ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of charges and pricing in relation to financial services. It begins with a brief discussion of the role and characteristics of pricing and then moves on to explore in more detail some of the challenges associated with pricing in financial services. The chapter considers approaches to price setting, the issues associated with price discrimination, the process of price determination and the nature of overall pricing strategy. Consumers form a judgement about the relationship between price and quality. The difficulties which consumers face in fully appreciating the price they pay for certain financial services products are compounded further by a combination of complexity and the accumulation of charges. The consumer is presented with clear and precise figures about what they will pay for this service. Charges represent the costs incurred by the customer in return for the product benefits they receive.
