OFX: international money transfers and currency exchange

OFX is a currency exchange and international money transfer service. It lets you send funds from a UK account to an account in a different country, and it also handles transfers connected with buying, selling and maintaining property abroad¹. It describes access to more than 140 different currencies through its in-house experts, along with hedging options, rate alerts, a dedicated currency expert and the ability to hold currency in your account for future payments².

It is not a bank, and that shapes what you get. Money you hold with OFX is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; instead the firm says funds are held in specially designated, safeguarded bank accounts separate from its other assets². The sections below set out what OFX offers, how its charges are built, what a transfer needs from you, how long money takes to arrive, how to reach it and complain, and where protection starts and stops.

What OFX does: international money transfers and currency exchange

An international money transfer allows people to send funds from a UK account to another account in a different country¹. OFX sits in the group of businesses that do this: high street banks, specialist money transfer and remittance businesses, online payment services and foreign exchange specialists¹. If something goes wrong with a transfer, that is the category of firm a complaint is about.

Beyond a straightforward transfer, OFX says it can help with every aspect of currency exchange, including transfers related to the buying, selling and maintaining of properties abroad². That covers the common reasons people come to a currency firm rather than their bank: paying for a home overseas, moving savings to another country, or sending regular amounts to family.

OFX also describes services around the transfer itself: hedging options, rate alerts, a dedicated currency expert, and the ability to hold currency in your account for future payments². Holding currency means converting at one point and paying out later, which is a different thing from a forward contract, where you agree a rate now for a payment in the future.

If you are comparing this with sending money through your bank, our guide to sending money in the UK and abroad sets out the wider market, and money abroad covers the practical side of living, travelling and moving overseas.

Locking in an exchange rate with forward contracts

Exchange rates move, and a forward contract is the tool for people who do not want to leave a large payment exposed to that movement. OFX lists hedging options among its services, which is the family of arrangements a forward contract belongs to².

The mechanics are worth understanding before you commit. A forward contract fixes a rate today for a transfer you will make on an agreed future date, which suits anyone who knows the amount and the deadline: a deposit on a property overseas, a completion date, a tuition payment. The trade-off is that you are committed. If the market rate moves in your favour before the payment date, you do not get the benefit, because you have already locked in.

Currency conversion for tax and property purposes follows its own rules. In Scotland, for land and buildings transaction tax, chargeable consideration in a foreign currency is calculated by translating the foreign currency into sterling using the London closing exchange rate on the effective date of the transaction⁶. That is a tax rule rather than a transfer rule, but it is the kind of detail that catches people out when a property purchase abroad or a foreign currency payment interacts with a UK tax bill.

Ask OFX directly what its forward contract terms are, including any deposit it requires and what happens if you cannot complete on the agreed date. Those terms are not published in the material behind this page, and they vary between providers.

How OFX charges for a transfer

Currency firms generally make their money in one of two ways: a fee on the transaction, or a margin built into the exchange rate they give you. OFX's own site is the place to check which applies to your transfer and what today's figures are, because OFX's rates and fees are not published in the material behind this page.

What is published is that fees are not always zero. OFX states that fees may apply to exchanges in exotic currencies². So a transfer in a major currency and a transfer in a less commonly traded one can be priced differently, and it is worth asking before you send rather than after.

The wider market gives a sense of how charges are structured. Halifax, for example, says that when you send money using online banking or its app, the payment will always be sent using the shared charging option⁴. Shared charging means the costs of the transfer are split between sender and recipient rather than borne entirely by one side, and it can affect how much arrives at the other end.

Two practical points follow. First, compare the total cost, not just the headline fee: a low fee with a poor rate can cost more than a higher fee with a better one. Second, ask what the recipient will actually receive, in their currency, after all charges. That single number is the fairest way to compare any two providers.

Who can use OFX and where money can be sent

OFX describes access to more than 140 different currencies through its in-house experts². That is a wide range, and it is the main reason people use a specialist rather than a bank, since high street banks tend to support a narrower set of destinations well.

OFX's eligibility rules are not published in the material behind this page, so the practical answer is to check before you rely on it. Currency firms commonly apply conditions around residency, the purpose of the transfer and the amount involved, and those conditions can differ between personal and business customers.

On destinations, the delivery times published by Halifax give a useful picture of how the world splits for international payments: any currency to North America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and the Far East should take no longer than 4 working days, and any currency to any other country no longer than 5 working days⁴. Those are Halifax's figures, not OFX's, but they show why the destination matters to your planning.

If you are sending money as part of a bigger move, our guides to money abroad and sending money in the UK and abroad cover the surrounding decisions.

Sending money with OFX online or through the app

OFX takes transfers online and through its app, which is how most currency firms operate. OFX's own app and online process are not described in detail in the material behind this page, so the steps below are the general shape of an international transfer rather than a description of OFX's screens.

The information a transfer needs is standard. For a bank transfer you need the amount you want to send, the full name of the person you are sending money to, their 6-digit sort code, their 8-digit account number, a payment reference, and whether you want the money sent straight away or at a later date and time⁷. For an overseas payment the details change: Halifax asks for the recipient's IBAN, the name and address of the recipient's bank, a clearing code and the reason for your payment when sending to the rest of the world⁴.

Once a payment has been made, the recipient is entitled to certain information where a currency conversion applies, including the exchange rate used by their payment service provider and the amount of the payment before that conversion, as well as the amount in the currency in which the funds are at their disposal⁸. That is a useful check: if the amount that lands does not match what you expected, the conversion is usually where the difference sits.

Details you need before making a transfer

Getting the details right before you confirm is the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a failed or delayed payment. The table below sets out what a transfer typically requires.

The SWIFT code and IBAN question comes up constantly, and the reason is simple: they are the identifiers that route an international payment to the right bank and the right account. The Financial Ombudsman Service, when looking at a disputed international money transfer, may ask for any messages used for the transfer, such as a SWIFT or an MT103¹. Those are the records that show what instruction was actually given, which is why keeping your own copy of the details you entered matters if a payment goes astray.

How OFX protects accounts against fraud

The advice currency firms give customers is consistent, and OFX's own guidance is to monitor your accounts on a regular basis, check for suspicious transactions, and report anything suspicious immediately¹⁰. That is the same message the wider fraud-prevention bodies give: check transactions and report any you do not recognise quickly, because you will usually get a refund if it is fraud¹¹.

Fraud against people sending money abroad often starts before any transfer is made. Investment fraud, holiday fraud and ticket scams all use the same pressure tactics, and Take Five's guidance is to contact your bank immediately if money or account details are involved, and to report it to the police at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040¹¹. The Pensions Regulator has also urged vigilance after a rise in impersonation fraud, which shows how far criminals will go to sound like a legitimate firm¹².

The practical defences are unglamorous. Verify the recipient's bank details by a route you already trust rather than one supplied in the same message that asked for the money. Be suspicious of urgency. And remember that a genuine firm will not object to you pausing to check.

If you think you have been scammed

Act immediately, and in a set order. The Financial Ombudsman Service's guidance for scam victims is to contact your bank or payment services provider immediately, contact the police on 101, report the scam to Report Fraud, and keep records of all contact and correspondence between you and the scammer⁵. The Payment Systems Regulator says the same thing in short form: contact Action Fraud to make a report and call your bank immediately so they can protect your account¹³.

If you have been tricked into making a payment, the ombudsman may be able to help if you are unhappy with how your bank or payment services provider handled it¹⁴. That is a specific route: it is about the firm's handling, not about undoing the scam itself. Where the ombudsman finds you lost money because you received the wrong advice, it can tell the firm to put things right and may also require compensation for distress or inconvenience¹⁵.

For OFX specifically, its own instruction is to contact it as soon as possible if you suspect you have been a victim of fraud or a scam¹⁰. Keep every message, reference number and receipt: the SWIFT or MT103 records mentioned above are exactly what a dispute turns on¹.

How your money is protected when you use OFX

This is the section to read carefully, because the protection is real but narrower than a bank's.

OFX is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The firm states that because its accounts do not fall under the FSCS, money is protected via safeguarding, with funds held in specially designated, safeguarded bank accounts separate from the company's other assets². Safeguarding is the standard protection for electronic money firms: your money is kept apart from the firm's own money, so it should not be used to pay the firm's creditors if the firm fails.

That is not the same as FSCS protection. The FSCS covers deposits, and the limits and rules are set by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority¹⁶. If you want your money inside that scheme, it needs to be with a bank or building society, not an electronic money firm.

The Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about firms within its remit, and it follows rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority¹⁸. Whether it can take your complaint depends on the firm and the product, so it is worth checking before you assume a route is open.

How to contact OFX and complain

Start with OFX itself. Its own guidance is to contact it as soon as possible if you suspect fraud or a scam¹⁰, and the same first step applies to any other problem with a transfer. Have your reference numbers and the transfer details to hand.

If OFX does not resolve it, the Financial Ombudsman Service is the next step for complaints about firms it can look at. It follows rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority¹⁸, and it can help where you are unhappy with how a bank or payment services provider handled a scam where you were tricked into making a payment¹⁴. Where it finds you lost money because of wrong advice, it can require the firm to put things right and may award compensation for distress or inconvenience¹⁵.

The ombudsman's own Business Support Hub runs from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday¹⁹. That is the ombudsman's hours, not OFX's, so check OFX's contact page for its current opening times before relying on reaching someone at a particular hour.

For free, impartial help with money problems more generally, MoneyHelper is the government-backed service, and its guidance covers opening, switching and closing accounts²⁰. Debt advice charities offer free, confidential help too, and advisers will work with you to understand your situation and explore the options available²¹.

Where to get free help

If a transfer has gone wrong and money is tight as a result, free help exists and it does not cost anything to use. MoneyHelper covers everyday banking questions including how to open, switch or close an account²⁰. The Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about firms in its remit and follows Financial Conduct Authority rules¹⁸.

For wider money worries, debt advice services provide free, confidential support, working through your financial situation and the options for managing what you owe²¹. If you are dealing with a scam, the reporting routes above are free, and Take Five's guidance is designed for exactly this situation¹¹.