As Indian travellers pivot towards Asia and adopt digital payments,
Thomas Cook (India) Limited
is doubling down on prepaid forex cards, expanding its offering to 28 currencies to capture a growing shift away from cash.
The company’s latest move comes amid a structural change in outbound travel patterns, with demand moving from traditional US and Europe-heavy itineraries to destinations across Southeast Asia and emerging markets, largely attributed to geopolitical shifts. This shift is also reshaping how Indians spend abroad.
“We are seeing a clear movement from west to east in travel,” Deepesh Varma, chief business officer for Foreign Exchange at Thomas Cook India tells Fortune India. “Countries like Vietnam, Bali, Thailand and China are seeing strong demand, and customers need access to local currencies that are not easily available.”
While global uncertainties persist, travel demand itself has remained resilient. “Travel never gets cancelled. It gets delayed or shifts to another destination,” Varma says, noting that geopolitical developments are prompting travellers to re-route and shift destinations rather than cancel plans altogether.
The company has added 16 new currencies, including the Chinese yuan, Vietnamese dong and Indonesian rupiah, taking its total to 28. This addresses a long-standing friction in forex usage where travellers often relied on US dollar cards and incurred double conversion costs when transacting in local currencies. The expanded suite of 28 currencies is available across both Visa and Mastercard prepaid forex cards.
“What we realised is that these currencies are expensive to import and not freely available. Customers were loading US dollars and then paying cross-currency charges. By adding these currencies, we are making it more cost efficient and seamless,” Varma says.
The expansion also aligns with a broader shift towards digital payments among Indian travellers. Prepaid forex cards now account for 55% to 60% of usage among leisure travellers, up from about 30% to 35% four to five years ago. Among corporate travellers, adoption is even higher at 80% to 85%.
Speed, convenience and security are further driving this change. “The fear of losing cash, the ability to reload instantly and the ease of use across hotels, restaurants and transport are key factors,” Varma says.
Average ticket sizes per card currently range between $600 and $1,000, with usage spanning retail spending, hospitality and mobility services. The company is also seeing rising traction in low-value transactions through integrations such as Google Pay, particularly among younger consumers.
The forex card market in India is estimated at $3 billion to $3.5 billion, leaving significant headroom for growth. Thomas Cook India expects the current expansion to drive both market share and wallet share gains, although the company did not disclose specific targets.
Demand is also becoming more geographically diverse within India. About 60% of forex demand comes from Tier-1 cities, with the remaining 40% from Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets. The company is expanding its physical distribution in smaller cities while scaling digital channels, including partnerships that enable card delivery within minutes and activation within an hour.
Customer segments remain evenly split, with leisure and student travellers accounting for roughly half of demand and corporate travellers making up the rest.
Looking ahead, the company expects digital forex usage to continue gaining share, even as cash retains a role. “There will always be demand for cash, but digital adoption is increasing every year. Our focus is to keep innovating within the regulatory framework,” Varma adds.
With outbound travel diversifying and payment preferences evolving, forex cards are emerging as a central lever in the travel ecosystem, moving beyond a transactional product to a strategic growth driver.
