Overseas Markets for
Consumer Financial Services

If you believe that the U.S market for consumer financial services is rather saturated, you might want to consider overseas opportunities. A press release from the ACA provides an excellent summary of a survey by American Express of 5,000 consumers in five countries. The results indicate that consumers, especially those who are affluent, have very positive views on the near-term economic outlook for their economies. Consumers were surveyed in Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico and the United States. A significant portion of respondents said that they expected things to remain the same, at least, but a large portion was optimistic. For example, 72 percent of Mexican respondents said that they expected their finances to be "better" or "significantly better".

The survey had an interesting question to reveal respondents' true views on their economic outlook. They were asked what they would do if they received an unexpected windfall of $30,000. Very few respondents would have gone on a spending spree. By huge margins, most said that they would save, invest, or pay down debts. The most optimistic respondents were residents of Mexico (72 percent), followed by respondents from Britain (52 percent) and Australia (49 percent).