Thomas Cook India becomes first Forex Card provider in India to enable contactless Cross-Border payments in partnership with Google Pay & Visa

Mumbai, July 24, 2025: In a strategic initiative, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, India’s leading omnichannel forex services company, has announced its partnership with Google Pay to facilitate contactless payments via its range of prepaid forex cards. This makes Thomas Cook India the first in India in the cross-border payments category to enable customers transact effortlessly using their mobile devices across retail tap & pay (contactless) or online - using Google Pay. Thomas Cook’s cardholders are assured an extra layer of security via Google Pay’s state-of-the-art network tokenisation standards.

The launch commences via Thomas Cook’s partnership with Visa.

The growing adoption of digital payments across India’s travel segments, from business to leisure and particularly Millennials and GenZ, highlights a significant market opportunity. India’s rapid shift toward contactless payments is evident, with the Government of India’s data revealing that UPI processed 16.58 billion transactions worth INR 23.49 lakh crore as of October 2024 - 45% increase over the previous year. Thomas Cook’s forex data underscores the growing importance of digital solutions with a noteworthy 20%+ contribution by its digital platforms – via its portal, apps to forex by whatsapp.

Given the increasing need for seamless digital solutions in cross-border transactions, Thomas Cook’s partnership with Google Pay aims at equipping India’s consumers when traveling overseas – across transactions for accommodation, transport, dining, shopping and more. Customers merely need to add their Thomas Cook forex cards (Borderless Travel, One Currency, Study Buddy and EnterpriseFX) to Google Pay, to enjoy a simple, swift, secure and seamless payment experience.

Key Benefits:

· Seamless addition of Thomas Cook’s range of forex prepaid cards to Google Pay

· Contactless and quick payments via mobile

· Enhanced security with tokenization

· Eliminates the need to carry physical cards, reducing stress of card loss/theft; avoids the hassle of card replacement and need for emergency cash

· Global access – transact smoothly and seamlessly in 95 countries

Mr. Deepesh Varma, Executive Vice President - Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said, "India today represents the youngest demography, the fastest growing major economy and the fastest growing digital economy all at once. This macro-confluence is constantly driving higher expectations from payment service providers to facilitate faster, seamless, safe payments globally - via technology enabled solutions.

Our partnership with Google Pay & Visa, is tailor made for these Global Indians - by simply adding their Thomas Cook forex cards to their Google Pay wallet, they can now seamlessly and securely, complete contactless, cross border transactions using their mobile devices across retail tap & pay POS or online. In addition to the unmatched convenience, our cardholders are also assured an extra layer of security via Google Pay’s state-of-the-art network tokenisation standards”

Mr. Rishi Chhabra, Country Manager, India Visa, said, “We are thrilled to introduce Visa’s contactless payment technology on Thomas Cook Forex Cards, empowering customers to make secure and seamless Mobile Tap & Pay transactions. As overseas travel surges, especially among millennials and Gen Z there is a growing demand for safe, ultra-fast payment experiences. With this collaboration, Visa reaffirms its commitment to delivering cutting-edge digital payment solutions that offer today’s travelers unmatched convenience, security, and peace of mind, right from their smartphones.”

*T&C Apply

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, Value Added Services, and Visa 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), 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 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 upgraded 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.

For more information, please visit www.thomascook.in

Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius) Limited, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, is the promoter of TCIL with a shareholding of 63.83% of its paid-up capital.