Recently my wife and I needed to make a substantial international wire transfer and currency exchange between our U.S. bank and a Canadian bank. We chose OFX to handle the transfer based on their excellent reputation, very competitive exchange rate, and absence of hidden fees. What transpired over the next few weeks has affirmed ten-fold that we made the right choice!

Our US bank made two egregious errors:

First, they misinformed us about the status of our funds, putting us at risk of being unable to complete the transfer within OFX’s agreed upon deadline. Our bank grudgingly acknowledged their error but insisted that they could do nothing about it. When I contacted OFX to inform them of the situation; they immediately and without hesitation extended the deadline for us.

When the first error was finally rectified, we tried again. This time our bank, instead of wiring the funds to OFX’s U.S. account as the written instructions provided by OFX and given to the banker clearly stated, they wired the funds directly to the Canadian bank, bypassing OFX. When we learned of the error, a few hours after it had been made, it was too late to undo the damage. We were thus—by no fault of our own or of OFX’s—in violation of our agreement with OFX and were libel for a substantial loss due to the change in the relative values of the two currencies since we first struck the deal with OFX.

We filed a complaint with our U.S. bank, asking for compensation for lost funds. They said they would investigate and get back to us in two weeks. In the meantime, I informed our agent at OFX of what had occurred. She asked me for the transfer documents and said she would see what she could do. Within a few, she emailed to say that she had discussed the situation with OFX senior managers, and they had decided to waive the loss.

I could hardly believe it. Our U.S. bank eventually finished its investigation, refusing to take responsibility despite the clear, typewritten evidence that their banker had misread the instructions and wired our funds to the wrong bank. By contrast, OFX absorbed a substantial loss for which they bore no responsibility, to protect their customer. The trust, understanding, and generosity that OFX extended us was extraordinary. It is no wonder that OFX has earned a 4.4 Trust Pilot rating, while our U.S. bank is rated at 1.4!

Thank you OFX!!