Foreign exchange - Consumer & small business questionnaire - Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Response 251356168

Foreign currency conversion services 1/3

Have you used a currency conversion service in the last two years?

Please select one item

Yes

Foreign currency conversion services 2/3

How often did you use the following services in the last two years?

	1-2 times	3-5 times	6+ times	N/A
Sent money overseas Please select one item	1-2 times	3-5 times	Ticked 6+ times	N/A
Exchanged Australian dollars for foreign cash Please select one item	1-2 times	3-5 times	Ticked 6+ times	N/A
Loaded a travel card Please select one item	Ticked 1-2 times	3-5 times	6+ times	N/A
Used a credit or debit card to make overseas purchases Please select one item	1-2 times	3-5 times	Ticked 6+ times	N/A
Used a credit or debit card to withdraw foreign cash from an ATM while overseas Please select one item	1-2 times	3-5 times	Ticked 6+ times	N/A
Other Please select one item	1-2 times	3-5 times	6+ times	Ticked N/A

Which suppliers did you use in the last two years? (please select all that apply)

	Bank	Credit union/building society	Australia Post	Foreign cash kiosk	Remittance provider (e.g Western Union)	Other	N/A
Sent money overseas Please select all that apply	Bank Bank	Credit union/building society Credit union/building society	Australia Post Australia Post	Foreign cash kiosk Foreign cash kiosk	Remittance provider (e.g Western Union) Remittance provider (e.g Western Union)	Other Ticked Other	N/A N/A
Exchanged Australian dollars for foreign cash Please select all that apply	Bank Bank	Credit union/building society Credit union/building society	Australia Post Australia Post	Foreign cash kiosk Ticked Foreign cash kiosk	Remittance provider (e.g Western Union) Remittance provider (e.g Western Union)	Other Other	N/A N/A
Loaded a travel card Please select all that apply	Bank Bank	Credit union/building society Credit union/building society	Australia Post Australia Post	Foreign cash kiosk Ticked Foreign cash kiosk	Remittance provider (e.g Western Union) Remittance provider (e.g Western Union)	Other Ticked Other	N/A N/A
Used a credit or debit card to make overseas purchases Please select all that apply	Bank Ticked Bank	Credit union/building society Credit union/building society	Australia Post Australia Post	Foreign cash kiosk Ticked Foreign cash kiosk	Remittance provider (e.g Western Union) Remittance provider (e.g Western Union)	Other Other	N/A N/A
Used a credit or debit card to withdraw foreign cash from an ATM while overseas Please select all that apply	Bank Ticked Bank	Credit union/building society Credit union/building society	Australia Post Australia Post	Foreign cash kiosk Foreign cash kiosk	Remittance provider (e.g Western Union) Remittance provider (e.g Western Union)	Other Other	N/A N/A
Other Please select all that apply	Bank Bank	Credit union/building society Credit union/building society	Australia Post Australia Post	Foreign cash kiosk Foreign cash kiosk	Remittance provider (e.g Western Union) Remittance provider (e.g Western Union)	Other Ticked Other	N/A N/A

If other, please specify:

OFX business payments

Tick the box if any of these suppliers are also your main financial institution?

What are the top 3 priorities you look for when choosing a supplier? (1 = Most important)

Please rank these from 1 to 3

Price

Brand

Ease of access

Range of services they offer (e.g. offering cash and travel cards)

Reliability and speed of service

Ability to interact face-to-face

Ability to interact online

Reviews

Other

Foreign currency conversion services 3/3

What was the last currency conversion service you used?

Please select one item

Sent money overseas

Exchanged Australian dollars for foreign cash

Loaded a travel card

Used a credit or debit card to make overseas purchases

Used a credit or debit card to withdraw foreign cash from an ATM while overseas

Other

Did you find it easy to understand the currency conversion rate for this service?

Please select one item

Yes

Did you find it easy to understand any additional fees you would need to pay for this service?

Please select one item

Yes

Did you shop around?

Please select one item

Yes

Did you consider other options for converting currency? (i.e instead of buying foreign cash, did you consider using a travel card or a credit or debit card?)

Please select one item

Yes

If yes, what options did you consider?

travel money card

Did you find it easy to compare prices between different currency conversion services?

Please select one item

Yes

If no, why not?

The industry does not provide transparent rates of exchange

Do you have any other comments about the last time you used a currency conversion service?

Some businesses flagrantly attempt to mislead consumers (a prime example is Change Group money change) regarding fees and margin mark ups on cash conversion.

Travelex used to do the same with their travel money card however are more transparent now given the competition.

This is the reason that I shop around.

General comment

Have you ever had any negative experiences when using currency conversion services?

Please select one item

Yes

Not applicable

If yes, please specify:

Went to Change Group to exchange money and was quoted a rate however when I went to transact they then included a hidden 'margin'. I found their behaviour treacherous however I then found this practice also occurs at all major Australian Airports!

Travel Money Cards are sold on a price/rate conversion basis however there have been numerous times when I've transacted overseas and then been slugged a further 3%. The seller of the cards claims this is out of their control however on review of the various retailers pricing policies I've found this to be an outright lie.

Please include any general comments or other feedback you would like to make in relation to the foreign currency conversion services inquiry:

AIRPORTS

What is not well known by consumers is that Foreign Exchange currency conversion is the second or third largest source of revenue for Australian Airports (behind Landing Fees and Duty Free). Consumers are routinely mislead into believing that they are being offered a competitive price with a convenient service however this is patently untrue. Airports charge up to a 6% transaction mark up though this is not disclosed to the consumer, rather it is hidden in the margin mark up. I find this behaviour on the part of the Airports and FX companies duplicitous, misleading and disgraceful - this would not be tolerated in other industries!