The British public lost £5.6 billion in a single year when sending or spending money abroad.
- CBPR2
- UK
- Remittances
- Transparency
- UN Sustainable Development Goal
The British public lost £5.6 billion in a single year when sending or spending money abroad. Even worse, they were totally unaware of it. The problem is simple: banks and foreign exchange providers can currently bury hidden costs in the exchange rate offered to individuals and small businesses. They do this by offering their customers a significantly inferior exchange rate than the ‘real’ exchange rate at the time - the so-called ‘mid market rate’ - and pocketing the difference, all the while advertising their service as ‘no fee’ or ‘0% commission’.