Cash
Before you leave this building, get your hands on some Indian rupees. The airport exchange counters will not give you the best rate. Airport exchanges never do; it’s a universal law of travel, as reliable as gravity.
But you need cash for auto-rickshaws, street food, small shops, and — most critically — a taxi to your hotel if you haven’t pre-booked one.
Check the going rate before you leave home so you have a rough sense of when you’re being fleeced versus merely shortchanged.
The silver lining: thanks to the rupee’s ongoing slide against most major currencies, your dollars, euros, or yen will stretch further here than they did even a year ago. That fancy five-star hotel dinner for two? About $75. A taxi from the airport to the city centre? Roughly $13.
Delhi has many talents, and separating you from your money is one of them — but the exchange rate, at least, is on your side.
Credit Cards
Visa and Mastercard are accepted at most hotels, malls, and upscale restaurants — essentially anywhere with air-conditioning and a menu in English.
They will not work at street stalls, auto-rickshaws, or the countless small shops where the card machine is perpetually “out of order, sir.”
Some establishments will also slap on a 2% surcharge, cheerfully passing the transaction fee on to you like a hot potato.
UPI
India’s great currency-digital leapfrog. Nearly every vendor in Delhi has a QR code you can scan to pay instantly. So do all the people I mentioned who don’t accept credit cards.
The catch? Most UPI apps require an Indian bank account.
However, an app called CheQ offers a workaround for foreigners, letting you preload money and pay via UPI across the country. Look into it before you land; if it works for you, it’s like having a cheat code for Indian commerce.
ATMs
Available inside the airport. Withdraw enough to cover your first twenty-four hours — around ₹10,000 (roughly $100), which will comfortably get you to your hotel and fed.
Don’t carry more than that; you’re not buying a horse. ATMs are everywhere in the city, and most international cards work without fuss. Trustworthy Indian banks include HDFC, ICICI, and Axis, or HSBC, DBS, and Standard Chartered if you prefer the international names — though their branches are rarer than a quiet street in Old Delhi.
• • •
Right. Papers sorted. SIM purchased. Rupees in pocket. Bags in hand.
It’s finally time to leave the cocoon of the airport and step into your great Indian adventure. Don’t be afraid but...
Godspeed.
