Mumbai : As Indian travellers become increasingly global and digitally adept, expectations around overseas payments are evolving rapidly. Convenience, security and speed have become central considerations, particularly amid shorter booking cycles and a growing preference for cash‑light travel. Today’s global Indian traveller seeks secure, transparent and seamless payment solutions that work effortlessly across destinations. Responding to these shifts, Thomas Cook (India) Limited – India’s leading omnichannel foreign exchange services company, has announced a significant expansion of its prepaid Forex Card portfolio to 28 currencies, with the addition of 16 new global currencies – creating one of India’s widest currency portfolios on a prepaid forex card. This move reinforces the Company’s leadership in travel and forex innovation, aligned with its focus on enabling smarter, secure and more efficient international travel experiences.
Indians have become increasingly experimental in their choice of holiday destinations, especially post-covid, driving strong demand across emerging international markets. However, local currency for many of these destinations is not always readily available. This often forces multiple currency conversions, from INR to USD and then to the local currency, resulting in higher costs and inconvenience. Thomas Cook India’s expanded prepaid Forex Card portfolio addresses this gap by enabling travellers to load and spend directly in local currencies, eliminate multiple conversions and access a secure, seamless alternative to cash.
The newly added 16 currencies include: Chinese Yuan, Swedish Krona, Vietnamese Dong, Malaysian Ringgit, Indonesian Rupiah, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar, Qatari Riyal, Norwegian Krone, Omani Riyal, Kuwaiti Dinar, Bahraini Dinar, Bangladeshi Taka, South African Rand, South Korean Wo, Philippine Peso and complement the Company’s existing suite of 12 currencies – US Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Japanese Yen, Singapore Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, UAE Dirham, Thai Baht, Saudi Riyal and New Zealand Dollar. Notably, the inclusion of currencies such as the Chinese Yuan reflects the growing relevance of destinations aligned with strengthening bilateral relations, increased trade flows and expanding air connectivity, underlining Thomas Cook India’s commitment to staying ahead of evolving travel patterns.
The expanded suite of 28 currencies is available across both Visa and Mastercard prepaid forex cards, ensuring seamless global acceptance. Customers can purchase and load currencies through Thomas Cook India’s extensive omnichannel network, including its retail outlets, digital platforms, and via its partnership with Blinkit—enabling customers to buy and load forex on their prepaid cards in under an hour. Additionally, Thomas Cook India’s Forex on WhatsApp provides 24×7 forex services assistance, from live rate to end-to-end transactions for today’s on-the-go, always connected consumer.
The prepaid Forex Cards also support contactless payments, allowing travellers to transact seamlessly at international merchant outlets, including compatibility with digital wallet integrations such as Google Pay on enabled POS terminals.
Mr. Deepesh Varma, Chief Business Officer – Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said, “At Thomas Cook India, innovation and customer-centricity are at the core of our offerings. We are witnessing strong and sustained growth in travel demand from Indian consumers to emerging and short-haul destinations across Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond. Our expansion to 28 currencies for our prepaid Forex Cards is a direct response to evolving travel patterns, enabling our customers to transact seamlessly in local currencies while benefiting from greater transparency and cost efficiency.
Importantly, this initiative also supports our strategic focus on driving a digital-first approach to forex usage—shift from cash towards secure, smarter prepaid solutions. Additionally, through our partnership with Blinkit, we have further enhanced convenience by enabling customers to buy and load forex on their prepaid cards in under an hour—delivering speed, flexibility and ease to today’s digitally savvy and globally mobile Indian traveller.”
Mr. Ravi Datla, Senior Vice President, Customer Solutions, South Asia at Mastercard, said, “As international travel from India diversifies into newer and emerging markets, access to simple, secure and widely accepted payment solutions becomes increasingly critical. Mastercard’s deep expertise in cross-border payments, coupled with our global acceptance network, enables seamless transactions across geographies and currencies. Thomas Cook India’s expanded prepaid forex card suite, now offering access to 28 currencies, builds on this strength by allowing travellers to transact directly in local currencies, reducing the need for multiple conversions. The result is a truly cash-light, transparent and secure payment experience that delivers consistent convenience and confidence wherever their journeys take them.”
Mr. Sridhar Keppurengan, Head of Cross-Border Payments, India and South Asia, Visa, added, “Our cross-border strategy is rooted in creating seamless, secure, and accessible payment solutions for travellers. The expansion of Thomas Cook Visa forex card portfolio to 28 currencies further leverages our vast international footprint and extends the same security, transparency, and convenience to cardholders making cross border transactions. This offering is yet another pivotal step in our broader vision to foster global connectivity for the Indian consumer, through continued innovation and service excellence.”
About Thomas Cook (India) Limited:
Set up in 1881, Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) is the leading omnichannel travel company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services including Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel and Value Added Services. It operates leading B2C and B2B brands including Thomas Cook, SOTC, TCI, SITA, Asian Trails, Allied TPro, Australian Tours Management, Desert Adventures, Travel Circle International Limited (TCI 勝景遊), Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, Distant Frontiers, TC Tours, Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI), Go Vacation, Private Safaris East & South Africa.
As one of the largest travel service provider networks headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, The Thomas Cook India Group spans 28 countries across 5 continents.
TCIL has been felicitated with ET Edge’s Best Organizations for Women (BOW) 2026, MICE Powerhouse at MaxiiiMICE Awards 2025, Outbound Travel Operator of the Year (2024) and MICE Travel Operator of the Year (2024 & 2023) at The Economic Times Travel & Tourism Annual Awards, MICE Travel Agency (Outbound) at the Economic Times MICE & Wedding Tourism Awards 2024, ‘Masters of Risk – Travel & Hospitality’ at India Risk Management Awards 2024, MICE Tour Operator of the Year – Outbound at SATTE 2024, Best Tour Operator at India Travel Awards North 2023, winner of the Corporate Citizen Award (Travel Tourism & Hospitality) at the Corporate Citizen Conclave & Award 2023, The Outbound Tour Operator of the Year 2022 at the SATTE Awards, IAMAI India Digital Awards 2022, CNBC-TV18 & ICICI Lombard India Risk Management Award – Travel & Leisure Category 2022 & 2021, CIO100 Award for digital innovation 2022.
CRISIL has reaffirmed the rating on debt programs and bank facilities of TCIL – ‘CRISIL AA/Stable’ on the long-term bank facilities of TCIL and ‘CRISIL A1+’ rating on the short-term bank facilities and short- term debt of the company. The highest rating for a travel & tourism company in India.