OFX Review — Fees, Rates and Pros & Cons

OFX (formerly OzForex) is an Australian-founded international money transfer and currency exchange company established in 1998 — making it one of the longest-running digital FX services in the world. It listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: OFX) in 2013 and today serves both consumer and business clients across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, the US, and several other markets.

OFX's core proposition is competitive exchange rates for larger transfers, combined with access to professional currency dealing staff who can assist with market timing, forward contracts, and rate-watch orders. This positions it firmly between the retail digital apps (Wise, Remitly) on one end and the specialist corporate FX brokers on the other — serving the middle market of individuals and small businesses who need to move significant sums and want better rates than a bank but more guidance than an app can provide.

The fee structure is simple at the surface: OFX charges zero transfer fees on all transfers above a minimum threshold. Revenue comes entirely from the exchange rate spread — the margin between the mid-market rate and the rate OFX offers. For large transfers (above USD 10,000), the spread is typically very tight, often 0.4–0.8%, which can make OFX genuinely competitive even against Wise once the Wise percentage fee is factored on a large sum. For smaller transfers below USD 1,000, Wise is almost certainly cheaper because OFX's rate margin represents a higher effective percentage on a smaller amount.

A major differentiator is human support. OFX provides 24/7 telephone access to professional currency dealers in Sydney, London, Toronto, and San Francisco. These dealers can brief clients on current market conditions, explain why a rate is moving, help time a transfer around a scheduled economic data release, and set rate-target orders (limit orders) that execute automatically when the desired rate is reached. This level of service is rare among digital money transfer operators and genuinely valued by property buyers, business owners importing goods, and expats making large pension or asset transfers.

The OFX Business platform serves small and medium enterprises with multi-user access, invoicing tools, API integration for accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks), and dedicated account managers for regular customers. Many Australian exporters, importers, and import-business operators use OFX to manage their FX exposure as a core part of their treasury operation.

Coverage spans bank-to-bank transfers in 50+ currencies, with particularly strong depth in AUD, NZD, GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, SGD, and HKD corridors. Cash pickup is not available — OFX operates exclusively bank-to-bank. This is not a limitation for its target market (individuals and businesses making planned, meaningful transfers) but makes it unsuitable for unbanked recipient situations.

The registration process is more involved than a consumer remittance app: OFX requires full identity verification including proof of address, which can take up to one business day for manual review. This is deliberate — the additional KYC acts as a filter toward users making larger, legitimate transfers. Once verified, the account is permanent and the rate on subsequent transfers for established customers is often better than the public rate displayed on the website.

For anyone moving more than USD 5,000 internationally — a property deposit, a pension transfer, a business invoice, an immigration-related lump sum — OFX is worth comparing seriously. Its combination of competitive rates, no transfer fees, human support, and long operating history makes it one of the most trusted services in its segment.

The OFX forward contract product is particularly valuable for individuals facing large, planned international transfers. A forward contract locks in today's exchange rate for a transfer that will complete up to 12 months in the future. For someone buying a property in Spain while earning in GBP, knowing exactly how many euros a given pound sum will buy — regardless of how the EUR/GBP rate moves between now and settlement — eliminates a significant financial planning uncertainty. OFX offers these contracts with a deposit (typically 10% of the transfer amount) and the remainder payable at settlement.

Rate alert orders (also called "limit orders" or "target rate orders") are another professional-grade feature available through OFX. A sender sets a target rate — for example, "notify me and execute when AUD/USD reaches 0.70" — and OFX monitors the market 24/5 and executes automatically when the target is hit. This removes the need to watch the market manually and ensures the client doesn't miss a favourable rate because they were asleep or otherwise occupied. For regular senders who have learned from experience that patience often means a better rate, this feature adds material value.

The stop-loss order is the mirror image: set a rate below which you don't want to transfer (your worst acceptable rate), and OFX will not execute if the rate falls below that level — protecting you from a significant adverse rate move while your transfer is pending. Combined with a target rate order, these tools give individual senders a basic toolkit similar to what institutional treasury desks use.

OFX's business in Australia and New Zealand is particularly well-developed, reflecting its origins as OzForex. Many Australian SMEs use OFX to manage their import and export currency exposures, and the company's relationship-based account management model (dedicated FX specialist for business clients above a threshold size) provides a level of service rarely available at this price point.

Speed for standard bank-to-bank transfers is competitive: major corridors such as AUD→USD, GBP→EUR, and USD→CAD typically settle within 1–2 business days, which is fast relative to bank wire standards even if slower than the near-instant mobile money transfers offered by Remitly or WorldRemit. For the planned, significant transfers that are OFX's primary use case, 1–2 day settlement is entirely adequate.

The combination of no transfer fees, competitive rate spreads on larger amounts, human specialist support, and forward/option tools makes OFX the most complete offering for individuals and businesses who need more than just a consumer transfer app. It fills an important gap in the market between the "lowest possible fee" digital apps and the institutional FX desks that only serve large corporates.