AFCA Listed the Forex Brokers with Most Complaints in FY19/20

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) released data on its operations from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, with 76,880 complaints filed by consumers against financial services companies and 752 of them related to forex product.

AFCA is a non-government watchdog that provides free, fair and independent assistance in financial disputes.

Many Well-known Brokers Appear in  Complaints List

According to AFCA’s Datacube,from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, there are a total of 752 complaints concerning forex.

Among of them, KP International Group Australia  Pty Ltd tops the list with 241 complaints and 0 resolutions.

It should be noted that, KP International Group Australia Pty Ltd also ranked first for the period ranging from the 1st of July 2019 until the 31st of December 2019,

Forex Financial Services Pty Ltd followed  KP International, with 163 complaints and 0 resolutions.

Although being in administration, Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd (also known as USGFX) comes in third with 83 complaints.

Other well-known brokers in top ten are Pepperstone, IG Markets, Forex Capital Trading, Plus500, ACY Securities, Ingot Brokers and eToro.

As the released from AFCA suggested, the AFCA Datacube is of great significant to financial firms, because it includes information about the number of complaints lodged , how long it takes a firm to resolve a complaint and whether a financial firm responds to complaints in a timely manner.

Nearly 5,000 COVID-19 Related Financial Complaints

Besides complaints in forex industry, AFCA also noted the complaints from other financial sectors, especially complaints related to COVID-19. The data shows that  the watchdog received 4,773 COVID-19 Complaints,with overwhelming 38% (1,813) of General Insurance and 36% (1,711) of Credit. As at 30 June,2020, 56% cases have been closed.

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“The early impact of COVID-19 can be seen in the spikes in complaints relating to travel insurance and early access to superannuation in particular.With so many travel plans impacted, it was inevitable that there would be a big increase in travel insurance claims as well as disputes regarding ‘chargeback’ requests on credit cards, AFCA’s CEO and Chief Ombudsman David Locke said.