FinanceConvert.
FORMAT REFERENCE

OFX bank files: fields, dates and account identity

Open Financial Exchange can carry structured financial records. FinanceConvert reads its bank-transaction subset, which is more explicit than a table reconstructed from a PDF.

Reviewed · Scope and editorial method

Which fields identify a bank transaction?

Within a bank transaction list, DTPOSTED identifies the posting date, TRNAMT holds a signed amount, NAME/MEMO hold text and FITID is the source transaction identifier when provided. Account blocks and CURDEF provide account identity and currency separately from the transaction text.

The reader also accepts older SGML-style exports whose leaf fields are not closed like XML. It reads a transaction list rather than assuming that every document with an .ofx extension represents the same kind of activity.

Why identifiers should survive conversion

An identifier is not a spreadsheet quantity. Keep account and bank identifiers as text if leading zeros matter. FITID can help an importer recognize a transaction, but the destination determines how it uses identifiers and the account scope in which it compares them.

The CSV and Excel outputs preserve available account fields and FITIDs. Repeated IDs are not silently deleted. The OFX/QBO/QFX writers reject repeated nonempty transaction IDs because an importer might discard rows; a person must check the source instead.

Statement dates and balances are separate from file order

A bank may list the newest transaction first. The converter preserves row order while computing export date bounds from the earliest and latest transaction dates. It does not infer the statement period from the first and last physical rows.

A closing balance is written only when the latest transaction date provides one unambiguous available running balance. An absent or ambiguous closing balance is omitted. The file's creation time must not be mistaken for the historical balance date.

Bank transactions are not a portfolio migration

Investment transaction lists, positions and securities are outside this reader. Files containing several account statements are refused rather than attributing the first account's metadata to all transactions. Re-export each account separately.

CSV/Excel can be useful for reviewing records, while OFX is useful when the destination supports its account structure. Neither conversion recreates statement authenticity or certifies acceptance in another product.

A synthetic source example

<OFX><BANKMSGSRSV1><STMTTRNRS><STMTRS><CURDEF>USD</CURDEF><BANKACCTFROM><BANKID>123456789</BANKID><ACCTID>DEMO-ACCOUNT</ACCTID><ACCTTYPE>CHECKING</ACCTTYPE></BANKACCTFROM><BANKTRANLIST><STMTTRN><DTPOSTED>20260115</DTPOSTED><TRNAMT>-45.00</TRNAMT><FITID>demo-1</FITID><NAME>Office supplies</NAME><BALAMT>955.00</BALAMT></STMTTRN><STMTTRN><DTPOSTED>20260116</DTPOSTED><TRNAMT>1200.00</TRNAMT><FITID>demo-2</FITID><NAME>Client payment</NAME><BALAMT>2155.00</BALAMT></STMTTRN></BANKTRANLIST></STMTRS></STMTTRNRS></BANKMSGSRSV1></OFX>

This is an example for the reader, not a customer document or a certified bank export. Use “Try a sample file” on a converter to test the complete local workflow.

Checks for this format

Available conversions from OFX

  • OFX to PDF converter — Read OFX bank transaction fields into PDF as a readable transaction report. Review the preview before downloading.
  • OFX to CSV converter — Read OFX bank transaction fields into CSV with debit, credit and identifier columns. Review the preview before downloading.
  • OFX to Excel converter — Read OFX bank transaction fields into Excel with typed dates and amounts. Review the preview before downloading.
  • OFX to QBO converter — Read OFX bank transaction fields into QBO with account metadata for an import check. Review the preview before downloading.
  • OFX to QFX converter — Read OFX bank transaction fields into QFX with account metadata for an import check. Review the preview before downloading.

Format and product references

Publisher documentation describes the format or destination product. It does not certify this converter or any generated file.

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