Thomas Cook (India), the largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company has signed an agreement with Saraswat Co-operative Bank so as to provide its international money transfer services through all of Saraswat bank's branches.

Saraswat Bank is the largest co-operative bank. The international money transfer services of Thomas Cook are termed as MoneyGram. Through this tie up all the customers of the bank will be able to avail this MoneyGram service of Thomas Cook.

The total business of Saraswat Bank exceeds Rs. 22, 000 crore. It has an interconnected network of 200 branches which are spread across Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi.

"Our tie-up with Saraswat Bank has aided our mission to reach our growing network spread over the country," says Madhavan Menon, MD, Thomas Cook India.

MoneyGram has as many as 22,000 agent locations in India. The money transfer service of Thomas Cook has been approved by the RBI. The organization has been providing its services in India for the past eight years.

"India represents one of the largest remittance markets in the world and a significant growth opportunity for MoneyGram," says Harsh Lambah, MoneyGram's Regional Director of South Asia.

Receiving money via MoneyGram is very simple. All the receiver has to do is walk into any of MoneyGram's agent locations, fill a receipt form and show a photo identity proof of the receiver. The funds can be received in less than 10 minutes, as per the availability of agent and the hours needed for operation.