OFX.com Wire Transfer - Any Reviews?

[sfokevin]

I have just set up an account with OFX.com as a secondary means of transfering funds in addition to my TransferWise account and plan to do my next months 65k transfer with them as a test... I was wondering if anyone else uses or has tried them - Specifically I would like to know if they are coded by your Thai bank as a foreign transfer - please include your country of origin & Thai bank when posting your experiences...

 

OFX.com seems pretty much identical to TW (see screen shots of identical transactions) TW seems a little cheaper and it is my understanding that TW will further reduce their rates after March 9th...

 

Again please post any experiences you have had with OFX.com...

 

 

[pagan1]

I have used OFX (formally UKForex) for about 7 years. Never had a problem and very easy to contact / use, 

You can do a printout to show all your transfers from the OFX site,

Sorry need to look at bankbook to see how it is logged there (never took notice before). Will advise if it shows as a foreign transfer in due course

[tiz435]

I'm reviewing the OFX.com site as a secondary option to transferwise, and am also wondering about it showing as foreign transfer from overseas.

Edited March 13, 2019 by tiz435

[sfokevin]

I just completed my first transfer with OFX.com (From US bank to BK Bank account)...

 

The setup was similar to my TW account - I have a long standing US address & current US DL so no issues or glitches setting it up... I added my US bank via a standard .01 confirming deposit check and gave them my Thai bank account and swiftcode... They did ask me to call in and confirm setup which was just a couple security questions and what my transfer usage would be for in general (Make sure you do not say you live abroad full time - I started with that and saw it was not going well and backtracked and stated I just lived here in the winter and would be retuning to the US)... Setup complete I booked a $2200 transfer and was give a transfer amount confirmation and was sent a detailed confirmation email - This included the amount to be deposited in my account and a 4 day estimate of arrival - It also stated my Thai bank and the swiftcode to be used and stated that the receiving bank (BK Bank) may deduct an additional receiving fee (This was not included in the website initial quote)... 4 days later they sent me an email stating the funds had been deposited in my account... The next day in the afternoon my BK Bank had the funds booked in as foreign transfers (less a 200 baht fee)... The fee is BK Banks standard .25% fee (200 baht min/500max) they charge on all incoming foreign transfers... So the silver lining of the 200 baht fee is that it means it must be a standard foreign transfer and is coded as such (Same fee as BK Bank NY ACH)... Overall it works fine with the exception of the total transfer time was 5 business days... I did email them and asked if this long time lag was due to this being my 1st transfer and was told no - they 4 days to transfer my funds from the US to the UK and then via Barclays in London to Thailand and BK Bank needs another day it to hit my account... A UK citizen may experience much shorter times as OFX.com is a UK firm... The rep also told me that it would always be a foreign transaction to BK Bank (Not sure about other Thai banks) as all transfers were out of their Barclays in London account.. The cost is not much different than the TW fees so until TW can guarantee a foreign coding I will use OFX.com

 

[zoza]

 

 

 i  found it shows the interbank rate of exchange and they want you to join and furnish them with all your details name/ phone/email/Dob/ adress /how much you intend to send a year (i know they say all part of how

much you send = what rate.... ect.... ect )

and until you join you cannot see the rate that you as a customer gets

i'm not saying they are up to anything but if its such a good deal why

not be up front... just saying   ….. i hear TW is altering their methods?

only on another post but if so, might save us the bother 

 

[Pib]

sfokevin,

  Great post on OFX.com.  I very recently completed OFX account setup using my "Thailand address."   

 

  As you know/experience and just for others listening in for "ID verification" a person needs upload a picture of their passport or drivers license....and for "address verification" they need to upload a bank letter/statement, utility bill (electric/water/landline...mobile not accepted), or govt letter no older than 3 months and has your address on it. 

 

   I got a bank statement from my Thai bank...and had them include my Thailand address in English on the statement....normally it's in Thai language. So, I'm registered with a Thailand address.   OFX will also call you during the verification process with a few simple questions.   And for US folks you can link one bank account via ACH Debit (i.e., pull funds) like many of us do when setting up transfer links between our US bank accounts...like how many setup an ACH Transfer link to their Bangkok Bank account.  I'm setting up an OFX ACH transfer link as we'll speak...waiting for the trial deposits to hit my US bank account so I can verify/complete the transfer link.  Then I will do some transfers via OFX.

 

  I had lost interest in using OFX when I found out last year their "customer" exchange rates were not that good....last year I  made afew spreadsheet posts comparing OFX and Transferwise but the OFX customer rates at that time gave Transferwise a clear win for typical amounts a person would transfer.   Until you get an account with OFX you can't see their customer (real world exchange rates); you can only see their "indicative" (i.e., not what you will really get) exchange rates on their public webpage....their indicate rates were the mid market rates like Transferwise gives. 

 

  Anyway, over the last few months OFX customer exchange rates have greatly improved...probably due to all the competition among money transfer services.  Now, at least for the USD-THB currency pair, how much baht will hit your Thai bank account with the least cost to your OFX is a tad better than Transferwise.   Although the OFX exchange rate is little lower than Transferwise, OFX does not charge any sending fee like Transferwise does.   

 

   For example using OFX, Transferwise, and Bankgok Bank exchange rates (real world/customer exchange rates given) as of 3:30pm today (15 Mar), OFX comes out on top in terms of most baht hitting your Thai bank account at the least cost to you.

 

1. OFX Transfer of $2500....came in 1st for most baht for least cost...still need to subtract the Thai bank receiving fee of 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) since the funds arrive via SWIFT....Bt200 in this case....so reduce the Recipient Gets amount below by Bt200. 

 

2. Transferwise rransfer of $2500....came in 2nd.  No need to make any further adjustment as there is no receiving bank fee since the final leg of the transfer is a local/domestic transfer.

 

 

3. If doing an ACH Transfer to Bangkok Bank via their NY branch sending $2500 with their 31.55 TT Buying Rate and their two fees (i.e., New York branch pass-thru fee and your local bank receiving fee) Bt78,359.50 would have posted to your account.  This method came in 3rd.
 

  So, OFX may be a money transfer service folks may want to relook/consider since their rates have greatly improved.   And I can say from experience you can reach a human at OFX customer service 24/7 with little to no on-hold time based on around a half dozen calls I've made to them.  So refreshing (and reassuring) in being able to talk to a human versus needing to leave a voice mail, do an online chat session, email, etc.  Now I just need to get some OFX transfers under my belt to see if there are any surprises.

 

 

   

[Pib]

Called OFX around 8pm Thailand time due to a minor issue....was talking to a human in about 3 minutes....got my minor issue fixed in about 1 minute.  I then asked how do they send funds to Thailand?....does OFX use SWIFT or do a local transfer for the final leg of the transfer like Transferwise does?  The rep said for Thailand they always use SWIFT.   

 

So, this means although that will most likely incur the Thai bank international receiving fee of 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) it also means it should show-up on your Thai bank account as an international transfer regardless of who your Thai bank is such as Bangkok Bank, K-bank, Krungsri Bank, SCB, etc.

 

 

[SooKee]

The few times I've opened their app, having registered and verified my account, when looking to try a transfer I keep getting 'We can't give you a rate right now'. Just tried it and same again. Being unable to get being that screen means you can't even add a recipient. Good job!!

Sent an email to their customer support to try and see what the problem is. Tried re-installing the app. No joy. Maybe I've just been unlucky to catch a systems problem each time. Or maybe someone forgot to flick a switch their end once the account was verified. Doesn't really inspire confidence though!!

[sfokevin]

25 minutes ago, SooKee said:

The few times I've opened their app, having registered and verified my account, when looking to try a transfer I keep getting 'We can't give you a rate right now'. Just tried it and same again. Being unable to get being that screen means you can't even add a recipient. Good job!!

Sent an email to their customer support to try and see what the problem is. Tried re-installing the app. No joy. Maybe I've just been unlucky to catch a systems problem each time. Or maybe someone forgot to flick a switch their end once the account was verified. Doesn't really inspire confidence though!!

Try logging in on their website with a computer and see if it works...

[SooKee]

1 hour ago, sfokevin said:

Try logging in on their website with a computer and see if it works...

Yeah, not near one at the moment sadly.  Just mentioned it to a chum who uses it though and he said apparently it's normal.  OFX can only give rates for THB when the exchanges here in Thailand are open, so Monday to Friday 9-5 approx.  He said if you use a computer it will have a banner saying that when you log on, the app just says "Can't give you a rate".

 

Be interesting to see how it compares with GBP/THB.  Last time I checked, just after I set up OFX (and that was with the laptop) OFX were slightly more expensive than TW, by about 5-600 baht on around £2,300.  BKK Bank London (they are currently registering my application which I sent from Thailand) would charge £20 for the sending GBP to LOS, can't recall BKK Bank's local inward fee for foreign currency coming in that they then exchange to baht.

 

Never done a transfer with OFX so Im not sure if, like when using a bank, you can specify to transfer in GBP and have the Thai Bank convert it or if you have to specify GBP > baht.  If they pay out the same rate as the bank, probably no pint in sending GBP (if indeed you can).

Edited March 16, 2019 by SooKee

[Pib]

 

It's not the OFX app...you will get the same thing if logging onto your account via browser. The problem is Thai baht (THB) is being traded/transferred.  I know FX markets are supposedly open 24/7 but that's only true for certain currency trades/accounts/currency pairs/depends on which FX market a company uses. 

 

When THB is part of the currency pair since it's a minor/exotic currency pretty much only used in Thailand versus a currency like USD/EUR/GBP that are major currencies used in many countries the THB trade volume is very low and can be erratic or the best pricing not be available.  Guess OFX don't want to deal with that.

 

Anyway, the THB FX trade is such low volume apparently OFX only trades/transfers it on business days...Monday thru Friday when the FX markets are open...high volumes in play. 

 

Below snapshots are from their website one showing USD-THB (only Mon-Fri due to the THB being involved) and then USD-GBP (7 days a weeks since both are major, high trade volume currencies).

 

I know with Transferwise you can get exchange rates on THB 24/7...send 24/7, but that is probably due to their peer-to-peer setup where they have their own bank accounts at Bangkok Bank, Kaiskorn Bank, and Thai Military Bank full of baht they have already deposited to fulfill transfers.  Transferwise is not doing an actual currency trade on the market nor sending the money via SWIFT. Now OFX supposedly has this same setup in "some countries but not for Thailand;" instead, OFX does an actually currency trade during normal FX market hours Mon-Friday and sends via SWIFT.

 

Now for me, I don't have a problem with this...that is, initiating a USD-THB transfer only Mon-Fri because I use the ACH Debit (i.e., ACH system pull of funds from my US bank acct) to fund the transfer and since the US ACH system is a Mon-Fri system even if I could initiate a USD-THB transfers on Sat or Sun, the funding process (getting the money to OFX) would be at a standstill until Monday....then the transfer could start moving forward.

 

For those US folks who use Transferwise a lot and use ACH Debit to fund the transfer you have probably noticed if you initiate the transfer on a Fri-Sun that Transferwise expected transfer completion time is longer because of the Sat and Sun dead time for the ACH system.   Although you initiated the transfer like on a Sat or Sun (or maybe even Friday) and if using ACH Debit to fund the transfer which I expect most US folks use,  it's not really going anywhere until the Mon-Fri ACH system is open so the Transferwise can get the money via ACH to fund the transfer.

 

 

USD-THB

 

USD-GBP

 

[Pib]

Some of you may remember some comparisons I need in the later part of 2018 comparing Transferwise, OFX,  Bangkok Bank ACH (via their NY branch), and International Wire (SWIFT).  But since Transferwise and OFX have adjusted their fees and/or exchange rates over the last few months probably due to competition, I thought it was time to do another cost comparison.   

 

Keep in mind the Bangkok Bank ACH via the NY branch method effectively goes away 1 Apr 19 due to the ACH "IAT" requirement.  No known US bank/credit union uses ACH IAT format to "send" money; they can receive in ACH IAT format no problem...it's just for a typical "retail common-man" account US banks don't use ACH IAT....they instead use International Wire (SWIFT).  ACH IAT is available at some large banks for "corporate/business" accounts.

 

Also, for the SWIFT costs I used a $25 sending fee (that Schwab's SWIFT sending fee) in below comparison since SWIFT sending fees seem to range from around $20 to $60 depending on your bank unless you have a premier/high net worth account where you might get free SWIFT transfers.  

 

The comparison below is for the "USD-THB" currency pair and based on exchange rates as of 15 Mar 19 (a Friday/yesterday).  Associated/typical sending and receiving fees are also included because in any transfer the best deal is the one that puts the most baht into your Thai bank account at the least cost to you when fully evaluating both exchange rates and fees. 

 

In one of the columns I used a $2,100 sending amount to simulate the transfer of Bt65K per month if a person was using the new immigration monthly income rule for a retirement extension.  At current exchange rates, $2,100 gets at least Bt65K posted to your account....but just barely.  A person should send maybe at least $2,200 per month to have more of a safety margin for currency exchange variations if you can't lock-in the exchange rate when sending.

 

One final note, since the final leg of a Transferwise transfer is a local/domestic transfer there is no receiving fee applied by the Thai bank.  But for OFX they use SWIFT which means the typical 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) Thai bank receiving fee is applied and reflected in the comparison below.    

 

 

 

[Pib]

One more USD-THB transfer cost comparison...purely between using Transferwsie, OFX and SWIFT.   Exchange rates as of 18 Mar 19 at 10am.   

 

Didn't include using Bangkok Bank ACH via their NY branch since it effectively goes away 1 Apr 19 unless your US bank/CU can send in ACH "IAT" format...however, no known banks/CUs "send" in IAT format...instead they use SWIFT/Int'l Wire...but they can "receive" in IAT format no problem.   

 

There has been crossfeed that Bangkok Bank NY is requesting the US Treasury give Bangkok Bank an extension of time beyond 1 Apr 19 to continue the flow-thru to Thailand of "non-IAT" format ACH payments for X-more months.  But this extension may be focused toward U.S. ACH government payments only such as SSA pension, military retirement pension, etc., where many (supposedly around 20%) are currently not sent in IAT format.  If such an extension is in the works, it may not apply to transfers a person would send from their bank/CU.  1 Apr 19 is less than two weeks away...so we should find out soon by Bangkok Bank publishing an update and/or transfers continuing to arrive--or start being rejected.  Time will tell.

 

Regarding the Transferwise and OFX comparison it's a good example of how a person must price out both exchange rate "and" fees to see which one puts the most baht into your account at the least cost to you.  While OFX exchange rates as approx 0.5% lower than Transferwise's, OFX does not have any Sending fees but Transferwise does have Sending fees which can get healthy for larger transfers.   Yeap, always remember to evaluate both exchange rate and fee(s).  And yes, there are the non-cost related factors such as speed, ease of use, funding options, receiving bank coding, customer service, etc. Below is purely a cost comparison.   

 

Also included a $2,100 transfer amount since at current exchange rates that about the lowest amount a person could send to barely put Bt65K into your Thai bank account if using the new immigration monthly income rule for your retirement extension of stay renewal.  But personally I wouldn't cut it that close if able and unless able to lock-in the rate when sending....go with Bt2,200 or higher amount to add a safety margin due to exchange rate fluctuation 

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by Pib

[Sheryl]

Very helpful, thanks for this.

[sfokevin]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

But personally I wouldn't cut it that close if able and unless able to lock-in the rate when sending....

And remember that the rate and amount OFX initially quotes you will be lowered by the .25% (Min 200/Max 500) that Bangkok Bank will deduct... Other receiving banks may vary...

Edited March 18, 2019 by sfokevin

[Pib]

1 hour ago, sfokevin said:

And remember that the rate and amount OFX initially quotes you will be lowered by the .25% (Min 200/Max 500) that Bangkok Bank will deduct... Other receiving banks may vary...

I included the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) fee in the comparison charts.

[sfokevin]

 Just wet to my Bangkok Bank and asked for the Credit Advice for all my wires in for the last 3 months... They provided printout for free

 

Here is what the Ofx and TransferWise show on the Credit Advice... 

Ofx clearly states it a swift transfer from its Barkley UK Bank while the TW is more ambiguous with FTT but still a foreign transaction...

 

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by sfokevin

[Pib]

With the OFX payment it's clear as a bell the payment came from outside Thailand as it says SWIFT and has a foreign sending address.   

 

However, with the Transferwise transfer the method payment is "Bulk Payment"....well, that is definitely not indicative of it being an international transfer.  In fact, Bulk Payment is a domestic transfer method.  Plus no foreign sending address is used.  And that sending bank code of FTTFRWUK is "not" a real SWIFT code...you will not find that as a valid SWIFT code anywhere; instead, that's some internal Bangkok Bank pseudo SWIFT code since they are both the parnter bank and where your account is.

 

 

[sfokevin]

As a further point of reference here is what a standard ACH to Bangkok Bank NY looks like...

 

 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, sfokevin said:

As a further point of reference here is what a standard ACH to Bangkok Bank NY looks like...

 

 

 

Now BKKBUS33 is a real SWIFT code....it's the Bangkok Bank "New York" branch SWIFT code.  But apparently Bangkok Bank does some kind of internal bulk payment transfer.  Just so many different ways to move money now days...so many different systems.

 

Here's how Bank of Thailand describes the Bulk Payment System.

https://www.bot.or.th/English/BOTStoryTelling/Pages/PaymentSystems_StoryTelling_AcademicAndStudent.aspx

Quote

- Bulk Payment System a convenient mean of payment for preauthorized interbank fund transfers that are large in volume and have regular recurring payment period such as payment of salary, wage, and dividend. The system allows payers to submit transfer orders in advance to originating bank and receiving bank will put the transferred funds into accounts of payees at any branches. 

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by Pib

[SooKee]

Choosing OFX over TransferWise is doubtless going to be influenced by the currency you are sending too. With USD OFX do seen very competitive Checked again the other day and when sending GBP it's not the same, TransferWise are better by quite some margin. Sending £2,000 will result in the following hitting your account:

OFX: 82,331.80 (from which the back will deduct their service charge of approx 200)

TW: 83,516.08

So, using TW will net you an extra 1,384.28 after bank fees are deducted.

[Pib]

Yeap, the currency pair can make a difference as to which sending method put the most baht into your account as the least costs.   

 

Like the chart at the bottom is comparing four currency pairs.  USD-THB, GBP-THB, EUR-THB, AUD-THB if sending 1000 USD, EUR, GBP, or AUD when using OFX, Transferwise, or you Home Country Sending Bank.

 

The chart reflects how much would end-up in your Thai bank account if using OFX, Transferwise, or just sending from your home country bank after taking into consideration all fees "EXCEPT" whatever your home country Sending bank would charge for a SWIFT transfer/any intermediary bank fee...and for OFX & Transferwise you had to pay some fee on your Sending bank end to "push" money to OFX/Transferwise for those of you that push money to OFX/Transferwise versus just letting them "pull" the money from your bank account.  So you'll need to adjust/correct for the received amounts in the chart if you do incur some fees like a Sending bank fee, intermediary bank fee, etc.  

 

The Thai bank receiving fee for an OFX or home country bank SWIFT transfer are already included in the chart....I used a Bt200 receiving fee since we're sending an amount that incurs the Bt200 minimum receiving fee at most Thai banks.  Transferwise does not incur a Bt200 receiving fee since the final leg of the transfer is a domestic transfer versus international.

 

Exchange rates were as of today/21 Mar at 4pm with the Thai bank "average" TT Buying Rate coming from this website that shows various Thai bank exchange rates and also an "average" of all the various banks.  Since people have different Thai banks I used the "average" TT Buying Rate used for incoming foreign transfers.    

 

Once again, regarding the numbers shown in the Thai Bank "Average" TT" column that assumes no sending bank SWIFT fee (which there will surely be one) and maybe an intermediary bank fee.  And for the OFX and Transferwise column if you "push" your money to them to fund the transfer and have to pay your sending bank a fee for that then that amount is not reflected in the OFX & Transferwise column.  Every person will be different in how they fund a transfer and what their sending/funding bank might charge...different strokes for different folks means different costs/fees.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Pib

[SooKee]

Not certain how you're getting your OFX figures with GBP to THB. Checking again for £1,000

 

OFX at this moment in their app shows a rate of 40.746 after they've taken their £7 fee and has 40,746 reaching your payee.

 

TW shows a rate of 41.6977 with a £6.81 fee and 41,413.79 reaching your payee.

 

No idea why you're seeing rates from OFX which are that much better. OFX show in their Market Rate £1 = 41.574 but you get nowhere near that rate when logged in and setting up a transfer.

 

 

Posted using Tapatalk

 

 

[Pib]

OFX rates I used were my "customer rate."   For example, as of 22 Mar at 7:50am Thailand date/time the OFX GBP-THB "customer rate" shown me is 41.3872....no fee for transfer (see snapshot 1 below) where on your account they are apparently charging a 7 pound transfer fee and apparently showing a different rate.  At 41.3872 they would send 41,387.20 baht via SWIFT with the Thai receiving bank fee of Bt200 resulting in 41,187.20 posting to my Thai bank account.

 

Now going to OFX's public webpage where a person can only see the rate calculator used for "indicative purposes" using a mid market rate like Transferwise uses, it shows a 41.5687 rate.  See Snapshot 2.  But this indicative rate is not the actual customer rate given...gotta have an account with OFX to see their real world rates.

 

Snapshot 3 is Transferwise's exchange rate....pretty close to the OFX public webpage mid market exchange rate.

 

And I expect your OFX account is possibly registered with a UK address which means the UKForex division of OFX manages your account where mine is register with my Thailand address which means the OzForez division of OFX manages my account.  I would think the OFX customer rates would be the same across their UKForex, OzForex, USForex, etc., divisions but maybe not.  I expect this may be the cause of apparently you seeing a 7 pound transfer fee where transfers for me are free....or maybe I should say my account said my first 50 transfers are free.....I've got one transfer underway right now so now I have 49 more free transfers to go.

 

Snapshot 1.  Customer Exchange Rate on my account

 

Snapshot 2...from OFX public webpage..."indicative" rates only based on some mid market rate....not actual customer rates like the snapshot above.  Does not talk any transfer fee.  More of a worn-on-the-hook type rate.  

 

Snapshot 3....Transferwise exchange rate....very close to the OFX indicative rate.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2019 by Pib

[SooKee]

Very strange.  I might mail them at some stage.  I only recently registered with OFX and used my Thai address and provided account info to them (IIRC) to a UK bank account.  No mention anywhere of free transfers for me either.  As it stands for me at the moment I wouldn't even consider OFX as an option at the moment given that even a bank SWIFT would be better value.

[sfokevin]

15 minutes ago, SooKee said:

As it stands for me at the moment I wouldn't even consider OFX as an option at the moment given that even a bank SWIFT would be better value.

Many of us do not have a convenient home country bank Swift option... 

Your quibbling about a few hundred baht on a 65k+ transfer...

Edited March 22, 2019 by sfokevin

[SooKee]

Up to you whether you consider it quibbling or not, your opinion is of zero interest to me.

 

The fact is however when using two similar services OFX, in some cases, charges MUCH more than Transferwise to send the same amount of GBP to Thailand.  It's not a few hundred baht either, far from it!  On £2,000 it's around 1,400, on £3,000 around 2,000 baht.  I'd have thought anyone with any common sense would choose to use the option that offers better VFM, if your'e mug enough to throw 1,400 baht plus down the drain for no reason, up to you!!

[sfokevin]

TransferWise is not a Swift option... 

[SooKee]

5 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

TransferWise is not a Swift option... 

Is comprehension not a strong point?  The posts I made above were comparing Transferwise to OFX, not OFX to SWIFT the latter of which is normally even more expensive.  The reference to SWIFT above (post 25), which in itself was posted in response to posts 23/24, in this case was merely with regard to that even the SWIFT option is better value than OFX.  As to where the "quibbling over a few hundred baht" (also wrong) bright idea comes from I have even less idea.

 

I can only explain it you you, I can't understand it for you!

[Pib]

8 hours ago, SooKee said:

Very strange.  I might mail them at some stage.  I only recently registered with OFX and used my Thai address and provided account info to them (IIRC) to a UK bank account.  No mention anywhere of free transfers for me either.  As it stands for me at the moment I wouldn't even consider OFX as an option at the moment given that even a bank SWIFT would be better value.

This morning/Friday around 10am I got an OFX email asking me if I was going to fund the transfer I initiated Monday night.  That Monday night call occur right after confirming my US bank account via OFX penny deposit/trial deposit method and then also talking to an OFX rep on the phone about an hour after initiating my first transfer.   But with this morning email, I think to myself, what the heck, I did all of this on Monday...even got the confirmation email Monday night saying all is good....funds will be direct debit via ACH from my US bank account.

 

On your first transfer a rep will call you to reconfirm you bank account info...a first time transfer thing with OFX. That happened for me on Monday night about an hour after initiating the transfer.  The rep then said using the ACH Direct Debit means OFX will debit funds one business day after initiating the transfer and then there is another 3 business days funds hold period to ensure the ACH payment clears.  Basically OFX wants to ensure they get paid via the US ACH system and the payment has totally cleared.   I even got an email from OFX after than Monday night call saying all is confirmed...funds will be direct debited from my US bank account.  At that point I was expecting the money to post to my Thai bank account this Friday....maybe Saturday...otherwise Monday.

 

Anyway, I get the email this morning asking when am I going to send the money....I then call OFX an ask what the heck....why are you asking how am I'm going to fund the transfer....the ACH direct debit setup was completed Monday/4 days ago...confirmed online and via telephone call with your office.  The rep says hold one let me look at the system and then says the Direct Debit had not been "checked/enabled" in their system....as in checking/enabling a setting.  Apparently even through I completed that verification online with OFX and reconfirmed by a phone call apparently it didn't take/some glitch happened/someone on the OFX just failed to check on the boxes so to speak.  

 

Anyway the OFX rep enabled the direct debit on their end (again)....once again talked the direct debit will take 1 business day to occur followed by a 3 day hold period....then OFX will send the money to my Thai bank account which takes another day.  And as sfokeven reported earlier it may take my Thai bank another day to post the SWIFT transfer. 

 

This evening I log onto my OFX account and see the transfer status wording is a little different and now they show my US bank account on a screen that wasn't there before.  All looks OK the best I can figure being a newbie to OFX. 

 

So, if using the US ACH payment system to get your US dollars to OFX (your only other choice is a wire transfer from your bank which from a US bank incurs a healthy fee) a person can pretty much plan on it taking a week for the money to get to you with the bulk of that time being the ACH processing/settlement time.   But if you "push" the money to OFX via wire transfer then the transfer time would be lessened by around 4 days due to elimination of the ACH settlement/hold time.

 

Now you can pay Transferwise transfer using ACH Direct Debit, which is what I have done about a half dozen times, and after first few ACH funding transfers Transferwise seems to trust you....assume you are a good guy....assumes ACH settlement will occur no problem...and Transferwise get the money moving faster.  By last two Transferwise transfers in January took less that 20 hours to post to my Thai bank account although my initial transfers took 2 to 4 days.

 

I really opened this OFX account to have second money transfer service....my other one being Transferwise...and to be able to fully checkout OFX because they get high customer service ratings, OFX has few to no "I hate your service" reviews like you can find on Transferwise due to out-of-the-blue account closures Transferwise will sometimes do, and customers generally like using OFX although a good number review say their transfers can be slow.  I expect when you "push" the money to OFX the transfers are just about as fast as Transferwise; otherwise, if OFX must "pull" the money from your bank account they use a 3 to 4 day clearance/hold time before sending transfer to you....they want to be absolutely sure the "check don't bounce" so to speak.

 

So, maybe around this time next week I'll have an update saying the money posted to my Thai bank account.  I then probably do one more low amount transfer to do another 100% to sniff out any other issues with my OFX account...ensure the ACH direct debit is truly working properly.

 

But one thing I can say, you can always get a human online within minutes 24/7 when calling OFX to quickly fix/talk any issue.   You can call their Oz, US, UK, CA, and various other phone numbers and your called is directed to whatever office is open around the world.  In my various calls over the last week I always called their 1800 type US number since I have US VOIP service which makes calls to the US free, and I have been ended up talking to a OFX rep in San Francisco, a rep in Toronto, a rep in London, and a rep in Sydney...your call is simply directed to whichever office is open, least busy at the time.   Yeap, good to be able to talk to a human 24/7....something that is becoming harder and harder to do nowdays with many services.