For your personal account, sign up with your legal name, date of birth and address. Now your whole family can spend and withdraw in the same currencies, at the same rates as you, with age-appropriate controls in place. Depending on the country you’re sending from, you might have other payment options. Save on international transfers — with fees as low as 0.1%.
Move your money worldwide
PayPal does win out if you need to accept or send money from/to many different parties as you can do it easily with just an email address. Wise operates more like a traditional bank account in that sense. Just remember that although the card has the Visa logo on it, it’s really a debit card, so you do need to have money in your account before using it. It’s easy enough to top up your chosen Wise account in the currency you wish to spend with via your smartphone.
With Wise, you can hold money in 40+ currencies, and convert between them at the mid-market rate whenever you need. It’s free to create an account with Wise and your recipient doesn’t need to use Wise for you to send money to them. You can sign up as an individual and, if you have a business, you can add your business to your Wise account – on desktop, mobile, or with our award-winning apps – android and iOS. 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.
How do Wise money transfers work?
The card also can be used to make online payments, and for Apple Pay and Google Pay transactions. Each month, London-based Wise processes more than £8 billion (nearly $9.7 billion USD) worth of international transactions. Over 13 million people and businesses use Wise, which was founded as TransferWise in 2011. Every month, millions of our personal and business customers trust us to move over £12 billion of their money. If you’re based in the US and add USD, EUR, AUD, NZD, GBP, HUF, RON, CAD, TRY and/or SGD you can also get details to get paid like a local in these currencies.
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. Wise — formerly known as TransferWise — is a specialist in low cost currency conversion, and flexible multi-currency accounts for personal and business customers. When you transfer with Wise, you can receive to local bank accounts — no need for a Wise account.
We recently used our Wise debit card on a trip to Las Vegas and were able to seamlessly use it at payment terminals. The Wise debit card is designed for global use while you travel overseas. It links directly to your account, and you won’t have to pay interest, penalties, or advance costs. Do also remember that Wise may sometimes need to verify identity and address details with you, which can slow down the process. The time of day you pay, and the method(s) you use, too, can affect transfer speed. Paying and transferring with Wise is usually very swift.
Sending online payments isn’t the only thing you can do with Wise. You can also get paid using local transfers, hold 40+ currencies, and switch between them in just a few taps. Here’s how to open a currency account in the Wise account, to get you started. Under most cases, I do think Wise is better than PayPal. PayPal gouges you on receiving payments and their FX rates aren’t that great either.
Refer your friends and family
You should use your prudence and not carry overly large balances in non-insured accounts. For further clarity please refer to Wise’s disclosure on the topic. I like the fact that you can apply for physical cards from Wise, and that you can trade in up to 50 different currencies. The first currency that you add will be automatically added to your main account.
Next you’ll be asked to verify your identity by uploading an image of your ID documents, and a selfie². This can be done easily online or right from your smartphone, with on screen prompts to guide you every step of the way. Check out our pricing and fee calculator to learn more about sending, receiving and exchanging currencies with Wise. To keep customers and their money safe, and to comply with financial regulations in the US and around the world, Wise must verify customers’ identity. Yes, based on the fact that is well regulated in all its major jurisdictions, I believe Wise is secure and safe. Apart from being directly regulated, Wise works with banks that are regulated in their respective countries, which ensures that your odds of losing your money are low.
Every transfer you make is protected with HTTPS encryption and 2-step verification. And we run millions of checks each day to protect every transaction from fraud. The important takeaway here is that if you don’t meet those conditions, then your deposits are NOT insured. Even as a US resident/business, if you have a non-interest bearing account, your deposits are not insured.
Track exchange rates
They’ll be able to send you USD directly into your main account using those account details. These details will be different for your personal and business account(s), so you’ll need to request them separately, too. No, having motivewave review a specific currency with Wise doesn’t change your Wise account location. Your registered address determines where your account is based, and what terms and conditions apply. The more people send money on Wise, the better it is for everyone. And you can earn real money when you refer friends who become Wise users.
- Wise acts as a middleman between you and your payee, much like a bank or e-wallet.
- Wise is a publicly held company whose stock is owned by shareholders.
- You can also get paid using local transfers, hold 40+ currencies, and switch between them in just a few taps.
- Receive money internationally too, with account details for 21 currencies.
- Linked to your Wise account, this virtual card lets you spend in 150+ countries worldwide without having to carry a physical card with you – making it ideal for travellers.
Wise charges lower fees if you send large sums of money (over the equivalent of £100,000 per transaction in U.S. dollars) at one time or several times a month. 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. Each month, you can make two ATM withdrawals of up to $100 each month at no charge. If you need to send, receive, hold or exchange international payments, you may be better off with a Wise Account. All you have to do is pick the currency you wish to get paid in, click on Receive and View and share account details. Ready to open a Wise Account to send payments or hold money in a foreign currency?
OFX enables someone to send money to people in 190 countries, while Wise is limited to fewer than 100 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; OFX hits customers with exchange-rate markups.
- Then, you’ll need to supply at least the name and email address of your recipient, or their bank details if you have them.
- If you need to send, receive, hold or exchange international payments, you may be better off with a Wise Account.
- You don’t have to pay to open an account, though sending money will incur fees that vary by currency.
- Savings on this transfer, and eligible transfers for the rest of the month.
- In fact, Wise moves more internationally than Western Union!
For the most up-to-date pricing and fee information, please read our Terms of Use for your region. Discover secure methods like bank transfers and online tools to manage payments with ease. Once you have an account you can order a physical Wise card – there’s just a one-time fee of £7 to pay, and no annual subscription fees or hidden charges to worry about. Request and receive money directly with Wise, and get paid easily with account details in top currencies. You’ll get an instant quote and estimated delivery time, so you can compare your options, and make your payment.
Additional menu
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. 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. To receive money, just share your unique account details with the sender. They’ll be able to deposit money into your account directly.
If you don’t have these to hand, Wise will reach out to your recipient and ask for the information. Wise has fast become the freelancer’s go-to institution, and it appeals massively to people who travel and work regularly in various international locations. Formerly known to the public as TransferWise, the service offers both a free personal account and a business account option. This means that when you buy holiday money or make an international payment, the bank adds a hidden fee by offering you a poor exchange rate. And you can easily divide expenses with both Wise users and those who haven’t yet joined.