Travel firm Thomas Cook India partners with NPCI to launch RuPay forex card

Travel services provider Thomas Cook (India) on Tuesday said it has collaborated with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch its first RuPay prepaid forex card for Indian travellers visiting the UAE.

The partnership commences with the UAE as a pilot, which will be followed by a global rollout in a phased manner, Thomas Cook said in a statement.

Travellers can use Thomas Cook's RuPay AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) card extensively across the UAE for transactions and ATM withdrawals.

The company claimed that it is the first and the only company to have partnered with NPCI to launch RuPay AED prepaid forex card.

"This innovative Made-in-India initiative is a first-of-its-kind partnership with an Indian non-banking entity," Thomas Cook (India) Executive Vice-President - Foreign Exchange, Deepesh Varma said.

The UAE is an important global market for Thomas Cook (India) foreign exchange business and the company's card business has witnessed a significant growth, with an increase in both recharges and new prepaid card issuance by approx 1.5x in FY24, he said.

"As outbound travel from India to destinations like the UAE is on the rise, the introduction of RuPay forex card in collaboration with Thomas Cook India is a progressive step towards providing convenience and innovation in forex services," NCPI Chief of Products Kunal Kalawatia said.