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

Response 429228193

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	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	6+ times	N/A
Used a credit or debit card to make overseas purchases Please select one item	1-2 times	3-5 times	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	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 Other	N/A N/A
Exchanged Australian dollars for foreign cash 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
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 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 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
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 Other	N/A N/A

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?

Consulted 3 branches of my bank who provided a vague understanding with no commitment (seemed deliberate)

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?

The response I received (before I went overseas) was 3%, but no-one could confirm whether this was simply the margin (from mid-rate) or an additional fee on top . In fact they did double-dip in this manner so the real cost was 6%

Did you shop around?

Please select one item

Yes

If no, why not?

The "3%" offered by my bank (Westpac) was misleadingly attractive.

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?

The debit card from overseas ATMs is still cheaper than local (exorbitant) bureaus, even with their non-disclosed 6%

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

Please select one item

Yes

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

Can we enforce Australian ATM card-issuers that leverage off services like Visa-International, to declare their fixed margin rates for supplying these services - The margin-value obviously changes with the mid-rate, but the margin-rate could be fixed (with no hidden/additional costs) at their choosing - Then we have an equal playing field for comparison.

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:

Only additional fees above a base margin.

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

Glad you're looking at this - Get them to disclose their real margin-rates with no additional fees. They can work out a competitive margin & be more honest!