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OFX partners with Link Market Services to ease online transactions for offshore investors

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By Imelda Cotton - 
OFX Group ASX Link Market Services international payments Australia investors transfer funds

OFX will become Link Market Services’ preferred partner in Australia for international payments such as dividends and corporate action payments on Link’s Investor Centre platform.

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International money transfer house OFX Group (ASX: OFX) will team up with Link Market Services to become its preferred Australian partner for overseas payments such as dividends conducted through Link’s Investor Centre platform.

The partnership will be for an initial five-year term and has been designed to make it easier for offshore investors with shares in listed Australian companies on Link’s database to transfer their funds internationally.

Investors stand to benefit from cheaper, simpler and more convenient cross-border payments in more than 55 foreign currencies and will have access to OFX’s secure online platform and customer support.

The service will initially be offered to investors who currently use Link to receive dividends in cross-border transactions.

In some international jurisdictions, OFX will access these investors indirectly via Link corporate clients.

Additionally, all of Link’s Australian clients will have access to OFX’s online platform and customer support.

The partnership is expected to launch in March 2020 and generate approximately $5 million in annual fees and trading income for OFX by the 2022 financial year, subject to the number of new active clients.

It will be supported by a cash capital expenditure investment of approximately $2 million during 2020.

A better experience

OFX managing director Skander Malcolm said the strategic relationship will make international payments easier for offshore investors.

“We believe our leading digital platform will provide competitive pricing, control and visibility of international transactions and our global support network will provide best-in-class service,” he said.

“Combined with Link’s reach, this will enable clients to benefit from a considerably better experience for dividends, share sales and cross-border transactions.”

Link said OFX’s commitment to customer service, speed of delivery, savings and global client coverage were important deciding factors in considering an international payments partner.

Annual results

The Link partnership followed on the heels of OFX’s annual results announcement, where the company revealed increases in net operating income and underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the 2019 financial year.

The figures signalled OFX’s best full-year growth in underlying EBITDA since 2015 and the strongest growth in operating income over the last three years.

“[This year] was a good one for [us] – we doubled our revenue growth rate, whilst delivering positive annual operating leverage on an EBITDA basis,” Mr Malcolm told investors.

“We enhanced our client experience with substantial improvements in our mobile app, website, CRM (customer relationship management) program and the consistency of our service delivery.”

But the year also brought its challenges.

“While we achieved strong growth in the first half, the second half saw global markets pare back materially, driven by uncertainty such as Brexit and international trade tension, and our growth rates slowed,” he said.

At mid-afternoon, shares in OFX were up 8.74% to $1.555.