Experimental Design
Participants are required to transfer a given amount of Australian dollars into Great Britain pounds and must choose a provider to make the transfer. They are randomly divided into two experimental conditions, Obscure and Transparent (see details below).
In the Obscure condition, participants are shown screenshots from real offers found online from international currency transfer providers (Wise, Xe, Revolut, and 3 of the "big 4 banks" in Australia--Westpac, NAB, and Commonwealth Bank). Each screenshot displays at a minimum the amount of Great Britain pounds received, the upfront fee (if any), and the exchange rate offered by the provider.
In the Transparent condition, in addition to the information provided in the Obscure condition, below each screenshot we display the mid-market exchange rate between Australian dollars and Great Britain pounds and the total cost of the transfer, which results from adding up the upfront fee and the exchange rate markup relative to the mid-market rate.
Initially only one offer is available to consumers. It comes from one of the big banks in Australia, which reflects their prominence in this market. In order to access each additional offer, the participant must complete a real effort task which is designed to create a cost of search.