Pros & Cons – Forbes Advisor UK

Who should use Wise?

If you’re looking for an international money transfer service that’s cheap, Wise might not be the best pick. Wise is upfront about the fact that it’s not always the least expensive option, and the potentially higher cost might turn off some people.

However, some users might find a higher fee is a worthwhile trade-off for a potentially speedy Wise transaction. Another advantage is that Wise stands out from some of its competitors by not marking-up exchange rates to fatten profits. The company says it avoids “unfair” exchange rates charged by banks.

Each month, London-based Wise processes more than £8 billion worth of international transactions. Over 16 million people and businesses use Wise, which was founded as TransferWise in 2011.

Wise’s features

Signing up for a free account takes just a few minutes, and Wise walks you through each step. In addition to entering personal information—your name, date of birth, address and phone number—you can register for an account using your Apple, Facebook or Google account. This login alternative isn’t available with most money transfer services.

Once you’ve registered for an account, Wise might need to verify your identity, typically by uploading a picture of your photo ID and proof of your address. This step usually takes two business days to complete.

The need to verify your identity depends on where you’re sending money from and how much money you’re sending. Wise doesn’t verify your identity documents until you initiate your first transfer.

Debit card

If you have a Wise account, you can sign up for a Wise debit card, which can be used in many, but not all countries. The card has a one-time fee of £5. Each month, you can make two ATM withdrawals totalling up to £200 at no charge. After that, the fee is 50 pence per withdrawal. A 1.75% fee is charged on any withdrawal above £200 in any given month.

The card also can be used to make online payments, and for Apple Pay and Google Pay transactions.

Multi-currency account

This free account lets you send, hold and receive money in a number of currencies.

Large transfers

Wise charges lower fees if you send large sums of money (over of £100,000 per transaction) at one time or several times a month.

Wise Assets

Wise Assets allows you to invest money from your Wise account in the iShares World Equity Index Fund – its 1,500 stock holdings include Apple, Microsoft and Tesla.

Wise Interest

Wise Interest allows you to invest in an interest-earning fund that holds government-guaranteed assets. It’s currently available for accounts holding GBP, EUR and USD. Wise Interest is offered in partnership with BlackRock.

Wise’s pricing

Wise’s currency transfer fee is a percentage of the amount being sent.

To calculate the cost of exchanging money from one currency to another, Wise relies on what’s known as the mid-market exchange rate, also called the “real” exchange rate.

When banks buy currencies, they might pay a so-called “buy rate.” And when they sell currencies, they might pay a so-called “sell rate.” The mid-market rate splits the difference between the buy and sell rates. Bottom line: the buy and sell rates include a mark-up, which eats up more of a sender’s and recipient’s money than the mid-market rate does.

If you’re sending money in the same currency from one Wise account to another, there is no fee to convert the amount, but a nominal fee will be charged to complete the transfer. Otherwise, there’s a conversion fee.

How to use Wise to transfer money

Wise lists over 50 countries where you can send money from the UK. You also may be able to send money to someone in another country if the recipient’s bank account is in sterling, euros or US dollars. Overall, money can be sent to more than 50 countries, which is fewer than some of Wise’s competitors.

It takes anywhere from a few seconds to five business days to receive money through a Wise transfer, depending on the type of currency being sent. The company says half of its transfers arrive within an hour.

How easy is Wise to use?

Navigation of the Wise website and app is user-friendly, with no glitches during our test of the platform. However, because of the number of countries and currencies available, it can feel a little overwhelming to keep track of the basics (such as fees and exchange rates) for each type of transaction.

To use the free Wise app for an iPhone or iPad, your device must be equipped with iOS 15.0 or later. It’s available in 17 languages. The free Wise app is also available for Android devices; the Google Play page for the app doesn’t list specifications for running the app or the number of languages that the app supports.

Wise uses HTTPS encryption and a two-step login process to protect data. The company says it will never “misuse” or sell customer data. However, the App Store page for the app indicates some types of data may be collected and linked to your identity, such as contact information, financial information and search history.

Wise’s support

Wise has local offices worldwide and says it can handle requests for help in a range of languages.

How Wise stacks up against the competition

Here’s how Wise stacks up against three of its competitors.

Wise vs. OFX

OFX enables someone to send money to people in 190 countries, while Wise is limited to just over 50 countries. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that OFX does not charge transfer fees and Wise does charge them. Yet Wise stands out because it does not mark-up the exchange rate for transfers, while OFX hits customers with exchange-rate mark-ups. Also, Wise offers a debit card and a multi-currency account, neither of which is available from OFX.

Wise vs. Remitly

Remitly allows delivery of cash to a home or business, while Wise does not. But Wise does provide the option to send money via Apple Pay or Google Pay, a feature that isn’t available from Remitly. Meanwhile, Remitly’s Express option enables speedy transfers (within minutes using a debit card), whereas a Wise transfer may take up to two business days.

It’s also worth noting that Wise is up front about not being the cheapest option for money transfers. So if cost is an issue, Remitly might be a better choice.

Wise vs. Xoom

A Xoom user can add cash to a prepaid mobile phone account or can pay international bills but neither of those features is available from Wise. In addition, Xoom allows cash to be picked up or delivered, something that isn’t offered by Wise.

At the other end of the spectrum, Wise’s offerings include a debit card and a multi-currency account, as well as features such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, while Xoom has none of those. Perhaps most importantly, Wise takes a smaller cut of your money on large transfers compared to Xoom.

What do customers think about Wise?

As of April 2024, Wise has a 4.3-star rating out of five on Trustpilot, based on 214,038 reviews. Customers with a positive experience cited Wise’s ease of use and competitive exchange rates as benefits of the service. Negative reviews of Wise mentioned limited customer support as one of the platform’s drawbacks.