Indian travellers are increasingly shifting towards digital and self-service foreign exchange solutions, with forex cards and online transactions gaining momentum across leisure, corporate and overseas education travel, according to the India Forex Report 2026 released by Thomas Cook (India).
The report analyses forex transaction data recorded between April 2025 and March 2026 and highlights changing consumer behaviour, including stronger demand from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, shorter purchase cycles and growing preference for convenient digital payment options.
Leisure travel continues to account for the largest share of forex demand at 57%, followed by corporate travel at 27% and overseas education at 16%. While Tier 1 cities contribute 47% of demand, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities together account for 53%, indicating a broader geographic expansion of India's outbound travel market.
Digital Forex Adoption Accelerates
Digital channels now account for 25% of forex transactions, while branch-assisted transactions make up the remaining 75%. Self-service or DIY platform usage has increased by 50% year-on-year over the past two years, reflecting travellers' growing comfort with managing forex purchases online.
The time between purchasing forex and departure has also shortened significantly. Travellers who previously purchased foreign currency around 10-14 days before departure are now typically doing so four to seven days before travel. The average value of a digital transaction stands at approximately Rs 76,000.
Younger travellers are contributing significantly to this shift. Consumers aged 18-24 are emerging as the fastest adopters of digital-first forex services through mobile apps, websites, WhatsApp and quick-commerce platforms.
Cash Still Dominates Leisure Travel
Despite the rise of digital payments, cash continues to play an important role in overseas leisure travel. Cash accounts for around 75% of leisure forex transactions, while cards account for 25%.
However, forex cards represent 39% of the total load value, suggesting that travellers are increasingly using cards for planned international spending. Contactless and online transactions together account for 57% of forex card usage.
The US Dollar remains the most in-demand foreign currency, accounting for 49% of forex demand. Europe-linked currencies represent 23%, followed by Asia at 11% and the Middle East at 9%. Demand is also increasing for destination-specific currencies such as the Thai Baht, UAE Dirham, Singapore Dollar, Malaysian Ringgit and Vietnamese Dong.
Corporate Travellers Prefer Forex Cards
Corporate travel is showing an even stronger preference for card-based forex solutions. Forex cards account for 84% of corporate forex usage, with multi-currency cards representing 76% of card usage.
The IT and IT-enabled services sector contributes the largest share of corporate forex demand at 45%, followed by automotive and auto-ancillary businesses at 14%. Europe remains the leading corporate travel region, accounting for 45% of demand, followed by North America at 23% and Asia at 19%.
Education Forex Demand Diversifies
The overseas education segment is also witnessing changing destination preferences. Europe accounts for 38% of education-related forex demand, followed by the US at 34%, Australia at 10%, Canada and the UAE at 3% each.
University fees remain the largest component of education-related forex outflows, accounting for 81%, while living expenses represent the remaining 19%.
The findings indicate that India's forex market is becoming increasingly digital, diversified and convenience-driven. Rising participation from smaller cities, younger digital-first consumers and corporate travellers is expected to further accelerate the adoption of self-service platforms and card-based international payments.
