Thomas Cook India adds Delhi airport forex counters as digital transactions climb
In Q1 FY27, Thomas Cook India opened forex counters at Delhi Airport, closed three branches and expanded its prepaid card portfolio to 28 currencies. WhatsApp forex transaction value rose 84% YoY to over ₹1.026 billion, while video-KYC transactions exceeded 1,500.
What happened
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd · Thomas Cook India reported Q1 FY27 digital forex growth, opened Delhi Airport forex counters, closed three branches and expanded its
Key facts
- FCNR(B) USD deposit interest rates: up to 7.1% p.a., versus historical 3%-4%
- FCNR(B) deposit tenor: 3-5 years
- WhatsApp forex transactions: over ₹1,026 million, up 84% YoY from ₹559 million
- App bookings: over 840, versus 223
- Website bookings: over 1,200, up 38% YoY from 866
- Video KYC transactions: over 1,500, versus 160
- Digital adoption via DFC and FX Mate: 23.5%, versus 21.6%
- Prepaid Forex Card portfolio: 28 currencies, including 16 newly added currencies
- Consolidated total income: ₹21,530 million, down 12% YoY
- Consolidated PBT: ₹885 million, down 21% YoY
- Group EBIT excluding DEI and Desert Adventures: up 8% YoY
- Cash and short-term investments: ₹26,488 million as of June 30, 2026, versus ₹26,162 million as of March 31, 2026
Why this matters
The shift toward airport-led, assisted-digital forex distribution makes airport-concession partnerships, KYC-tech capabilities and prepaid-card ecosystems attractive partnership or acquisition targets.
What to watch
- Quarterly growth in WhatsApp forex value and whether transaction counts rise alongside average ticket size.
- Video-KYC completion rates, turnaround time and conversion from KYC to funded card or currency purchase.
- Net branch closures versus airport-counter openings and disclosed changes in forex operating margins.
- Growth in prepaid-card issuance, active-card rates, reload frequency and share of transactions conducted after the initial trip.
- Expansion of airport concessions beyond Delhi, especially Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.
- RBI changes to digital KYC, outward remittance, prepaid instruments or foreign-exchange distribution rules.
- Competitor moves by banks, fintechs and online travel platforms on multicurrency cards, FX spreads and airport pickup.
- Cross-sell attachment rates for travel insurance, visas and holiday bookings among digital forex customers.
- Add airport forex counters at other high-volume international gateways and selectively reduce low-productivity city branches.
- Push WhatsApp journeys from enquiry to KYC, payment, card issuance, reloads and post-trip FX buyback.
- Bundle the 28-currency prepaid card with holiday packages, visa services, insurance and airport services to increase customer lifetime value.
- Use video-KYC capacity to target smaller cities where full branches are uneconomic but assisted trust remains important.
- Introduce app or WhatsApp-led rate alerts, pre-order pickup slots and airport-counter inventory visibility to convert digital intent into physical fulfilment.
- Prioritise corporate travel and student-travel forex programs, where recurring card reloads can improve digital repeat rates.