MUMBAI: Forex spending by Indians dropped 14% to $2.4 billion in Oct from $2.8 billion in the previous month. The decline in international spending occurred even as domestic spending through electronic channels peaked during the festive month.
According to RBI data, Indians spent $2.4 billion overseas in Oct, the lowest since June 2024. The highest monthly forex spending was $3.9 billion in June 2023, before tax-collection-at-source (TCS) norms came into effect. Of the total spending in Oct, $1.5 billion was toward travel, followed by $284 million for maintaining close relatives and $221 million for fees.

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The drop in forex spending coincided with a rise in domestic spending, with digital payments and card payments reaching new highs in Oct 2024. Spending through domestic credit cards crossed Rs 2 lakh crore during the month, while UPI transactions totalled Rs 23.4 lakh crore. However, Nov witnessed a sharp drop in spending across all channels. According to RBI data, the volume of credit card transactions at shops fell 7%, while the value of transactions dropped 14% to Rs 68,233 crore. Online transactions, which had peaked in Oct, declined by 11% in volume terms and 17% in value to Rs 1,01,061 crore. Similarly, the value of debit card transactions also fell.
In Nov 2024, UPI transactions declined compared to the previous month. The total transaction volume fell by 6.6% to 1,548 crore transactions, down from 1,658 crore in Oct. The overall transaction value decreased by 8.3% to Rs 21.55 lakh crore, compared to Rs 23.50 lakh crore in Oct.