What is OFX Format?

OFX (Open Financial Exchange) is an open standard for electronic exchange of financial data between institutions, businesses, and consumers. It is used by over 7,000 financial institutions worldwide.

Overview

Open Financial Exchange (OFX) was created in 1997 through a collaboration between Microsoft, Intuit®, and CheckFree. The goal was to establish a single, unified standard for transmitting financial data electronically — replacing the patchwork of proprietary formats that banks and software vendors had been using independently.

The original OFX specification (versions 1.x) used SGML, a markup language that predates XML. Starting with version 2.0, OFX transitioned to well-formed XML, making it easier for modern software to parse and generate. Today, most financial institutions produce OFX 2.x files, though many applications still accept the older SGML-based format for backward compatibility.

OFX covers a wide scope of financial data: bank statements, credit card statements, investment transactions, bill payment, loan information, and tax reporting. However, its most common use case by far is downloading bank and credit card transaction statements for import into personal finance and accounting software.

The OFX standard is maintained by the Financial Data Exchange (FDX) consortium, which includes major banks, fintech companies, and software vendors. This broad industry support ensures that OFX remains the de facto standard for financial data interchange, even as newer APIs and standards emerge.

Key Features

Open Standard

OFX is a publicly documented specification, not owned by any single vendor. Any financial institution or software developer can implement it without licensing fees.

Bank Integration

Over 7,000 financial institutions worldwide support OFX for direct download and Web Connect, including all major US, Canadian, and European banks.

Multi-Platform Support

OFX files are recognized by QuickBooks®, Quicken, Microsoft Money, GnuCash, Moneydance, YNAB, and dozens of other financial applications across Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Rich Data

Beyond transactions, OFX files carry financial institution identifiers, account metadata, running balances, and date ranges — enabling automated account matching and duplicate detection.

OFX File Structure

An OFX file follows a hierarchical XML structure. The top-level envelope contains a sign-on response (authentication status) and one or more message sets for different data types. Here is a bank statement example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?OFX OFXHEADER="200" VERSION="220"?>
<OFX>
  <SIGNONMSGSRSV1>
    <SONRS>
      <STATUS>
        <CODE>0</CODE>
        <SEVERITY>INFO</SEVERITY>
      </STATUS>
      <DTSERVER>20260215120000</DTSERVER>
      <LANGUAGE>ENG</LANGUAGE>
      <FI>
        <ORG>First National Bank</ORG>
        <FID>54321</FID>
      </FI>
    </SONRS>
  </SIGNONMSGSRSV1>

  <BANKMSGSRSV1>
    <STMTTRNRS>
      <TRNUID>0</TRNUID>
      <STATUS>
        <CODE>0</CODE>
        <SEVERITY>INFO</SEVERITY>
      </STATUS>
      <STMTRS>
        <CURDEF>USD</CURDEF>
        <BANKACCTFROM>
          <BANKID>021000021</BANKID>
          <ACCTID>9876543210</ACCTID>
          <ACCTTYPE>CHECKING</ACCTTYPE>
        </BANKACCTFROM>
        <BANKTRANLIST>
          <DTSTART>20260101</DTSTART>
          <DTEND>20260131</DTEND>
          <STMTTRN>
            <TRNTYPE>DEBIT</TRNTYPE>
            <DTPOSTED>20260105</DTPOSTED>
            <TRNAMT>-89.50</TRNAMT>
            <FITID>2026010500001</FITID>
            <NAME>Electric Utility Co</NAME>
            <MEMO>Monthly bill payment</MEMO>
          </STMTTRN>
          <STMTTRN>
            <TRNTYPE>CREDIT</TRNTYPE>
            <DTPOSTED>20260115</DTPOSTED>
            <TRNAMT>3200.00</TRNAMT>
            <FITID>2026011500001</FITID>
            <NAME>Payroll Deposit</NAME>
            <MEMO>Direct deposit</MEMO>
          </STMTTRN>
        </BANKTRANLIST>
        <LEDGERBAL>
          <BALAMT>12450.75</BALAMT>
          <DTASOF>20260131</DTASOF>
        </LEDGERBAL>
      </STMTRS>
    </STMTTRNRS>
  </BANKMSGSRSV1>
</OFX>

Key elements: The SIGNONMSGSRSV1 block handles authentication status. BANKMSGSRSV1 contains the statement data. Each STMTTRN is a single transaction with a unique FITID for deduplication.

OFX Version History

OFX has evolved significantly since its 1997 debut. Version 1.x used SGML markup with optional closing tags — a format that looks similar to XML but does not require strict well-formedness. Many older bank downloads still use this format.

Version 2.0 (released in 2000) switched to proper XML, requiring all tags to be closed and attributes to be quoted. This made OFX compatible with standard XML parsers and tools. Versions 2.1 through 2.3 added support for investment transactions, tax reporting, bill pay, and enhanced security.

Modern financial software typically supports both OFX 1.x and 2.x formats transparently. When converting CSV files to OFX with PrimeConnect, the output uses OFX 2.2 — the most widely supported modern version — ensuring compatibility with virtually all financial applications.

Compatible Software

OFX is the most broadly supported financial data format. These applications can import OFX files directly:

QuickBooks®

Desktop & Online

Quicken

All editions

Microsoft Money

Plus & Deluxe

GnuCash

All versions (free)

Moneydance

All versions

YNAB

Via file import

OFX vs Related Formats

OFX vs QBO

QBO files are OFX files with a .qbo extension. QuickBooks® uses the extension to trigger its Web Connect import wizard. The internal XML structure is identical.

OFX vs QFX

QFX is Quicken's branded version of OFX, using a .qfx extension. Like QBO, the underlying format is standard OFX — the extension simply tells Quicken to handle the import.

OFX vs CSV

CSV is a flat text format with no standardized structure. OFX provides structured XML with metadata, account identification, and duplicate detection — features CSV lacks entirely.

Ready to Convert?

Use our free tool to convert your bank CSV files to OFX format instantly.

Start Converting Free