OFX currency accounts let a business receive, hold, convert, and use supported currencies within its Global Business Account. The provider distinguishes its broader currency coverage from local receiving details, which it advertises for USD, CAD, EUR, and GBP. Do not assume every supported currency comes with the same local collection method. OFX currency-account documentation

For a U.S. business, the practical value depends on what happens after collection. Receiving foreign currency can be useful when you have obligations in that currency. If every receipt must soon become dollars, the conversion cost and timing remain central.

Match the receiving instructions to the payment

Before giving a customer payment instructions, establish the currency, receiving method, account information, and reference needed to identify the invoice. Obtain those details from the actual business account.

Avoid constructing receiving instructions from a sample screenshot or another company’s bank details. A product page showing that local receiving is available does not provide the credentials assigned to your business.

The customer also needs a clear invoice. State the currency unambiguously and explain any payment reference. An invoice for “1,000” is incomplete when the parties work in different currencies, even if both recognize the customer relationship.

Keep the issued instructions with the invoice. That creates a record of what the customer was asked to do if the eventual receipt needs investigation.

Understand what the balance represents

OFX states that its Global Business Account is not a bank account. Its business terms explain that receiving credentials identify how funds should be paid into the service; they are not details of a bank account held by the client. The terms also allow third-party receipts, with evidence of entitlement potentially required. OFX business terms, Global Business Account provisions

That distinction should shape the questions you ask before using the account for substantial operating balances. Confirm the applicable holding arrangements, access conditions, payment restrictions, and return process for your business.

Do not infer bank-style protection from a familiar account-number format. Nor should a finance policy classify every incoming receipt as immediately available for every type of payment without checking the actual account status.

Use expected obligations to evaluate whether to convert

Consider a hypothetical business that receives €18,000 and expects a €12,000 supplier payment next month. Keeping enough euros for that payment could avoid converting that portion into dollars and later converting dollars back into euros.

The remaining €6,000 raises a different question. If it is needed for U.S. payroll or another dollar expense, the business still needs dollars. If there is no defined use, retaining the balance means continuing to hold exposure to the euro.

This example illustrates allocation, not a recommended currency position or an assertion that OFX eliminates exchange-rate risk. The useful exercise is to connect each material balance to an expected obligation and date.

For a future payment whose exchange cost needs to be fixed, read the separate forward-contract and limit-order explanation.

Receiving by account details is different from accepting a customer’s card

OFX’s documentation supports receiving funds from customers through its currency-account arrangements. That does not establish every feature of a merchant-processing service.

If your requirement is to email a customer an invoice, let the customer pay by card, and settle the proceeds into your own balance, request documentation for that exact collection workflow. The presence of Pay by Card does not answer the question: that product concerns paying your suppliers using an eligible card. Our Pay by Card guide explains the direction of payment.

This distinction is useful during a product demonstration. Ask to see the payer’s actual experience and the receiving business’s record of the transaction, rather than accepting the word “invoice” as a complete description.

Moving money to your own bank is another payment decision

OFX’s business terms describe payments to designated recipient accounts, including the client’s own bank account. The available route, currency conversion, charges, and instructions still need to be checked for the transaction. Business payment provisions

Decide whether you need a supplier payment directly from the currency balance or a transfer back to your operating bank. Compare the complete path; an unnecessary intermediate conversion or movement can make the process harder to reconcile.

Our funding and payments guide separates the stages. Keep the incoming customer receipt, any conversion, and the outgoing payment as distinct records so the accounting trail explains where the money went.