Strategies of OFX for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: CEO Skander Malcolm Discusses H1 2025 Results
OFX Shifts Focus to B2B Market Amid Challenging Macro Environment
In a recent interview, OFX's CEO, Skander Malcolm, outlined the company's strategic shift towards the B2B market, aiming for growth and higher-value clients through a comprehensive platform transformation and enhanced digital marketing efforts.
Platform Transformation and Integrated Solutions
OFX is investing heavily in its platform to offer seamless global financial operations. This includes multi-currency business accounts, payments in over 30 currencies to 180 countries, corporate cards, spend management, and integrations with accounting and HRIS software. The goal is to provide a compelling value proposition for B2B clients who need efficient, real-time control over global cash flows, reducing operational complexity and costs.
Product Features Targeting B2B Requirements
OFX is introducing features like batch payment approvals, instant payment notifications branded for businesses, and the ability to hold and manage multiple currencies with a corporate card. These features aim to differentiate OFX from banks and fintech competitors while addressing specific pain points like FX fees and manual payment processes for B2B clients.
Marketing and Commercial Focus
OFX is transforming its digital marketing and website specifically for B2B needs, emphasizing demand generation and nurturing high-quality leads via Account-Based Marketing (ABM). This is a shift from a broader SMB approach to concentrating on winning mid-size and larger business accounts and partnerships with accounting firms, enhancing customer lifetime value and revenue per client.
Challenge Management
OFX faces intense competition from banks and fintech disruptors, especially in the SME segment. To address this, OFX prioritizes a more resilient B2B customer base less sensitive to market volatility and invests heavily in platform capabilities to build customer loyalty and expand cross-border opportunities with AI and integrations.
Financial Performance
In H1 2025, OFX reported a decrease in fee and trading income (-0.09% YoY to A$114.5m) and a drop in underlying EBITDA (-8.8% YoY to A$29m). The net cash held decreased by -19.5% YoY to A$74.7m due to a share buyback and debt repayment. The company's underlying EBITDA margin fell to 25.3% in H1 2025. The NOI decreased -3.5% YoY to A$111.2m, and net interest income remained flat at 3.8% YoY to A$4.4m.
Long-Term Strategy and NCP Launch
The interview provided insights into OFX's long-term strategy, including the launch of its New Client Platform (NCP) for Australian corporations in June 2025. The NCP is expected to introduce new income streams for OFX and is part of the company's strategy to address the challenges in the SMB market.
OFX also saw significant growth in the Corporate segment, with regional revenue for Europe increasing by 77.6% YoY in H1 2025. Details about OFX's risk management strategies for SMBs were discussed in the interview.
Despite a challenging macro environment, OFX expects a recovery in H2 2025, with the underlying EBITDA margin returning to its full-year outlook of 28-30%. The company is navigating these challenges by strategically reallocating resources to the higher-value B2B segment, accepting near-term margin compression for future growth and market share gains.
[1] OFX Press Release, "OFX Announces Q1 2025 Results and Launch of New Client Platform", June 2025. [2] OFX Investor Presentation, "H1 2025 Results and Outlook", July 2025. [3] OFX Blog, "Introducing the New Client Platform: OFX's Next Chapter", June 2025. [4] Skander Malcolm Interview, "Navigating the Future of OFX", The Financial Times, July 2025.
Businesses seeking efficient, real-time control over global cash flows can leverage OFX's integrated solutions, which include multi-currency business accounts, corporate cards, and spending management tools, all designed to reduce operational complexity and costs. OFX is also investing in its platform to provide a compelling value proposition for B2B clients, aiming to differentiate itself from banks and fintech competitors by offering features like batch payment approvals, instant payment notifications, and the ability to hold and manage multiple currencies with a corporate card.
