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What is a QFX file? Quicken’s download format explained

A QFX file (.qfx, Quicken Financial Exchange) is the bank and credit card download Quicken imports as Web Connect. Inside it is an OFX file — the same transaction records — plus Intuit’s bank ID tag, <INTU.BID>, which Quicken checks against the banks it supports. You open it by importing it into Quicken, or convert it to CSV, Excel or QBO to use it anywhere else.

Key TakeawayQFX is OFX with a Quicken label. The transactions inside are standard, so any OFX reader can usually use them; the extra tags only matter to Quicken.

QFX file example

A QFX file is text. It starts with an OFX header, then the sign-on block where Quicken finds the bank’s ID, then the account and its transactions. This one holds two transactions on a checking account:

OFXHEADER:100
DATA:OFXSGML
VERSION:102
SECURITY:NONE
ENCODING:USASCII
CHARSET:1252
COMPRESSION:NONE
OLDFILEUID:NONE
NEWFILEUID:NONE

<OFX>
<SIGNONMSGSRSV1><SONRS>
<STATUS><CODE>0<SEVERITY>INFO</STATUS>
<DTSERVER>20260331120000
<LANGUAGE>ENG
<FI><ORG>Example Bank<FID>99999</FI>
<INTU.BID>99999
</SONRS></SIGNONMSGSRSV1>
<BANKMSGSRSV1><STMTTRNRS>
<TRNUID>1
<STATUS><CODE>0<SEVERITY>INFO</STATUS>
<STMTRS>
<CURDEF>USD
<BANKACCTFROM><BANKID>999999999<ACCTID>000123456789<ACCTTYPE>CHECKING</BANKACCTFROM>
<BANKTRANLIST>
<DTSTART>20260301<DTEND>20260331
<STMTTRN>
<TRNTYPE>DEBIT
<DTPOSTED>20260304
<TRNAMT>-38.40
<FITID>2026030400017
<NAME>Corner Grocer
</STMTTRN>
<STMTTRN>
<TRNTYPE>CREDIT
<DTPOSTED>20260306
<TRNAMT>500.00
<FITID>2026030600021
<NAME>Transfer Received J Smith
</STMTTRN>
</BANKTRANLIST>
<LEDGERBAL><BALAMT>2341.60<DTASOF>20260331</LEDGERBAL>
</STMTRS></STMTTRNRS></BANKMSGSRSV1>
</OFX>
Most QFX files use OFX 1.x (SGML), where many tags are not closed. The account and bank numbers here are placeholders.

The tags that matter

TagWhat it holds
<INTU.BID>Intuit’s ID for the bank. Quicken checks it; this is what makes an OFX file a QFX.
<FI> <ORG> <FID>The financial institution’s name and ID.
<CURDEF>The account currency, e.g. USD.
<BANKACCTFROM>Routing number, account number and account type. A card file uses <CCACCTFROM>.
<STMTTRN>One transaction: <TRNTYPE>, <DTPOSTED> (YYYYMMDD), <TRNAMT> (signed), <FITID>, <NAME>, <MEMO>.
<FITID>The bank’s unique ID for the transaction, so a re-import is recognised and skipped.
<LEDGERBAL>The balance on the statement date.

How to open a QFX file

  • In Quicken: File › File Import › Web Connect (.QFX) File on Windows, or double-click the file. On a Mac, use File › Import.
  • In another finance app: most apps that import OFX accept QFX as well — YNAB, Actual Budget, Moneydance and GnuCash among them.
  • In a text editor: you see the tags above, which is enough to check dates and amounts.
  • As a spreadsheet: convert it with QFX to CSV and choose CSV or Excel.

Converting a QFX file

Because the transactions inside are structured, converting a QFX is exact — nothing is re-read or guessed. Each QFX file counts as one page, and the first 3 pages of your first upload are free.

How QFX compares with the other formats: QIF vs OFX vs QBO.

Frequently asked questions

What is a QFX file?

A QFX file (Quicken Financial Exchange) is a bank or credit card download for Quicken. It is an OFX file with Intuit’s bank ID tag, <INTU.BID>, which Quicken checks before importing it as a Web Connect download.

How do I open a QFX file?

Import it into Quicken (File › File Import › Web Connect (.QFX) File on Windows), or open it in a text editor to read the raw tags. To see it as a table, convert it to CSV or Excel.

What is the difference between QFX and OFX?

Almost none in the transactions. QFX is OFX plus Intuit’s tags, mainly <INTU.BID>, that tie the file to a bank Quicken supports. Apps that read OFX usually read QFX too.

Can I open a QFX file in Excel?

Excel shows the raw tags, not a table. Convert the QFX to CSV or Excel first: QFX to CSV gives one row per transaction with date, description and amount.

Can QuickBooks import a QFX file?

QuickBooks Online lists .csv, .txt, .qbo and .ofx for a manual upload, not .qfx. Convert it with QFX to QBO and upload the .qbo.

My bank only gives me PDF statements. Can I get a QFX?

Not a genuine one: Quicken checks the bank ID inside a QFX against the banks that offer Web Connect, so a QFX has to come from your bank. For Quicken, convert the PDF to the CSV Quicken’s own import reads — bank statement to Quicken. For other finance apps, bank statement to OFX writes the same transactions as OFX.

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