Banking blog
Customers could benefit from running finances via an overseas challenger bank
21-May-2020 14:13:52Residents from some mainland European countries could benefit from running their domestic finances via an overseas chall...
Covid fluctuations reveal necessity of moving to more transparent rates
21-May-2020 13:46:44COVID-related volatility in the foreign exchange market has highlighted a crucial difference between foreign exchange pr...
Will coronavirus deal the fatal blow to the travel money business?
30-Apr-2020 15:34:19Can the travel money business survive coronavirus? Consumer Intelligence’s new International Spending report reveals tha...
Bank Communication during COVID-19: Helping customers get the message
30-Apr-2020 14:49:48Britain’s banks are communicating extensively during Covid-19, but customers aren’t always getting the message. Our cons...
The coronavirus effect: How is consumer behaviour changing?
02-Apr-2020 16:28:35At Consumer Intelligence, we’ve been talking to consumers to find out how they have been impacted so far by the global p...
Coronavirus: How are bank customers judging the response?
02-Apr-2020 15:59:47The coronavirus crisis has left many people worried about their finances, while branch closures mean that vulnerable cus...
Quarter Of All Currency Orders Delayed Due To Travelex Ransomware Blackout
27-Feb-2020 11:46:13The ransomware blackout at foreign exchange firm Travelex has affected thousands of customers ordering holiday money onl...
What will coronavirus do to the pound?
27-Feb-2020 11:40:32Political and economic events always impact on currency rates, but what will coronavirus do to the pound? While Brexit t...
Five Predictions for Banking in 2020
30-Jan-2020 14:56:33As the new year starts, we take a look into the future and delve into our top five predictions for banking in 2020. 1. B...
Banking App Security Key to Increasing Customer Loyalty
30-Jan-2020 14:33:40Banks should work on the security and features of their banking apps to increase customer use and loyalty, exclusive Con...
USA and Spain Remain In Winter Holiday Destination Pole Position
05-Dec-2019 14:02:24Almost a third of us plan to jet off abroad this winter, with Spain and the USA the most popular destinations for travel...
Household finances will drive voting choices this week
05-Dec-2019 13:15:56Well over half of voters will consider the effect on their own pockets when they put a cross in a box on December 12. Ne...
Banks failing to be transparent over international money transfers
10-Oct-2019 14:18:32Banks and money transfer companies are failing to give customers the necessary information to compare the cost and speed...
Did Brexit cause the demise of Thomas Cook?
10-Oct-2019 14:06:11Government ministers might have ruled out Brexit as a factor in the travel firm’s demise, but industry experts point to ...
Brexit Induced Exchange Rate Volatility Heavily Impacting Customers
12-Sep-2019 11:37:32Brexit has had an even greater than expected impact on customers buying foreign currency, with providers increasing thei...
Disruption Incoming: Bank Customers Will Be Taken By Surprise By Security Changes
12-Sep-2019 11:35:40The 14th of September brings new rules for those of us who bank or shop online. Stronger regulations from the second Pay...
Women still value safety and the personal touch when it comes to buying travel money
08-Aug-2019 14:27:12THE way in which we buy our holiday currency varies by gender, with women more likely to value a face-to-face experience...
International payments: Can traditional banks keep a hold on the lion’s share?
01-Aug-2019 14:44:22Traditional banks are still capturing nearly half of the international payments market, despite increasing competition f...
Libra: The Facebook revolution that the public doesn’t want
04-Jul-2019 13:09:00Most British consumers are suspicious of social media companies, and would be unhappy to trust them with their banking d...
Age matters: How different generations buy travel money
04-Jul-2019 08:06:20Do you know your X from your Y? No, we’re not talking algebra, but generations. Consumer Intelligence surveys show that ...
Mobile Payments: Too Much Confusion, Too Many Options
30-May-2019 14:20:39The granddaddy of mobile payment technology, PayPal, is now 21 years old — but customers are still confused about the di...
Travel Money Report Reveals An Inexorable Rise For The Prepaid Card
30-May-2019 13:55:04Consumer Intelligence's 2019 spring Travel Report reveals an inexorable rise for the prepaid card. Prepaid travel money ...
Fraud Guarantees: A New Customer Favourite
25-Apr-2019 14:15:19TSB Bank’s new ‘fraud guarantee’ promises to be a hit with customers, who say they would switch to banks that guarantee ...
Travel Money: Making The Most Of The Buying Window
25-Apr-2019 14:14:52With Brexit still causing uncertainty surrounding holiday bookings, and possibly even meaning that fewer people go on ho...
How Generation Z Will Shape The Holidays Of The Future
28-Mar-2019 13:55:14Inspired by social media, paid for with multi-currency accounts and guided by digital apps and maps — the travel prefere...
Contactless Cards, The Risk We Are Prepared To Take
28-Feb-2019 14:37:01Over a decade on from the introduction of contactless payment, British households are still suspicious about the safety ...
Travel Credit Cards — An Opportunity To Win New Business
28-Feb-2019 14:36:54When it comes to spending abroad, many standard credit cards are bad news for consumers thanks to fees for withdrawing c...
Travel Money: How Do Customers Choose A Travel Money Provider?
30-Jan-2019 17:11:27Consumer Intelligence’s biannual travel money report reveals that whilst we still love cash, there is a rise in purchasi...
Ten Banking Predictions For 2019
30-Jan-2019 16:55:01The beginning of 2019 must stand out in recent history as a year that will be particularly hard to call. Between Brexit ...
Why The Facebook Bank May Be Some Years Away
20-Dec-2018 12:14:50Offering financial services might seem an obvious next step for social media giants, particularly given the advent of Op...
Why Banks Aren’t Converting Brand Awareness Into Market Share
20-Dec-2018 12:10:41Consumer Intelligence’s biannual travel money report reveals that although many big banking brands, including Barclays, ...
How Brexit Is Affecting Our Holiday Plans
20-Dec-2018 12:09:37The uncertainty around the Brexit process is affecting Britons’ holiday plans, meaning that only the strongest travel co...
The Travel Money Market Today
29-Nov-2018 13:52:34This week we published our biannual travel money report, which shows that while change in the travel money industry migh...
Branching Out? What Next For Britain’s Banks?
29-Nov-2018 13:47:31The way we bank may be changing fast, but customers continue to visit their bank branches in large numbers, Consumer Int...
Large Denomination Notes, A Traveller’s Conundrum
25-Oct-2018 08:56:49If you’ve ever tried to spend a £50 note in the UK, you will be no stranger to the suspicion of retailers. The largest n...
How We Bank Today — It’s Still All About Trust
24-Oct-2018 17:58:12Despite the image of fickle Millennials who change their bank as often as they change their avocado-on-toast provider, B...
How Travel Money Providers Can Make The Most Of Winter Travel Trends
20-Sep-2018 11:28:44With the summer holiday season firmly at the back of our minds, it is time for travel money providers to ensure that the...
Leftover Holiday Cash: A Billion Dollar Question
19-Sep-2018 13:15:04Most of us have a stash of foreign coins and notes somewhere in the house, but when do consumers decide whether to sell ...
When Will The Challenger Banks Be Able To Pay Their Way?
24-Jul-2018 16:47:31We’re all accustomed to thinking of banks as huge profit makers, but the truth is that Britain’s ‘challenger’ banks, suc...
Last Minute Tips For A Successful Travel Money Summer Season
24-Jul-2018 16:39:29You’ve got the rates, the marketing and the staff but as a travel money provider the success of the vital summer season ...
Your Ten Point Plan To Increasing Your Prepaid Card Market Share
21-Jun-2018 13:51:58With summer holidays approaching fast, it can be hard to look beyond the busiest period of the year if you are offering ...
How Technology Failures Can Damage Your Brand
21-Jun-2018 13:21:28Banking technology failure has been top of the agenda recently, and whether it is TSB customers shunning the bank after ...
Why Every FX Company Needs Market Benchmarking
17-May-2018 14:40:07Consumer Intelligence’s Andrew Buller is a foreign exchange and travel money expert. We asked him whether businesses in ...
Card Declined: Why Britain's Holidaymakers Still Take Cash To Top Tourist Spots
17-May-2018 14:30:00Is cash still king when you’re travelling abroad? Consumer Intelligence research shows that a surprising number of us st...
Will Your Customers Swap To WeSwap?
19-Apr-2018 12:03:20At Consumer Intelligence, our surveys on how customers view their travel money suggest that, while most they want good r...
Airport Cash: A Rip Off Or A Small Price For Convenience?
19-Apr-2018 11:49:37Is buying travel money at the airport really the rip off that newspapers claim? Earlier this month, The Sun newspaper ca...
Cash Risk For Easter Holidaymakers
27-Mar-2018 13:24:48Nearly two out five take more than £500 in cash on trips abroad But most major travel insurers won’t cover loss or theft...
Multi Currency Accounts The Next Disruptors’ Paradise?
15-Mar-2018 13:24:25With more of us than ever enjoying global lifestyles and sending and receiving money in more than one currency, innovati...
Will Brits Abroad Shun The Eurozone This Year?
15-Mar-2018 13:23:19Savvy holidaymakers may be choosing different destinations this year, driven by the cost of their holiday money. When th...
Card Surcharge Lives On Despite Ban
05-Mar-2018 11:20:11One in seven have been charged for paying by cards And retailers are charging new fees under different names Shoppers ar...
Travelers Falling Foul Of Insurer’s Cash Limits
15-Feb-2018 13:57:09Britain’s holidaymakers are putting themselves at risk by carrying more cash than their insurance polices allow them, Co...
The Card Surcharge Ban — One Month On
15-Feb-2018 13:52:55Merchants are still flouting new rules banning credit card surcharging, with more than one in ten credit card users repo...
Britain's Growing Business With China — Education Services
06-Feb-2018 15:21:47In a recent article for the BUFDG (British Univertsities Finance Directors Group) which is a representative body for hig...
Meet the Team: Cassie Best
23-Jan-2018 11:40:26And what does being a UX Designer involve? I basically design products and services with the end user in mind. I talk to...
Meet the Team: Wayua Hogman
23-Jan-2018 11:06:54And what does being a Data Analyst involve? I recently joined Consumer Intelligence’s advisory sector as a Senior Data A...
Fintech Takeover In Sight As Sumo Wrestles With The Travel Money Market
18-Jan-2018 14:44:52Until now, the consumer travel money market has not received particularly lavish bounty from the gods of Fintech. In the...
9 Insights From The Asia Financial Forum That Will Make You Want To Crack These Markets
18-Jan-2018 13:08:09This week I attended the Asia Finance Forum in Hong Kong, now in its tenth year, the Forum is a meeting place for anyone...
Consumer Intelligence Strengthens Advisory Arm For Growth
09-Jan-2018 14:00:39Rajeev Aggarwal joins as Managing Director to spearhead growth Financial services insight specialist Consumer Intelligen...
Banking: Ten Predictions for 2018
21-Dec-2017 13:06:112018 has the potential to be a huge year for the banking industry. Major regulatory changes, including the introduction ...
Five Resolutions Your Customers Want You To Make This Year
21-Dec-2017 09:27:08Forget losing weight, drinking less or making a packed lunch for work every day, here are five New Year’s resolutions fr...
Consumer Intelligence Outgrows London Base In Six Months
01-Dec-2017 14:59:38New Bishopsgate office provides flexibility for 2018 expansion Financial services insight specialist Consumer Intelligen...
The Top Ten Travel Money Leaders
16-Nov-2017 14:02:51Despite technological advances and new entrants to the market, there is still one major travel money provider that knock...
How AliPay Will Make An Impact
16-Nov-2017 13:59:50Confused by the international payment market? You should be. The pace of change within financial technology, not to ment...
What Can We Learn From Monzo’s ‘Hot Ticket’?
19-Oct-2017 16:28:59Imagine if your prepaid card was such a hot ticket that customers were queuing around the block just to get it. That’s s...
Get Ready For The Credit Card Revolution
19-Oct-2017 14:06:07The way in which customers pay for goods and services is changing all the time, but two major events are likely to creat...
Contactless Switch Is Costing Charities
18-Oct-2017 13:41:08Two out of five have cut donations to street collectors because they carry less cash Donors estimate they are giving an ...
Banks, You Are Annoying Your Customers. Stop It!
21-Sep-2017 14:37:24Never underestimate the power of low-level irritation. In the coming year, bank customers are going to have to put up wi...
What Travel Cash Providers Can Learn From The Boom In Prepaid Cards For Kids
21-Sep-2017 14:36:31Loading foreign money onto prepaid cards in order to take it travelling is only a small part of the foreign exchange mar...
Plastic Notes Change Is A Clean Winner
13-Sep-2017 08:51:03More than half prefer the new polymer banknotes as they are ‘cleaner and more hygienic’ But 29% want paper notes back an...
Consumer Intelligence Grows Advisory Practice
11-Sep-2017 12:50:17David Baker joins as Principal Banking Consultant Financial services insight specialist Consumer Intelligence is strengt...
How Will Your Customers React To Euro Pound Parity?
17-Aug-2017 14:43:53What once seemed an unlikely nightmare for British travellers is becoming an expert forecast. City giants Morgan Stanley...
Prepaid Travel Cards - What’s Putting Us Off?
17-Aug-2017 14:43:08Using a prepaid travel card to take foreign money abroad has many advantages, from security to the possibility of good r...
The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Foreign Exchange Companies
20-Jul-2017 14:58:05Changing people’s foreign exchange buying habits is not easy. We know from our research that customers value convenience...
Large Money Transfers, Why The High Street Is Still King
20-Jul-2017 14:52:28Customers transferring large amounts of money abroad are still turning to high street banks to send money, despite the a...
One In Six 'Rely On Credit Cards' For Financial Survival
11-Jul-2017 13:42:51Nearly one in six can’t get by each month without cards and one in three customers are juggling three or more Debt worri...
Travel Money: What Your Customer Is Really Thinking
15-Jun-2017 16:09:00Buying travel money is an important part of many people’s holidays abroad, and Consumer Intelligence’s latest survey sho...
Banks Risk 'Missing The Love' on GDPR
15-Jun-2017 12:19:37When we think about the assets of high street banks, we usually visualise piles of gold bars locked in a safe, or even t...
Consumer Intelligence Expands With Advisory Arm
01-Jun-2017 13:55:06London office will be base for new advisory service Financial services research specialist Consumer Intelligence is expa...
Why Cash Is Still King When We’re Travelling Abroad
18-May-2017 17:01:34We don’t walk around with our pockets stuffed with ten pound notes in the UK, but we still flash the cash abroad. Consum...
An Election Year Staycation? It Turns Out Britons Can’t Wait To Flee The Country
18-May-2017 17:01:05The Brexit vote in June should have been a boon for holiday cottage owners, Center Parcs and Butlins. Travel experts exp...
The General Election Spells Currency Volatility For Travellers
20-Apr-2017 16:51:16With a General Election looming, those going abroad this summer will be faced with the prospect of significant currency ...
Holiday Makers Fail To Play Their Cards Right
30-Mar-2017 13:44:24Nearly one in three opt to pay in sterling on their plastic Two out of three use credit or debit cards for overseas spen...
Cash Is Still King When Paying For Coffee
30-Mar-2017 08:25:00Over half of all consumers would pay for a cup of coffee and a cake with cash according to research from Consumer Intell...
Consumers Miss Out On Protection When Purchasing Abroad
29-Mar-2017 08:25:00Consumers are missing out on important protections and legal rights by choosing not to pay with a credit card when trave...
How Using A Cash Point Could Cost You In Europe
28-Mar-2017 14:30:37Brits travelling abroad are being warned about double hidden charges when using overseas cash machines in European Money...
Should You Pay With Pounds When Given The Option Abroad?
27-Mar-2017 16:33:01Consumers are being warned to be wary when they pay for hotels, food and drink overseas. When Brits travel overseas and ...
Why Has The Prepaid Card Failed To Really Resonate?
16-Mar-2017 18:28:14Consumer Intelligence research highlights that holiday makers still don’t buy the prepaid card. Here are the reasons why...
Gearing Up For The Peak Travel Money Buying Season
16-Mar-2017 17:02:01Travel magazines have been read, travel agents visited and travel websites browsed – the process of research and booking...
Time to rethink your travel money strategy?
19-Dec-2016 10:52:00If 2016 has been an interesting year in our sector, 2017 is set to be no different. With the threat of terrorism and pol...
Tis The Season To Transfer Money
19-Dec-2016 10:08:00The Royal Mail is stressing that strikes in Post Offices this week will have little or no impact on deliveries and that ...
7 Things To Consider When Developing Your Travel Money Plans
10-Nov-2016 17:00:0275% of travel money transactions are conducted between April and September. Over 80% of consumers buy their currency in ...
More Than Half Do Not Shop Around For Travel Cash
10-Nov-2016 15:18:28Just 46% of tourists check travel money rates despite Brexit volatility Fewer than one in four convert spare foreign tra...
How PSD2 Can Help Banks Improve Customer Experience
07-Sep-2016 13:01:46To a bank PSD2 might feel like a leg up for competitors, investing millions in developing APIs in order to support new a...
What Brexit Taught Us About The Money Transfer Market
07-Sep-2016 11:52:37The response by money transfer market businesses to news that the UK had voted to leave the EU highlighted how fast some...
Are Foreign Exchange Consumers Being Treated Fairly At The ATM?
04-Aug-2016 14:00:52When banks are continuously under the microscope to treat foreign exchange consumers fairly and honestly, it seems rathe...
The Key Challenges For The Banking And Travel Sectors?
04-Aug-2016 11:21:59What’s your role at Consumer Intelligence? As Key Account Director for the financial services division my role includes ...
Is The Value Proposition Of A Prepaid Travel Card Lost In Translation?
29-Jun-2016 15:25:43The value proposition of a prepaid travel card whilst on holiday continues to fall short based upon research recently co...
Hold Off Buying Foreign Currency After Leave Vote
27-Jun-2016 09:07:46EU Referendum result creates winners and losers But borrowing and insurance costs could rise Consumers and businesses bu...
Digital Visibility In The Travel Money Market
23-Jun-2016 15:44:27In the third and final part of our series on how to maximise your share of the travel money market, we’ll be talking abo...
Making The Most Of Your Travel Money Branch Network
16-Jun-2016 16:28:00This is part two of our series of how to maximise your share of the travel money market. Previously, we focused on the v...
The Travel Money Market Convenience Factor
09-Jun-2016 11:25:11This is first of three posts on the subject of maximising your share of the travel money market. They are meant as a sna...
Putting The Customer First? The Plateau Of The Prepaid Card
25-May-2016 16:42:13Conceptually, the prepaid card is a natural fit for any traveler. Even if you lose the card itself, it can guarantee you...
The Rise Of The Specialised Boutique Foreign Exchange Payment Provider
04-May-2016 16:59:16In the past five years, the world of payments has changed beyond recognition. Where banks once monopolized the cross bor...
Hedge Your Brexit Bets And Buy Holiday Money Now
04-May-2016 10:59:50Euro holiday cash could cost up to 20% more if UK votes leave Guaranteed buyback deals can ease the blow no matter the r...