In a bid to become a one stop destination for all travel related services, MakeMyTrip has now partnered with Gurgaon-based BookMyForex – a marketplace for retail foreign exchange and private remittances. With this, international travelers can purchase the required foreign exchange from MakeMyTrip website or mobile app.
Launched in October 2012, BookMyForex, was founded by Sudarshan Motwani and Nitin Motwani. It compares exchange rates and service quality metrics across hundreds of banks and exchange companies and connects the customer with the most ideal forex vendor in real time. Foreign exchange rates at BookMyForex are updated in every 3 seconds and also provide doorstep delivery of forex products in over 200 Indian cities. It has over 100,000 customers mainly from metro cities, and is planning to expand its network in other major cities and tier II and tier III geographies.
The customers can get access to a complete range of forex products in MakeMyTrip portal as offered by BookMyForex. This includes foreign currency notes, forex, travel cards, traveller’s checks, demand drafts and international wire transfers.
Customers can also directly visit the BookMyForex website or download the BookMyForex Android/iOS app and book a forex order. The forex products are delivered by either RBI authorised money changers or banks that are part of BookMyForex’s channel partner network.
With this association, BookMyForex aims to tap the large international customer base of MakeMyTrip and help users buy all travel-related forex products at one single destination. “Our platform is able to determine the bank or money changer offering the best rates and service in every city and every neighborhood. Thanks to this partnership, we will now be able to extend the benefit of our platform to MakeMyTrip customers and connect them with the most ideal forex vendors in real time,” said Sudarshan Motwani.
MakeMyTrip, on the other hand is chasing its goal of establishing itself as the ultimate destination for the full suite of travel products, as said by Mohit Gupta, Chief Operating Officer – Online, MakeMyTrip. Launched in 2000 by Keyur Joshi, Rajesh Magow and Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip is backed by investors such as Helion Venture Partners, Tiger Global Management Fund, Sierra Ventures, and SAIF Partners.
Makemytrip also forayed into budget accommodation space some time back. A few of the companies that it has acquired include MyGola, HolidayIQ and Bona Vita Technologies. Also, it raised $180 Mn from China’s travel service provider Ctrip in January this year.
