ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft has been questioned at the Senate Economics and Legislation Committee about an enforcement action against Cash Converters in which refunds were provided to only half the company's customer base.

In November, an ASIC probe into the payday lender led to the company handing over $12 million in two payments consisting of $10.8 million in refunds to customers and a $1.35 million penalty. Cash Converters has a market capitalisation of $167 million and has operations in Britain, the US, South Africa, Canada and Spain.