The pre-paid card -- Thomas Cook Visa Travel Money card (VTM) -- will be available at the company's 33 forex offices in 14 cities in the country, Thomas Cook (India) CEO and managing director Ashwini Kakkar said.

Kakkar said customers can choose the amount in dollars to be put on the VTM card depending on the customer's foreign exchange entitlement. The card can be loaded with any amount between $250 and $15,000. On returning to India, one can surrender the balance amount on the card and Thomas Cook will refund the equivalent amount in rupees without any commission, he added.

The card entitles the holder to withdraw money in local currency from more than 440,000 Visa ATMs in 117 countries. The card is protected by a personal identification number (PIN) for safety. "The VTM is backed by a 24-hour helpline service.The card can be quickly replaced if lost or stolen, as with travellers cheques," Kakkar said.

Clarifying that the VTM is not a credit card, Kakkar said it will not have an upfront fee.

"The VTM is one of our initiatives world-wide to enhance our foreign exchange business. Given the increase in the usage of plastic money within India, there will be an obvious increase in the comfort level for using this card abroad, duly supported by the Visa network worldwide," Kakkar added.

Thomas Cook (India) chairman Pradip Madhavji said Thomas Cook, UK, the parent company, and Carlson Hospitality group, UK, will enter into a strategic alliance by the year-end.

The merger deal will help the Indian operations of Thomas Cook and Carlson group to claim a major share of about 500,000 tourists from the UK annually, he added.

Thomas Cook, UK, holds 40 per cent holding in Thomas Cook (India) while the State Bank of India (SBI) holds 15 per cent. The balance is held by the public.