Personal Features

OFX

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59

OFX offers international money transfer solutions for individuals specialising in international bank transfers.

What OFX offers individuals

  • International money transfers
  • Personal account manager
  • Regular transfers
  • OFX mobile app

What OFX does not offer individuals

  • Digital wallets for individuals
  • FX optimised travel cards
  • Cash pick up or international bill payments

Western Union

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50

Western Union lets you transfer money to most countries in the world, either to bank accounts or to cash pickup locations.

What Western Union does

  • International money transfers
  • Cash pick-ups
  • Bill payments
  • Transfers to inmates
  • Prepaid card

What Western Union doesn't do

  • Personal account managers
  • Regular transfers
  • Unique local multi-currency accounts
  • Digital wallets
  • Currency hedging tools

OFX wins!

OFX scores better in the Personal Features category.

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Business Benefits

OFX

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89

Where OFX really shines is their business solutions and partnerships. Global businesses small and large can take advantage of their variety of solutions to work with global customers and suppliers. Most importantly they help manage currency risk. 

What OFX for business offers

  • Risk management
  • Multi-currency accounts
  • Global payment solutions
  • Business specialists
  • Xero accounting integration

What OFX for business doesn’t do

  • Business debit card optimised for FX

Western Union

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Western Union provides various forex services for business customers from a number of countries. 

What Western Union offers businesses

  • Currency hedging tools
  • Mass payments
  • Incoming payments
  • Multi-currency balances
  • Accounting integration

What Western Union doesn’t offer businesses

  • Solutions for online sellers
  • Business travel cards
  • Dedicated currency specialists

OFX wins!

OFX scores better in the Business Benefits category.

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Fees & Exchange Rates

OFX

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83

OFX Fees

Exchange rate margin fee - OFX offered exchange rate includes a fee of 0.5% and 0.7%. This is low and competitive.
 

Are OFX exchange rates negotiable?

By calling an OFX Expert and discussing your money transfer needs, it may be possible to arrange better pricing. In particular for larger sums and large yearly volume trades.
 

Are there additional OFX fees?

Yes. When sending under CA$10,000 or AUD$10,000, there is an additional fee of $15.
 

OFX & iCompareFX offer

OFX offers customers referred by iCompareFX a low exchange rate margin fee of 0.4%. This is an outstanding offer and is sure to lower all your money transfer costs which means more money being transferred.


Western Union

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Western Union money transfer fees

Exchange rate margin fee - This can be more than 5% for exotic currencies. 

Additional fees - The transfer fee you need to pay depends on the currencies involved, the transfer amount, the payment method and the delivery method.

  • Cash pickups tend to attract more fees than transfers to bank accounts.
  • With payment methods, credit cards attract the highest fees.

OFX wins!

OFX scores better in the Fees and Exchange Rates category.

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Ease of Use

OFX

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71

What OFX does well

Sign up process - Fast and intuitive.

ID verification - If requested, ID verification is generally your drivers license ID number and a quick phone call to discuss your money transfer requirements.

Transfer speed - 1 - 2 business days upon payment.

Mobile App - To initiate money transfers. Current and historical exchange rates are also available.

Where OFX could improve

Payment options - There are limited payments available other than local bank transfers.

Minimum transfer amount -  The minimum transfer amount is US$1,000, AU$250, CA$250, £100, €250. 


Western Union

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Sign up - Registration is easy and follows an intuitive process.

Payment options -  Bank transfers, debit cards, credit cards and cash.

Mobile apps - Available for Android and iOS

Transfer limits - Based on where you and the recipient live, the transfer method and the payment method.

Multilingual website - Get website access in local languages, depending on which Western Union website you use.


OFX wins!

OFX scores better in the Ease of Use category.

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Support & Countries

OFX

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81

What OFX does well

Supported destination countries - OFX supports over 55 currencies and many more exotic currencies. 

Global presence - OFX has seven global offices in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, United States, Canada and the UK.

Customer support - Customer support is available locally in the global offices, over the phone and via email.
 

Where OFX could improve

Languages - Customer service and their website is in English only.

Customer sign up countries - Currently OFX supports customer registration from USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.


Western Union

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Supported currencies - Western Union carries out transfers in around 130 currencies.

Supported countries - You can transfer funds to more to 200 countries and territories. You can register through the Western Union website from over 70 countries.

Phone support - Provides local phone support during business hours in several countries.


OFX wins!

OFX scores better in the Support and Countries category.

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Trust & Transparency

OFX

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69

What OFX does well

  • OFX is fully regulated in multiple countries UK, Australia, USA and Canada.
  • OFX is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and therefore is regularly audited for the compliance and safety of customer funds.
  • OFX has a Trust Pilot score of Excellent. Customer complaints are dealt with on TrustPilot quickly and directly by their customer service team.
  • iCompareFX customers make thousands of transfers through OFX yearly.

Where OFX could improve

Exchange rate margin fee transparency - OFX’s offered exchange rates include margin fees. While the exchange rate margin fee is low, it would be beneficial for current and future customers to clearly understand the fees. This would improve customer satisfaction of their money transfer service.


Western Union

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Where Western Union does well

Regulated - Licensed by financial regulatory bodies of different countries.

Publicly listed - Regular audits to oversee safety and compliance procedures result in increased trust surrounding customers' funds.

Western Union challenges

Exchange rate and fee transparency - The Westren Union margin on existing exchange rates can be more than 5% for exotic currencies. Some Western Union reviews on Trustpilot and Play Store mention non-transparency in fees as well.

Customer support - A number of online customer reviews highlight concerns surrounding Western Union's unresponsive customer service.


OFX wins!

OFX scores better in the Trust and Transparency category.

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The Result

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 OFX

OFX wins hands down on all categories.  Where Western Union really falls down is its transparency around its fees and exchange rates.  They are also generally much higher than the money transfer providers.