If you’re transferring money into one of the countries that OFX handles, would you give it a try and tell us what you think? Imagine – fee-free transfers that are dependable, so long as the transfer is $250 or more. https://www.ofx.com/ Looking forward to hearing back firsthand experiences on this one.
2) Transferring Money? Please Tell Us Your Take on OFX
Very interested. My first question is. Can you do it so that when we receive New Zealand money in Japan we don’t have to pay the Japanese bank their horrible fee of about 55$ US just for accepting the money into our account?
We used OFX for a transfer from Australia to USA. Our research showed them to be the cheapest option, and it worked well. They make their money on the exchange rates, like other services. But there were no bank fees.
Dear Glyn,
Grateful indeed to have your smart and friendly reply.Then perhaps the Japanese banks all have the custom to charge customers simply for accepting the customer’s money? Is there a way to receive the money without first passing it through a bank?
In my research, I settled on TorFx. We’re in Europe, transfering money from the USA. The had very good rates, no fees. We’ve use them multiple times, including for some large amounts (home purchase) and were very thankful to God for the rates. The customer care is exceptionally good.
Marco. You mentioned you had done research on the issue of how best to transfer funds globally. Was this just for your personal needs or is it more extensive? I’m looking for good research on this and would love to connect with someone who understands the big picture on this issue.
I needed to transfer money from Australia to Papua New Guinea economically, which leave limited options. OFX was my choice, and found it to be reliable and with no hidden charges at either end. Transferred from Australia to USA at the same time with the same positive conclusion.
I’ve used OFX (known as Ozforex in Australia) for over 10 yrs to transfer funds primarily between USA and Australia. I have had zero issues with them. You do have to set up an account and get verified (as you should). You do need to be ready to transfer the funds once you have locked in a deal. And you do need to have all the details of the bank accounts that you are transferring between. Extremely helpful and professional. And the more you transfer the better the rate.
I tried OFX for transfer to a previous Soviet Republic, but had it rejected.
I tried XE Transfer, but ran into some kind of problem.
I tried Western Union–straight to another WU office–and that worked–once. But when tried again, I was twice rejected, possibly from the U.S. end due to concerns about money laundering or such. (I’m talking $800-1400, nothing huge.
Checking the info for ofx. Their website for exchange to Thailand right now shows a rate of 31.4229 for $20,000. Our money (a little over $21,000) came on Wednesday at 31.62, and the Thai bank, our normal channel, is showing the current rate (right now) at 31.69. So, it appears to me, if ofx has no bank transfer fees, they make their money on giving you a lower exchange rate than the banks give. For us, that would cost us nearly $200 (5,789.583 baht/31.62) or exactly $183. We don’t pay anywhere near that much for our current transfers. Unless someone has other info, we’ll not switch over to ofx.
I just checked a transfer of $10,000 to Thailand and got 31.3589 as a rate from ofx. That pretty much seals the decision for me, we’ll stick with the traditional bank to bank transfer method and pay way less. They aren’t charging any transfer fee, but they aren’t giving anything near a competitive rate of exchange either. Perhaps for ease of transfer, it is worth it if you only do one transfer, but not for transferring large amounts every month.