OFX

Founded: 1998

Headquarters: Sydney, Australia

Offices: Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong, Canada

Regulated by: FCA, ASIC, FinCEN

Trading channels: website, mobile app, telephone

Since its inception in a garage in Sydney’s northern beaches in 1998, OFX has grown to be a global player in the international money transfer business. It has offices in 6 major markets in the world: London, Sydney, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Toronto and Auckland with over 200 employees. Over the years, OFX has completed more than £50bn in transfers, with 3,250 transfers made every day in over 50 currencies. What makes it truly global is the merging of UKForex, CanadianForex, NZForex, USForex, as well as ClearFX to form a new brand OFX. OFX has 24/7 support, and employees of 47 different nationalities working around the world.

OFX provides you with a simple 3 step process to transfer money. You can pay via bank transfer only i.e. Debit card and Electronic Bank transfer. Cash, credit card or bank drafts are not accepted. OFX claims to transfer to most of the countries in 1-2 business days. Same day payment is available too in some countries like USA, China, and Hong Kong. They also provide Rapid transfer facilities with which you can send or receive money straight away. You can also do a single transfer, or recurring transfers at your selected rates.

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Overview

>High maximum transfer amount US$1,000 for the US customers

>Only bank to bank transfer services for both senders and recipients

>Excellent customer services: 24/7 available by phone

>Complete currency solutions for individuals, businesses and online sellers

Payment options: International bank transfer

Delivery options: Bank deposit

Minimum transfer amount: It varies depending on countries (currencies). United Kingdom: £100, United States: $1,000, the rest of countries: AU$250

Maximum transfer amount: There are no maximums.

Currencies available:

Sending options: 22

AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNH, CZK, DKK, EUR, FJD, GBP, HKD, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PGK, PLN, SEK, SGD, THB, USD, ZAR

Receiving options: 53

AED, AUD, AZN, BGN, BND, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EGP, EUR, FJD, GBP, HKD, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, JPY, KRW, KWD, LKR, MAD, MGA, MXN, MYR, NOK, NZD, OMR, PEN, PGK, PHP, PKR, PLN, RUB, SAR, SBD, SCR, SEK, SGD, THB, TOP, TRY, TWD, TZS, USD, VEF, VND, VUV, WST, XOF, XPF, ZAR

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Transfer Fees

OFX’s transfer fees vary, depending on countries.

There are zero transfer fees for the US and UK customers now, although it used to charge a flat fee of $10. OFX has a standard fee of CAD15 for Canadian clients if their transfer amount is less than CAD10,000. This small fee can be waived if you’re transferring over CAD10,000.

Similarly, the fee-free threshold for the rest of the countries is AU$10,000, and the flat fee becomes AU$15.

Exchange Rate

OFX’s markup on exchange rate tends to be in the middle level compared to its competitors. It is still quite a bit lower than big banks and some giants like Western Union and Ria, who usually earn profits of more than 4%. The average margin on exchange rate for major currency pairs exceeds 2%. A few are below 2%, at 1.8% or 1.9%.

Delivery Speed

OFX does measure the delivery time in business days after it receives your funds. Most transfers to various countries usually take 1-2 days to complete. Same day payment is available in some countries. For example, sending money from New Zealand to Australia can be completed in the same day. Be aware, you have to allow for the time of day for funding to OFX.

User Experience

OFX is one of the few companies that provide complete solutions for individual, business and online marketplaces.

Like very few of its competitors, OFX’s customer service is outstanding, serving clients by the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, although there’s no live chat at the moment. It lets you transfer money online, via mobile app and over the phone.

One thing we don’t like however, is that OFX doesn’t reveal its exchange rate to you, unless you become a valid customer. The calculator on its homepage is only for mid-market exchange rates, which aren’t the rates you really get offered. Using OFX’s Rate Alerts, you can simply set up some of your desired rate alerts for your later transactions.

OFX’s FAQs page is very helpful, with some important information regarding registration, currencies and fees, delivery times and so on. You need to shift from one country to another (6 country sites) when it comes to checking transfer fees.

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