CentrumDirect will meet flyers' forex needs at MIA

MANGALURU: Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has roped in India’s leading foreign exchange company – CentrumDirect Ltd, to provide foreign exchange services at the airport. This follows as the existing contract with NL Forex Ltd expired and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) operated MIA went in for an open tender to choose the forex service provider that CentrumDirect Ltd bagged. The new operator started services at MIA on Thursday.
Vasamsetti Venkateswara Rao, airport director, MIA, who inaugurated the counter, told STOI that it is mandatory for all international airports to have forex service providers.“CentrumDirect has started operations after it bagged the rights in the open tender,” he said, adding the company has a good track record of providing foreign exchange at competitive rates with a host of other products such as travellers’ cheques, multi-currency prepaid cards and travel insurance.
T C Guruprasad, chief executive officer and managing director, Centrum Direct Ltd said, “Mangaluru is a fast growing business and tourism destination in Karnataka. Besides being the largest port in Karnataka, it offers a mix of beaches, religious monuments, museums and nature parks. Various airlines offer direct connectivity to and from the Middle East countries to MIA and passengers will look forward to hassle free, transparent services,” Guruprasad said.
With flight operations to destinations such as UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, MIA becomes a strategic location for CentrumDirect to offer its forex and travel services, he said. “We currently have14 branches in Karnataka and plan to significantly scale up our operations in this region owing to immense potential for tourism and trade,” he said, adding the company facilitates online sale and purchase of foreign exchange through its portal– www.centrumforex.com
Rao said MIA serviced over 23.4 lakh passengers in 2017-18 to emerge as the fastest growing AAI airport in the B category in South India. The airport has seen phenomenal growth of passenger traffic of more than 30% in the last fiscal, and this is seen from the fact that its passenger handling increased by 5.9-lakh over 2016-17. The forex counters are strategically located at the arrival and departure lounges, that allow passengers to meet their currency requirements, he added.