The advent of comparison websites has seen a shift in the way individuals and businesses purchase their services. Long gone are the days of paying the same gas board for years on end. People now seek out the best deal for their energy, water, car and home insurance bills and so on.

Businesses, too, adopt the same attitude. Bottom line is everything, so if you can make some savings, the finance director and the rest of the board will be happy. Utilities, telecoms, insurance, recruitment, IT support, etc…. there are savings to be had but the same scrutiny is rarely given to foreign exchange. Believe me, I know!

Foreign exchange is a perpetual blind spot. It seems it is just too much of an upheaval to shop around for these services and yet there are very real savings to be made and an improvement in customer service to be gained too.

If I sound frustrated, it is because I am. Many businesses I speak to are still using their banks, potentially blissfully unaware of their inflated fees. If you don’t know what currency margin you are on then you are being over charged!

Banks have changed. Personal service has been replaced with online services and fewer high street branches. The relationship that was once enjoyed between bank manager and a company FD has been stretched to nonexistence and there certainly isn’t any scope for negotiating a better price.

This means businesses will be paying over the odds for a better service they could get cheaper elsewhere. Unfortunately, there isn’t a convenient comparethefxmarket.com comparison website available to businesses but getting a free quote from an independent supplier is hardly a hardship either.

There are real savings to be made from moving away from traditional banks and shopping around for FX business services. You will gain transparent fees and better exchange rates. You will also benefit from improved customer service with regular contact with the same expert, who will take time to understand your business and its needs.

If you would like to benefit from our brand of unbiased guidance, I am more than happy to explain the way we work, introduce our FCA-authorised partners to you and give you a free consultation on how we could save your business, sometimes a lot of money.

Do make contact with Tim Sheehan 01548 857009 or email tim@southwestfx.co.uk