Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
🚨 NDVA surged 43% - these 3 AI stocks could be next Start Free Trial
Australia's competition watchdog opens inquiry into forex services
Published Oct 02, 2018 12:54AM ET
Updated Oct 02, 2018 01:00AM ET
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims speaks during an interview with Reuters in Sydney
By Ambar Warrick
(Reuters) - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Tuesday it had opened an inquiry into price competition among suppliers of foreign currency conversion services and would investigate the ability of potential entrants to compete.
The ACCC said the inquiry would examine the ways exchange rates are presented to customers as well as the mark-up from wholesale currency rates that buyers are charged when changing currencies.
“We will be examining why major companies in Australia, including the Big Four banks, seem to be able to consistently charge high prices,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“The exchange rate you Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is not the exchange rate you get from the Big Four banks. The difference is known as the ‘mark-up’, and it’s often a big part of the price consumers pay when converting currency,” he added.
A 2017 study by consultancy Capital Economics found Australian consumers and businesses paid out about A$3.9 billion ($2.82 billion) in foreign currency fees in 2016, of which more than A$3.1 billion was in exchange rate mark-ups and card spending charges applied by banks and brokers to international transactions.
A powerful Royal Commission inquiry into Australia's big banks and wealth managers has shined a harsh light on financial institutions in the country, revealing widespread misconduct and deception of customers.
The Australian Banking Association said the inquiry's interim findings marked "a day of shame for Australia’s banks" with "no excuses for the behavior that has been exposed by the Royal Commission".
A World Bank report published in June said the cost of sending money overseas from Australia was higher than both the Group of 20 nations and global averages.
Australia had migrant remittance outflows of about $6.36 billion in 2016, according to the World Bank.
The ACCC said it will submit its final report to the Treasurer by May 2019.
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.