OFX vs XE Money Transfer (formally HiFX)

I’m writing this review because I’m not suuuper happy with XE Money Transfer (formally HiFX).

I’ve used both OFX and XE Money Transfer  for transfers.

The first time I needed to send money overseas online, OFX had the best rates, no fee on my first transfer.   The next time I needed to do an international money transfer, XE Money Transfer had the best rates and boasted no fees on my first transfer, so I went with them.

OFX Experience:

  • Everything they said was true!
  • They kept their word — no fees.
  • My bank took a $15 wire transfer fee.
  • All went as expected, minus finding out my bank hates its customers. 1Most banks will charge their customers a fee for receiving a wire transfer, no matter which  international money transfer  company you use.
  • Update 2021: OFX is now giving Half the Clothes readers two free transfers via this link!
OFX is the best way to transfer money between countries, especially if you want to transfer money internationally without fees.

How I felt after my OFX international money transfer experience – happy as a clam! I managed to transfer money internationally without fees. #winning photo: pixabay

XE Money Transfer (formally HiFX) Experience:

  • They said no fees.
  • I expected no fees.
  • $20 disappeared from the sum XE Money Transfer promised would be landing in my receiving bank account.
  • XE Money Transfer explained that because they don’t have their own bank account in my home country, they had to use an intermediary bank which took $20 out of the funds before passing them on to me.
  • My bank took a $16 wire transfer fee.
  • Instead of gaining another $4 or $5 because of XE Money Transfer’s “better” currency exchange rate (compared to my beloved OFX), I actually came out $15 poorer than if I’d gone with OFX!
When I used HiFX to send money overseas online, they promised I could transfer money internationally without fees. Not true. They didnt charge me a fee, but they used an intermediary who did. Boo.

How I felt after using XE Money Transfer to try and transfer money internationally without fees. They only technically kept their promise. Technically they didn’t charge me a fee to transfer money between countries. Their intermediary did. Fine print. #lamesauce  photo: pixabay

I’ve written in depth now about why I love OFX.   And also why I think they’re the Best Way to Transfer Money from Australia to USA, among many other countries.  Give those a read if you want more details.

If you’re not transferring a huge sum of money, some  destination wedding friends of mine had a good experience with Transferwise.  They warned me that the original quoted fees and exchange rates can change if no match is found, which happens more often with large sums.   So sounds like smaller sums… consider either OFX or Transferwise.  Larger sums, definitely go OFX.

Hope this helps save you some money.

Good Luck! ♣

Transparency: OFX did not pay me to say anything.   I called them to say how happy I was with them (and how I mad I was at XE Money Transfer for their sneaky shenanigans), and they offered to give my readers a deal and to pay me a few dollars if any of my readers take my advice and use their service.   So there you have it!   If you  use this link to get the same good experience I had, OFX will also send me a little thank you on your behalf and they’ll give you a thank you in the form of no fees on your first two transfers.   Lucky us!

Transparency #2: Every time I update this article, I get a little irritated at all the unhelpful international money transfer reviews written purely to capture money from a transfer.   You see this page isn’t full of links to all the companies that transfer money internationally.   I encourage you to click carefully when you end up on a page that says “All these companies are great!   Just pick one so we can get a kickback!”

References

References
↑1 Most banks will charge their customers a fee for receiving a wire transfer, no matter which  international money transfer  company you use.