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

Response 38216194

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	Ticked 1-2 times	3-5 times	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	1-2 times	3-5 times	Ticked 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 Ticked 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
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 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 Bank	Credit union/building society Ticked 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
Used a credit or debit card to withdraw foreign cash from an ATM while overseas Please select all that apply	Bank Bank	Credit union/building society Ticked 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
Other Please select all that apply	Bank Bank	Credit union/building society Ticked 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:

Qantas Cash Card

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

If no, why not?

I was unaware that the conversion rate was different to other rates provided

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

Please select one item

Yes

If no, why not?

I read the fees but still didn’t know about getting charged to use an atm overseas

Did you shop around?

Please select one item

Yes

If no, why not?

Forgot about it until last minute

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?

I used foreign cash

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

Please select one item

Yes

If no, why not?

It’s not always clear how they differ on conversion rates

General comment

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

Please select one item

Yes

Not applicable

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

I believe there should be more transparency about the differing conversion rates on travel cards, or how different company’s give out different rates.
I didn’t realise how different it was before I went overseas. I worked it out when I returned and discovered that due to the differences in conversion rates I’d ended up paying around 10% when comparing what XE had rated our dollar value on the same day.
I guess I just wished I know that conversion rates could be so vastly different. Maybe it’s just something that everyone else knows anyway.