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

Response 467999741

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	Ticked 3-5 times	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	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 Ticked 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 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
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 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 Ticked N/A

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 wasn't sure what exchange rate would be applied or how much the foreign currency fee would be

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 wasn't sure where to find this information

Did you shop around?

Please select one item

Yes

If no, why not?

Ease of just using my existing credit card

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 also exchanged cash at a kiosk at the airport

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

Please select one item

Yes

If no, why not?

the fees/charges always seem to be different to what is posted

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

Currency conversion always feels like a gamble - you never know how much the end total will be! There are always extra fees and charges or "discounts" for exchanging larger values.
It's really hard to compare different services and options as they only show the nominal exchange rate and not the total with other fees & charges that can have a marked difference in how much you end up getting for your cash!
There are also very few competitors if you leave it until the last minute and have to exchange at the airport.

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:

When using an airport kiosk the total price that I had been told suddenly changed when it came time to pay. When I queried this with the attendant, he claimed it was a fee of some sort but was unable to explain why it was different to the total given previously or what the fee was for.
After I said I wasn't going to go through with the transaction he was able to remove the fee and the price went back to what was given the first time.
It felt like a ploy to prey on customers who might not notice or just accept that there is an extra fee.

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

I can understand that AUD is not a huge foreign currency market and that as a result fees will be higher than global currencies like USD or Euros, but it definitely feels like local money exchangers are charging higher fees and giving worse rates than what's available in other markets.