Thomas Cook Forex Project

SUMMER PROJECT REPORT ON IDENTIFYING PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS FOR FOREX

Under the Guidance of Mr.Vinoth Kumar C Head Sales –Retail Business Thomas cook Forex, Chennai Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of Degree of

Master of Business Administration By

Rajkumar VR 29095

BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (School of Excellence of Bharathidasan University) TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 014

IDENTIFYING PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER FOR FOREX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I sincerely thank Thomas Cook India Ltd for providing me with an opportunity to pursue my internship at their organization. I extend my thanks to my mentor Mr.Vinoth Kumar C, Head Sales – Retail Business for providing me the necessary guidance and road map for successful completion of the project.

I am thankful to Mr. Toufeeq Naqash, Store Manager, OMR Branch,Chennai for Guiding me throughout my project.

I am grateful to the Director and all the Faculty members of BIM, Trichy, for supporting me and providing valuable guidance in all my endeavours.

RAJKUMAR VR

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Thomas cook is one of the India’s largest foreign exchange dealers in both wholesale and retail segments of the market. It is one of the few non-banking institutions to have been granted an Authorised Dealers license to deal in foreign exchange by the Reserve Bank of India. As Authorised Dealers in foreign exchange Thomas cook provide foreign exchange and payment solutions for leisure and business travellers, students going abroad for higher studies, people traveling for employment, medical treatment, emigration etc. Apart from Foreign Currencies, Thomas cook also provides Borderless Forex Prepaid cards, traveller’s Cheques, Foreign Currency Demand Drafts and also provide Money transfer Services. This Project ‘Identifying Prospective customers for Forex’ was undertaken so as to Study and Analyse the Market for Foreign Exchange transactions and to identify Prospect customers for Inward and Outward remittances.

The project started with the preliminary preparation by gaining knowledge about the products and services offered by Thomas cook Under Forex. After the background study a questionnaire was prepared to capture all the essential information required for the analysis. This was followed by an extensive census survey conducted with a wide range of existing as well as prospective customers. The Portfolio of customers included Private Visitors, Tourists, Film/Advertisement Shooting Companies, Business Travellers, Patients for Medical treatment abroad, Tour operators and Travel agents, Student Consultants, Students Going for Overseas education, Emigrants, Artists going on Cultural Tours.

The results obtained from this survey were analysed and based on the findings, recommendations were given to Thomas cook. Some critical Findings / recommendations given are as follows  Only 31 % of the prospects were making Forex Transactions through Authorised Dealers like Thomas cook. While Majority of the Prospects where Making transactions through banks. The Prospects Consider banks to be more secure and Trustworthy.

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 While there is an option of buying Exchange online and getting it door delivered, 58 % of the prospects preferred Visiting the Retail outlet to Buy foreign currencies  Only 28% of the prospects preferred Borderless prepaid cards even with its Exclusive benefits. This Pointed out the need for promoting this Forex prepaid cards.  Majority of the transactions with respect to outward remittances were for Education Purposes indicating Students and their parents as the major Customer base.  One third of the prospects were not aware of forex Services provided by Thomas cook. Several Marketing Activities and Promotions should be carried out to Increase the awareness among the customers.

As a part of the project the following marketing activities were carried out.  Visited around 40 Banks in the Mount road, Graeme’s Road and white’s road areas and collected information about their Forex Business and a database was prepared with all the contact details.  Visited the Student Education Consultancies in several prime locations in Chennai and made briefings on the services provided by Thomas Cook foreign exchange.

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Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 3 1.

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 7

1.1.

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................... 7

1.2.

Scope of the Project ............................................................................................................................ 7

1.3.

Limitations of the Project .................................................................................................................... 7

2.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 8

2.1.

Foreign Exchange Market in India: ...................................................................................................... 8

2.2.

Market Players: ................................................................................................................................... 8

2.3.

Forex Market Types:............................................................................................................................ 8

2.4.

Wholesale Forex Market: .................................................................................................................... 9

2.5.

Retail Market: ..................................................................................................................................... 9

3.

COMPANY & SERVICES....................................................................................................... 10

3.1.

Thomas Cook in Foreign Exchange: ................................................................................................... 10

3.2.

Forex Business Model: ...................................................................................................................... 10

3.3.

Products and Services ....................................................................................................................... 11

4.

OBJECTIVES & METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................... 12

4.1. Objectives: .............................................................................................................................................. 12 4.2. Methodology: ......................................................................................................................................... 12

5. 5.1.

ANALYSIS & FINDINGS........................................................................................................ 14 Sample Demographics: ...................................................................................................................... 14

5.2. Results: ............................................................................................................................................. 15 5.2.1. Purpose of Travel ........................................................................................................................... 15 5.2.2. Buying Behaviour: .......................................................................................................................... 15

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IDENTIFYING PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER FOR FOREX 5.2.3. 5.2.4. 5.2.5. 5.2.6. 5.2.7. 5.2.8. 5.2.9.

Preferred Forex Medium: .............................................................................................................. 17 Money Transfer: ............................................................................................................................. 17 Awareness about Thomas Cook: ................................................................................................... 18 Source of Awareness: ..................................................................................................................... 18 Customers Making Travel arrangements with Thomas Cook: ...................................................... 18 Customer Satisfaction: ................................................................................................................... 19 Receiving Money: ........................................................................................................................... 19

6.

RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................ 20

7.

CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 21

8.

APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... 22

Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................................ 22

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1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Purpose To study and identify the Effective Prospect Customers for Foreign Exchange at Thomas cook. The project objective includes. I. II. III.

Studying the Forex Business Carried By Thomas Cook in Retail Market. Identifying the Effective prospective customers for Inward and Outward remittances in Thomas cook through Market research Conducting Various Marketing Activities to Create awareness as well as attracting Prospective customers.

1.2. Scope of the Project Scope of the Project was Limited to Chennai City. The Respondents were Chosen Conveniently from Various Segments being identified as Prospects for Foreign Exchange.

1.3. Limitations of the Project Though the project was done with best efforts possible, there are some limitations. Due to limited time allotted to this project, few prospective customer segments were not covered, though their views might have added more value to the project.

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2. FOREIGN EXCHANGE OVERVIEW 2.1. Foreign Exchange Market in India: Foreign Exchange Market in India works under the central government in India and executes wide powers to control transactions in foreign exchange. The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 or FEMA regulates the whole foreign exchange market in India. Since the onset of liberalization, foreign exchange markets in India have witnessed explosive growth in trading capacity. The importance of the exchange rate of foreign exchange in India for the Indian economy has also been far greater than ever before. While the Indian government has clearly adopted a flexible exchange rate regime, in practice the rupee is one of most resourceful trackers of the US dollar. The Indian foreign exchange market is made up of the buyers, sellers, market mediators and the monetary authority of India. The main center of foreign exchange in India is Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country

2.2. Market Players: Players in the Indian market include (a) Authorised Dealers, mostly banks who are authorised to deal in foreign exchange, (b) foreign exchange brokers who act as intermediaries, and (c) customers – individuals, corporates, who need foreign exchange for their transactions. Authorised Dealers have been divided into different categories. All scheduled commercial banks, which include public sector banks, private sector banks and foreign banks operating in India, belong to category I of ADs. All upgraded full-fledged money changers (FFMCs) and select regional rural banks (RRBs) and co-operative banks belong to category II of ADs. Select financial institutions such as EXIM Bank belong to category III of ADs. Currently, there are 86 (Category I) Ads operating in India out of which five are co-operative banks. All merchant transactions in the foreign exchange market have to be necessarily undertaken directly through Authorised dealers.

2.3. Forex Market Types: The forex market is an OTC (Over the Counter) market without any centralized clearinghouse. It consists of two tiers. • The interbank or wholesale market, • Client or retail market.

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2.4. Wholesale Forex Market: Major Forex trading in the wholesale forex markets is undertaken by banks – popularly known as interbank market. In this market, banks and non-bank financial institutions transact with each other. They undertake trading on behalf of customers, but majority of trading is undertaken for their own account by proprietary desks. Besides banks and non-bank financial institutions, multinational corporations, hedge funds, pension and provident funds, insurance companies, mutual funds etc. participate in the wholesale market.

2.5. Retail Market: In the retail market, individuals (tourists, foreign students, patients traveling to other countries for medical treatment) small companies, small exporters and importers operate. Money transfer companies/remittance companies are also major players in the retail market. Retail traders buy/sell currency for their genuine business/personal requirements. For Example, an exporter enters into forward contract to convert foreign currency to domestic currency.

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3. COMPANY & SERVICES 3.1.

Thomas Cook in Foreign Exchange:

Thomas cook is one of the India’s largest foreign exchange dealers in both wholesale and retail segments of the market. It is one of the few non-banking institutions to have been granted an Authorised Dealers license to deal in foreign exchange by the Reserve Bank of India. As Authorised Dealers in foreign exchange Thomas cook provide foreign exchange and payment solutions for leisure and business travellers, students going abroad for higher studies, people traveling for employment, medical treatment, emigration etc.

3.2.

Forex Business Model:

Thomas Cook has been granted an authorized dealers’ license (category II) by RBI to deal in foreign exchange through its designated branches. Under this license, we have been, inter-alia, granted permission to undertake the following activities: 1. Retail purchases of foreign currencies and travellers cheques. 2. Bulk purchases/sales of foreign currencies from/to authorized dealers, money changers and franchisees. 3. Release / remittance of foreign exchange for the following activities: a. Private Visits b. Remittance by tour operators/travel agents to overseas agents/principals/hotels c. Business Travel (including for Central and State Government officials) d. Fee for participation in global conferences and specialized training e. Payment of crew wages f. Film Shooting g. Medical Treatment abroad h. Overseas Education i. Remittance under educational tie up arrangements with universities abroad j. Maintenance of close relatives abroad k. Stall rentals and participation fees in connection with participation in overseas exhibitions / fairs 4. Import and export of foreign currency and export of encashed Traveller’s Cheques 5. Maintenance of foreign currency accounts with banks abroad and undertaking forex cover operations in India and abroad. Thomas Cook provides the foreign exchange and payment solutions for:

Individual travellers  Foreign exchange for leisure outbound travellers 10


 Foreign Exchange for migration, employment, medical treatment.  Remittances for students studying abroad, gift remittances etc  Encashment services & inward remittances for inbound tourists visiting India, Non Resident / Resident Indians. Corporate    

Travel money and remittances for business travellers. On-site support for inbound tour conferences. Film production houses traveling for shoots abroad. Remittances of tour proceeds for tour operators.

Institutions Bulk purchases and sales of foreign currencies from Banks, Non-Bank Retailers and Money Changers.

3.3.

Products and Services       

Purchase and Sale of currency notes in 26 destination currencies Purchase and Sale of foreign currency denominated travellers cheques Thomas Cook Global Money Card and Citibank World Money Card as prepaid cards, which is a convenient way to carry money overseas Foreign Currency Drafts Wire transfer of Funds Remittance of money into India through MoneyGram Cash Advances against International Credit Card

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4. OBJECTIVES & METHODOLOGY 4.1. Objectives: The prime objective of the project was to identify the prospective customer segments for outward and inward remittances in Foreign Exchange and thereby to develop marketing activities in order to Increase the Customer base. Thomas cook being the leading authorised dealer in Foreign Exchange are looking forward to increase their customer base. This Project aims to identify the Prospects along with their preferences with respect to their Foreign Exchange Business.

4.2. Methodology: The Project was carried out in four stages in 8 weeks Duration.

Study & Observation

Ground work & Questionaire Preparation

Survey& Analysis

Marketing Activities

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Stage 1: For the first two weeks, the Forex Market and the company’s business in Retail market was studied. The Branch’s operations were observed to understand the Business and to learn about the various Products and Services that were being offered to the customers.

Stage 2: During the third and fourth week, the data required to develop a Questionnaire was collected and the questionnaire was prepared. The insights were gathered from several sales people from different branches.

Stage 3: Once the questionnaire was completed, the survey was conducted from a wide range of customers by directly meeting the respondents and getting filled by them manually and also through Online by sending the online survey links to the prospects Email Id’s collected from existing customer database and references. Once the Survey was completed, the results were analysed and based upon the findings several recommendations were reported.

Stage 4: Finally as a part of the project, several marketing activities were designed in order to Increase the awareness among the prospects and to increase the Customer Walk-ins into retail outlets .After discussions with other interns and the sales head, three Marketing activities were shortlisted. Visiting banks and Educational Consultants to initiate tie-ups with them and Visiting Shops in Spencer’s Shopping Mall to increase the awareness and also to direct Prospects to the Branch in the Shopping Mall.

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5. ANALYSIS & FINDINGS 5.1.

Sample Demographics:

Gender: Gender Male

78

Female

42

Total

120

Age: Age 18-25

65

26-35

43

35 +

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Occupation:

Occupation Student

40

Working professional

42

Business

33

Others

14

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5.2.

Results: 5.2.1. Purpose of Travel

A. Tourism, Education and Employment were the three major travel purposes.

5.2.2. Buying Behaviour: B. Almost 50 percent of the people do foreign Exchange transactions through Banks and 31 percent do through authorised dealers like Thomas cook.

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C. Almost 60 Percent of the customers prefer to visit the retail outlet in buying foreign Exchange and 25 Percent prefer to Booking online and collecting it from outlet. D. Only 17 Percent Prefer Door delivery

E. Most of the customers prefer to buy Forex during the last 2 weeks before Travel

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5.2.3. Preferred Forex Medium: F. Almost 50 percent of the Customers prefer buying Forex in the Form of currency notes G. 28 percent prefer Forex cards and 20% prefer Traveller’s cheques.

5.2.4. Money Transfer: H. Almost 40 percent of the customers who send money abroad are sending for Education purposes

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5.2.5. Awareness about Thomas Cook: I. 34 % of the respondents are unaware of Forex Services Provided by Thomas cook.

Highly Aware 11%

AWARENESS Don’t Know 34%

Aware 25%

Not so much 30%

5.2.6. Source of Awareness: J. Almost 33 Percent of the customers get to know about Thomas Cook Services through word of mouth.

SOURCE Internet 17%

Word of Mouth 33%

Newspaper and Magazine ads 20%

TV commercial s 17% Referral 13%

5.2.7. Customers Making Travel arrangements with Thomas Cook: K. 85% of the Customers who make travel arrangements with Thomas cook do foreign Exchange transactions through Thomas cook Forex. 18


5.2.8. Customer Satisfaction: L. Almost 50 % of the existing customers are dissatisfied with the services.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Very Satisfied 7%

very Dissatisfied 21%

Satisfied 29%

Dissatisfied 29%

Neutral 14%

5.2.9. Receiving Money: M. 15 % of the respondents both send and Receive Money from Abroad. N. Of the 40 respondents who receive money, almost 35 % receive money from abroad monthly (regularly).

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6. RECOMMENDATIONS  The Number of students who travel abroad for education has increased significantly in the recent years and they form a Prime Segment of Effective Prospects for foreign Exchange. The students not only buy Foreign exchange during departure but also use the Money Transfer Services to receive money from their family members and to pay college fees using foreign currency demand drafts. Thus by targeting this segment Thomas Cook Could foresee longer term of Business with these Customers.  Thomas cook currently has tie-ups with few of the Student Consultancies in Chennai. However by Increasing the Tie-ups with Student Consultancies, Thomas cook could reach more Students who travel abroad for education. Also they can offer certain benefits to attract students.  Majority of the Prospects where making transactions through banks. The Prospects Consider banks to be more secure and Trustworthy. Thomas cook should promote their Security features and focus on gaining the Trust of their Customers.  Thomas Cook Provides Online booking of forex and Also Offer Door delivery Services. However majority of the customers prefer buying Forex by directly visiting the retail outlet.  Currency Notes are the most preferred Forex Products among the Customers. However with Forex Prepaid Cards and Traveller’s Cheques, Thomas cook can look at longer term of business with the customers. Thomas cook should promote on the benefits offered by the Borderless Prepaid cards and create awareness among the customers.  Still a Majority of the Customers are not satisfied with the Services offered by Thomas cook. The major reasons are slower response from the sales person and Higher Margin rates. By improving the response time and decreasing the margin rates Thomas cook could increase their Customer base.

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7. CONCLUSION The Major Findings of this Project clearly indicates the need for creating an effective Customer Relationship Management System to keep track of their customer details and come up with more efficient ways to market to them. Currently there is no such CRM System Implemented with Forex Department. Thomas Cook can try to integrate the existing CRM system which is used for Travels Business along with the Forex Business. By collecting information that identifies customers' buying habits, including preferences and frequency, CRM systems provides the Thomas cook, a closer look at their customers' wants and needs so they can provide better customer service solutions As Forex Is a Low margin Business, Thomas cook are not promoting it in Media. Hence we had to come up with few of Low cost marketing strategies to Attract larger group of Prospective customers. Students traveling abroad for education and their Families are good prospects for Forex businesses over longer term. They use a Variety of products and services. Thomas Cook is a widely known as a worldwide travel Agent, however the Forex division of Thomas cook is not very popular among the prospects. Though Thomas cook is still the leading Forex Authorised Dealer in India, there are several small time agents entering into the field and in order to be competitive and improving their Customer base, Thomas cook should also focus more on Promoting Forex Business in India.

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8. APPENDICES Questionnaire Male

Gender

Age

Female

18 - 25

Occupation

Student

26 - 30

Private Employee

31-35

Government Employee

36-40

41-45

Business

46-50

>50

Others (Please Specify)

BLOCK-2: 1. How often do you travel abroad? Never

Less than once a year

Once in a year

2-3 Times in a year

More than 3 times in a year

(If you have chosen option ‘Never’ above, please skip Questions 2-6 and move to Block 3) 2. Which of the following best describes the exact nature of your Travel abroad? (Check all the options that apply) Tourist

Private visits

Business Visits

Medical Visits

Education

3. Where do you normally buy the Foreign Currency? Banks

Authorised Dealers/Brokers/Money Exchangers

Both

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Employment

Emigration

Other (Please Specify)


4. Which is your most preferred form of carrying foreign currency abroad? Currency notes

Traveller’s cheques

Forex Prepaid cards

5. When do you Avail Foreign exchange? 6-8 weeks before travel

4-6 weeks before travel

2-4 weeks before travel

Within 2 weeks before travel

6. Which is your most preferred Medium for Foreign Exchange? Directly visiting the Forex Retail outlet

Booking Online and collecting it from outlet

Booking Online and Door delivery

Proceed To block 4

BLOCK 3:

(Never Travelled Abroad)

7. Would you be travelling abroad in near future? Yes

No

Maybe

(IF ‘NO’ Please Skip Questions 8-10 and proceed to 11) 8. Which of the following would best describe the exact nature of your Travel abroad? (Check the options that apply) Tourist Private visits

Business Visits

Medical Education Employment Emigration Other (Please Specify) Visits

9. Where would you buy the Foreign Exchange From? Banks

Authorised Dealers/Brokers/Money Exchangers

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Both


10. Which of these would be your most preferred Medium for Foreign Exchange? Directly visiting the Forex Retail outlet

Booking Online and collecting it from outlet

Booking Online and Door delivery

BLOCK- 4: 11. Do you Transfer money abroad to your family members living abroad?

12. Do you transfer Money abroad for Medical expenses?

13. Do you transfer Money abroad for your son/daughter /relative studying abroad?

14. Do you transfer Money Abroad for any other reason? If so please mention the reason.

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes - Reason

15. How often do you Transfer money abroad? Regularly (monthly)

Often

Sometimes

16. Do You Receive Money from Abroad?

Yes

Occasionally

Never

No

IF Yes, How often do you Receive money from abroad? Regularly (monthly)

Often

Sometimes

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Occasionally

Never

No


BLOCK 5: 1. Are you aware of Thomas Cook Foreign Currency Exchange services? Highly Aware

Aware

Not so much

Don’t Know

IF Your Answer is Don’t Know please Skip Questions 2 & 3 and proceed with 4. 2. How did you come to know about Thomas cook? Newspaper and Magazine ads.

TV commer cials

Referral

Word of mouth

Internet

None

3. Have you availed Services from Thomas cook Foreign exchange before? Yes

No

IF cook?

‘Yes’, how would you Rate the services provided from Thomas Very Satisfied

Satisfied

Neutral

Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

4. would you Consider Availing services from Thomas cook in the future for currency exchanges & Money transfers? Yes

No

5. Do you make your travel arrangements with Thomas cook travels? Yes

No

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Thomas Cook Forex Project

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