Price Comparision Taking Centre Stage

Sites that help consumers compare the price of different banking and financial products have been around for years. MoneySupermarket.com, Confused.com, Insure4less.com, ApnaLoan.com (in India) have all been available online. Many of them, like the ones in India, have been operating on the fringes. While ApnaLoan was one of the early Internet only service that took off and sustained itself beyond the bubble, lack of awareness has made it a niche site that very few consumers actually use. Now things may be about to change with some big names in business like Tesco Personal Finance in the UK planning to set up a price comparision shop. One of the interesting things about the purchase of these services are that most consumers got out and seek information from friends and colleagues on products and services they use. As we all know, you need an existing account holder to refer you to the bank, before you can actually get a bank account in India. Despite this very few banks have gone on to create communities and forums where users can come and share information about their experiences with different products. Will Tesco show us the way, one wonders.