulated bank. The banking licence gave slice the ability to issue a genuine credit card and report to the credit bureaus, setting up its return to a real credit product.
Verification: slice ↗ · Confidence: High
- ◆ BenefitEffective 5 Feb 2024
slice opens its UPI-first prepaid account to all users
Rebuilding around UPI after the credit-line ban, slice rolled out to all users a virtual prepaid account with an @slice UPI handle — pay by UPI or card, auto-reload the balance — completing its shift from a credit card to a UPI-first prepaid-and-lending app. The pivot began with new products (slice Mini/Borrow/UPI) in late 2022.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
2022
- ▼ BenefitEffective 20 Jun 2022
RBI PPI circular ends the credit-on-prepaid model
Credit line loaded onto a prepaid card→Term-loan "Purchase Power" + prepaid account
The RBI's 20 June 2022 directive barred non-bank prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) from being loaded with credit lines. slice had to stop issuing its credit-line-backed prepaid card and moved lending to a term-loan "Purchase Power" model, disrupting the product's original credit-card-like experience.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · 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.
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Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/slice#value-timeline">slice UPI Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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