Australia’s competition watchdog opens inquiry into forex services

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 examinethewaysexchangeratesare 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 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 ( 2.16 billion pounds) 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. — Reuters

Smoke billows from a chimney as workers leave a factory in rural Gaoyi county, known for its ceramics production, near Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China. China’s Hebei province, the country’s biggest steel producer, will force all its mills to comply with strict new emissions standards by 2020 as part of its campaign against air pollution, according to newly published industry guidelines. — Reuters file photo