Wise, formerly named TransferWise, is basically a money transfer platform. It provides a cheap and transparent experience of sending money abroad.
With only one account, you can receive and send money in many currencies. So, it saves you from opening different bank accounts in each country.
As a company, Wise was founded in 2010 based in the UK. Today, it has 10 million users worldwide.
It offers a short transfer time because of eliminating SWIFT. It also has bank accounts in every country where it operates.
A Borderless account is also available through Wise. You’ll receive a virtual credit card and be able to spend money through this card.
Key Points To Know About Wise
First of all, Wise is not a bank. It’s regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). So, if you have doubts about safety, you don’t need to.
So, Wise is a virtual multi-currency account that offers you to keep and exchange more than 50 currencies. You can also switch between them. Some of the currencies are available for both sending and receiving money. Some, however, are available for only sending money. Wise also provides conversion at the real mid-market exchange rate.
Linking your borderless account to your Wise debit card is also possible. In this case, personal account numbers in GBP, EUR, USD, AUD, and NZD, PLN, SGD, HUF, and RON will be available. In this way, it’ll be possible for you to receive transfers from all around the world.
What are the Advantages of Having a Wise Account?
- You can open your Wise account completely online. It’s also easy and fast to open your account
- There are more than 50 currencies in the multi-currency account
- Withdrawals up to $250 from ATMs are free. When you withdraw more, it charges you a 2 percent fee.
- The app and the website offer a user-friendly experience
- All currency rates and fees are transparent. There are no hidden fees
- No account maintenance fees is necessary
- You don’t need to pay any fee when you order a debit card or link it to your borderless account
- The exchange rates in Wise are almost eight times lower than banks
- Wise serves in 12 languages: English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Russian, and Turkish
- You have options of opening a business or personal account
- You’ll not be subject to fees when you make payments within your account currencies
- Typically, the transfer limits are high.
Steps to Opening a Wise Account
First of all, you need an available bank account to use Wise.
If you wonder how to open Wise account, check the steps below:
- Go to the Wise website
- Click the button “Register”
- Write your email address, create a password, and select your country of residence
- Then, fill out the required personal information
- Finally, you’ll receive an email with a security code/link to confirm your contact information.
How To Send Money via Wise
- Go to the website and log in
- Then, choose the amount to send abroad. At this step, Wise shows you the currency exchange rate and the fee to pay when the transfer is complete
- Then, enter the beneficiary information, and details of the bank account
- At this step, you’ll verify your identity. Wise sends an SMS to your phone with a security code. It may sometimes ask for a copy of your identification document.
- Now, you’ll pay the transfer amount and the fee
- You can now follow the status of your transfer. It may take one to two business days for the transfer to reach.
Fees For Transferring Money With Wise
Wise doesn’t entail the tourist exchange rate, but the commercial exchange rate. In this way, you can benefit from a transfer rate that is around 10 times lower than that of banks.
Note that fees will vary depending on:
- The amount you send
- The currencies you use, and
- The payment method you choose.
Wise Multi-Currency Account
The multi-currency account is useful for people who move or live abroad. Through this account, you can get international bank details. The bank details can belong to Europe, the UK, the US, New Zealand, or Australia.
In this way, you can receive money throughout the world. You can also send money to more than 80 countries. The account also allows you to convert your currency to more than 50 currencies.
You can register for this account while registering for the first time, or later.
It doesn’t entail a monthly fee, and fees are built into the features.
Transferring money from your account to another account with the same currency is at a fixed fee of €0.60.
