Written question asked by Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative) on Wednesday, 24 June 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 June 2020. It was answered by John Glen (Conservative) on Friday, 3 July 2020 on behalf of the Treasury.

Remittances

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require transparency in the (a) fees and (b) charges applied to international (i) payments and (ii) remittances; and if he will include in those proposals, reference to the exchange rate margin, calculated from the interbank exchange rate.

Answer

Since April 2020, provisions of the amended Cross Border Payments Regulation (also known as CBPR2), which require transparency of currency conversion fees and charges, have applied in the United Kingdom. These provisions require that where a currency conversion is offered at a Point of Sale, ATM, or when making a credit transfer, the full cost of any fees and charges is shown as a percentage mark up over the latest foreign exchange reference rates issued by the European Central Bank. This is intended to enable consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing currency conversion services.

CBPR2 is a directly applicable EU regulation which continues to apply in the United Kingdom during the Transition Period under the terms of the EU Withdrawal Agreement. Before the end of the Transition Period, the Government will bring forward secondary legislation under the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 to ensure that these provisions continue to work effectively in UK law after the end of the Transition Period.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 64077
Session: 2019-21
Related items: Financial Services
Monday, 13 July 2020
Written questions
House of Commons; Remittances
Thursday, 16 July 2020
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Fees and charges Exchange rates Remittances
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Remittances

Secondary information

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