Sending money overseas, and buying foreign cash, will be the focus of a new ACCC inquiry into foreign currency conversion services.
“Whether you’re buying Euros from your bank for an upcoming trip, sending money to family in Indonesia, or you’re a small business trading with suppliers in New Zealand, foreign exchange services are used by Australians every day,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
On 9 May 2018, the Government responded to the Review into Open Banking.
On 26 November 2017, the Australian Government announced the introduction of a consumer data right in Australia. The consumer data right will improve consumers’ ability to compare and switch between products and services. It will also encourage competition between service providers, leading not only to better prices for customers but also more innovative products and services.
The opaque pricing of discounts offered on residential mortgage rates makes it difficult for customers to make informed choices and disadvantages borrowers who do not regularly review their choice of lender, a report by the ACCC has found.
The ACCC’s Residential Mortgage Price Inquiry is monitoring the prices charged by the five banks affected by the Government’s Major Bank Levy: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Macquarie Bank Limited, National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), and Westpac Banking Corporation.
The ACCC welcomes the Productivity Commission’s (Commission) draft report into Competition in the Australian Financial System and the opportunity to appear at this hearing.
Among the Commission’s recommendations was the need for an existing regulator to be given the role of championing competition in the financial sector. The Commission anticipates that regulator would have a number of functions including, but not limited to, conducting transparent analyses of the impact on competition in the financial sector of prudential regulation and other regulatory measures.