Is Wise Safe? Wise Money Transfers Review (TransferWise Review) (2023)

Get Current Rates

View Top Alternatives

Minimum transfer:

Fees & Rates: Information available above. Generally speaking 0.5% is the average margin.

Offices in >

REGULATION: Financial Conduct Authority Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre Australian Securities and Investments Commission Customs and Excise Department FinCEN Reserve Bank of India Kanto Local Financial Bureau Japan Department of Internal Affairs New Zealand

View more information on the official website - wise.com >

Company overview:

Wise, formerly TransferWise, has been one of the hottest startups to emerge over the last ten years and is considered a market leader in the Fintech sector, with a valuation of $11billion dollars. It has grown at a staggering pace, seeing its value soar by billions of dollars between each funding round it has completed, resulting in an $11billion valuation following Wise’s direct listing on the London Stock Exchange in July 2021. In its latest quarterly trading report, Wise reported moving £20bn in transfer volumes between Oct – Dec 2021 (an average of circa £6.6bn per month) . There are currently more than 2200 employees working for Wise.com in numerous offices across 4 continents around the world.

Wise, previously known as TransferWise, has definitely come a long way since its inception in 2010 (launched in 2011). It was established by two Estonian Fintech innovators, Taavet Hinrikus, (Skype’s first employee) and Kristo Käärmann, both of whom were working in the UK, and experiencing the high costs of bank-powered international money transfers. Quite early on in their journey to lower the costs of cross border remittances, they received a massive shot of encouragement in the form of two mega-investors who believed in the idea, and jumped on the TransferWise waggon. These two investors were PayPal’s co-founder, Peter Thiel, as well as Virgin’s founder Richard Branson.

Here is a complete overview of TransferWise’s investment rounds, prior to going public in 2021:

How Wise Works - TransferWise "Peer to Peer Money Exchange" System

In its earlier days, the then TransferWise marketed itself by saying it was the world’s first and only Peer to Peer money transfer provider. The logic was simple – Wise would be able to beat the banks by finding two clients who need to transfer money in opposite directions (say, one client is transferring Pound to Euro, and the other one is exchanging Euros for Pounds). This way, they claimed, the savings would be immense.

What they didn’t take into consideration is how volatile the market is and the fact people normally want to trade money instantly. Similarly, if there are large payments that Wise customers wish to make or there are significant flows into certain currencies (say EUR for example), it is difficult or even impossible to match those flows in the opposite direction. Long story short, Wise dumped this way of marketing themselves, and over recent years has made no reference on their website to the terms “peer to peer money transfer” or “peer to peer currency exchange”. The sheer volume Wise transacts these days (at least £6billion a month) means it will access cheap liquidity from its banking partners.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t peer to peer money transfer companies out there! Competitors Currencyfair (appearing on this page under “TransferWise vs Currencyfair”) is definitely putting the idea into practice. Using the Currencyfair money transfer , clients have the choice to either make a normal transfer for a rate provided to you by Currencyfair, or try to find a match and only trade if the peer-to-peer model is successful and currency flows in the opposite direction to yours (in which you will pay as little as 0.15% of your transfer).

TransferWise advertising campaigns:

The company has advertised heavily on billboards (including in the London underground), as well as on television and online. It is constantly covered by financial and technology journalists around the world, and has managed to get into the mainstream quicker than any other company in the money transfer industry.

Its campaigns were so effective, and so memorable, that even large banks began noticing them. The old slogan “YOUR BANK IS SECRETLY OVERCHARGING YOU ON INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSFER” was adjudicated by The Advertising Standard Authority, following complaints from these banks.

TransferWise has suffered additional obstacles as a result of its advertising campaigns. In May 2016, the advertising watchdog commanded TransferWise to be more specific about the savings it offers in each route, in comparison to banks, rather than saying that it helps clients save 90% of transfer costs. TransferWise has also been mocked by the AmericanBanker magazine, as the company is now seeking bank funding. Our take on this? TransferWise is catching fire because it is growing at such a rapid pace. As a Branson-backed company, it appreciates any form of attention – positive or negative, and it works out perfectly.

You can’t knock TransferWise for their transparency either – sure they can be rather punchy with their marketing campaigns but there’s an obvious reason why TransferWise are happy to publicise their exchange rates and fees online but mainstream banks aren’t. TransferWise has nothing to hide – no wide spreads or sneaky payment fees.

Awards

Mozo Experts Choice Awards – Australia’s Best International Money Transfer Provider, 2019

WEF Tech Pioneer in 2015

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year UK 2015

FT’s Boldness in Business Award, 2014

Best European Startup, Europas European Tech Startup Awards, 2013

Regulated by: Financial Conduct Authority Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre Australian Securities and Investments Commission Customs and Excise Department FinCEN Reserve Bank of India Kanto Local Financial Bureau Japan Department of Internal Affairs New Zealand

Conclusion

Wise/TransferWise is probably the hottest name in the whole money transfer industry. Established by notable entrepreneurs who became aware of a significant problem and sought to fix it, the company is taking an entirely different approach from the rest of the remittances industry.

Its low rates, transparency, great on-boarding process and mind-blowing advertising campaigns have gained it a status as one of the largest payment providers in the world. This is a “startup” that is already moving billions across the globe and fighting with industry giants like Western Union and Moneycorp.

There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about when you use a Wise account to move money abroad. Wise is as safe as can be. It has a sound financial structure, a solid business model, and it is the absolute epitome of client transparency. After many years of focusing on client acquisition and growth it has turned profit for the last three years and investors are more keen than ever to get on board. The company is now available in more than 71 countries and moved £20bn in the last three months alone, with millions of clients from around the globe and an extremely high level of satisfaction.

Wise is not a scam, although some people tend to think it is because of the ultra-friendly rates, while in fact, it is one of the most credible companies in this industry.

More recently you may have spotted Wise opening an office in Belgium. The firm took the pro-active decision to gain a European licence in Belgium so even in the event of a no-deal Brexit, where UK financial services firms would lose their ‘EU passporting’ rights, they could continue to offer the same great service. In the end, whilst a deal was made the UK/EU trade deal did not cover financial services, so it was a safe and very smart move indeed.

We are concerned about CEO Kristo Kaarmann’s current investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority. Whilst we’re well aware of finance magnates managing their finances offshore, it’s not very often they fail to meet their UK tax obligations. It certainly seems an unusual case and one we’ll have to follow closely.

Get Current Rates

View Top Alternatives

Research

There are 158,000+ Wise/TransferWise reviews (more than any other company in the foreign currency payments industry) available on TrustPilot, netting the company a 4.5 / 5 rating as of June 2022. Slightly lower than the 4.7 / 5 rating the firm scored at the end of 2020.

Less than 6% of these reviews are complaints, and 94% of them are positive.

A small amount of the reviews seem to be placed by marketers who are promoting the service (trying to push their discount codes), but the amount is rather insignificant. Seemingly, Wise’s advertising campaigns have paid off and gained it serious recognition.

Conclusion

Clients seem to be almost unanimously satisfied with every aspect of Wise’s service. Some students, expats, and immigrants have even said that this company has made a substantial change in their lives.

It appears that the main appeal of Wise for clients, even more than the fair and transparent exchange rates it offers, is the smoothness of the entire experience. An automated online on-boarding process is a huge advantage for the younger generation, and they have become avid users. The words that keep popping up in client reviews are ‘quick’, ‘efficient’ and ‘painless’.
The smaller number of complaints we have encountered do appear to contradict the very things most clients praise about the service.

For example, some are complaining about the rudeness of the customer service. There are however thousands of reviews that support how kind and respectful the support was. Given the sheer growth of the company it is possible some staff are not as well trained as others. It must also be considered that the support team are not foreign exchange specialists – they can guide you through the Wise platform but won’t discuss external factors that could impact the rate you achieve – if you’re looking for this then you should consider Currencies Direct or WorldFirst.

The same goes for the unpopular opinion that transfers are often delayed – this seems to be related to a specific problem at a specific time for a specific client, rather than an across-the-board problem. The most common reason it looks like these payments are being delayed is for compliance purposes as more information about the payment is required. This is certainly not an issue individual to TransferWise and is common across both banks and other money transfer providers.

Whether it’s for proof of payment or for opening an account, those complaining about excessive documentation appear to be unaware of the strict Anti-Money Laundering regulations that these sorts of companies must comply with. If additional documents are required, it is simply because the local regulator for the required jurisdiction (such as the FCA) demands that from the firm. Similarly if you’re required to send supporting documentation for a payment (this is usually quite rare) then it is simply the firm ensuring they are not facilitating an illegal transaction.

The critics that complain of unsupported currencies are justified, as Wise doesn’t support as many currencies as some of its competitors like Currencies Direct, but we can’t downgrade Wise’s score based on that, as it’s very clearly stated on their website which currencies are handled and which ones are not. Clients who are complaining about this have simply failed to read the information that is readily available.

Get Current Rates

View Top Alternatives

Get Current Rates

View Top Alternatives

Research

Fees:Wise regularly updates its pricing model in line with the costs it experiences. In each update, some currency corridors become cheaper whilst some corridors increase in price.
In recent years, a decision was made by the firm that prices would be based purely on the costs incurred which were relevant to the particular currency/country that were involved in your payment. Rather than subsidising certain routes with income made from other currencies.

So any cost savings Wise can make in Australia for example can be passed onto savings for consumers purchasing AUD. Transferring money from around the world incurs variable fees with Wise but they are as low as under 1 Euro for most destinations from Europe, and less than £1 for transfers from the UK. Payments from the USA are slightly higher at a cost of $4.77, though the US is notorious for having high payment fees – whether you pay by ACH or wire transfer. Just be sure to fully understand the pricing structure for your currency corridor, particularly if you are trading any exotics.

The pricing is so carefully modelled that not only is the size and speed of payment considered, Wise also alters their payment fee depending on where your destination of payment is. So any cheaper payout method the firm can employ, Wise can then pass this saving onto the consumer too.

Exchange Rates:
Here is the complete fee structure for payments sent in the currency specified below and converted to GBP (note payment fees and spreads can vary slightly depending on where money is being sent so be sure to use Wise.com’s online calculator first):

Currency Sent	Wise.com Fee 2022 Q2 Updated
AUD	0.32% – 0.45%, depending on amount sent + $ 0.66 AUD fixed payment fee.
BRL	2.09% – 2.14%, depending on the amount sent + R$ 4.26 BRL fixed payment fee.
CAD	0.39% – 0.52%, depending on the amount sent + $ 1.77 CAD fixed payment fee.
CHF	0.24% – 0.37%, depending on the amount sentr + 0.58 CHF fixed payment fee.
CZK	0.28%-0.41%%, depending on the amount sent + Kč 4.73 CZK fixed payment fee.
DKK	0.30% – 0.43%, depending on the amount sent + kr 2.32 DKK
EUR	0.31% – 0.44%, depending on the amount sent + € 0.50 EUR fixed payment fee.
JPN	0.6% of the amount that’s converted + ¥ 55.00 JPY fixed payment fee.
NZD	0.35% – 0.48%, depending on the amount sent + $ 0.41 NZD fixed payment fee
TRY	0.63% Fee + ₺ 7.98 TRY fixed payment fee
USD	0.31% – 0.43%, depending on the amount sent + $4.77 USD fixed payment fee

Compare Wise Money Transfer and Paypal Fees

As Wise, formerly TransferWise, is a completely “online” platform that enables people to send money abroad, it is often compared to Paypal, one the world’s largest online payment providers.

Destination	Real Exchange Rate
Australia	1 Pound is$AU1.73 AUD	1,707.33 AUD	1,650.30 AUD
UAE	1 Pound is4.87 AED	4,793.55 AED	4,647.56 AED
Canada	1 Pound is$CA1.71 CAD	1,682.04 CAD	1,630.82 CAD
Switzerland	1 Pound isCHF1.33 CHF	1,323.19 CHF	1,270.00 CHF
Eurozone	1 Pound is€1.14 EUR	€1,135.16 EUR See Also Home Depot Lawn Mowers Clearance - BackyardAdvice.netRestaurants near heritage bank center9 Best Free Checking Accounts With No Minimum BalanceBlinds In Poker – SB, BB, Antes, Bring-In, Rules & Structure	€1,089.53 EUR

Please note these are simulated prices and not the real rates and mistakes can occur in calculation or in our foreign currency exchange rate feed

Wise Fees 2021, 2022 vs TransferWise Fees 2020

The Wise pricing update in 2021 looked to have increased variable fees for a number of currencies when being converted to GBP. The fixed payment fees came down slightly vs 2020 but it’s the variable fee (processed as a %) which has a much larger impact on the price you have to pay for your transfer.

Compared to 2020, USD saw an increase in both the variable fee/spread and the fixed payment fee. The best rate possible on a USD transfer used to be 0.27% but , in 2021, it moved to0.31%. The fixed fee of $6.25 was much higher compared to the $1.23 fee in 2020, though it is still some way short of the $40+ US banks charge for international payments and this fixed fee has come back down to $4.77 in the 2022 update.

The 2022 update for Wise money transfers hasn’t seen a huge change to pricing but it has impacted some important corridors. Payments sent from GBP and EUR have become more expensive and bearing in mind a large majority of Wise’s 6 million customers are based in the UK & Europe, this is likely to have a big impact. A payment from EUR to GBP used to be capped at 0.41% but is now capped at 0.47%. A payment from GBP to EUR used to be capped at 0.35% but could now be up to 0.41%.

Despite the changing nature of fees over the last couple of years, the exchange rates offered by Wise currency transfers are among the best in the business, and in no way comparable to other remittance companies (i.e. companies with low minimum transfers used by overseas workers to transfer money abroad to families). For instance Ria Money Transfer and Transfast’s margins are around the 2-3% mark!

In some particular countries, Wise is cheaper (for example, the UK), while in Canada and the USA, it is great, but not as cheap as in other countries. Wise is a good option for sending money to/from some traditionally difficult markets for remittance, such as India and Indonesia, where brokers will traditionally charge you a much higher fee.

In some countries, like Brazil, Wise is making strides to reduce the overall cost of transfers but we’re sure Wise hasn’t been able to reduce fees by as much as it would like. These are currencies that are usually more expensive to transfer money from anyway (“exotic”) and at 2.14% the offering from Wise is a little below the 2.5% average in the market. As always Wise tries to give you savings where possible though – a payment from the UK (GBP to BRL) attracts a spread of 1.18%, whereas flip this and make a payment from Brazil (BRL to GBP) and you’ll see a spread of 2.14%. That’s why it’s always worth using the Wise free pricing calculator so you’ll know exactly how much you’ll need to pay.

Can Wise Continue to Honour its Low-fee Approach now its Publicly Traded?

The reasoning provided by Wise for its recent price hikes to GBP and EUR in June 2022 was that they themselves were starting to incur higher costs from banks and other providers in these regions. Whilst we have no reason to doubt this, we can’t help but wonder if the company will soon start to come under pressure to boost its returns now that it is publicly traded. Since its listing in July 2021 the Wise share price has fallen by more than 50%. Originally trading at 880p, the share price peaked at 1150p a couple of months after launch, before it gradually slumped to 361p in June 2022. Some markers point to a positive trajectory – volumes are increasing, turnover is increasing and so too is Gross Profit. Crucially, however, the firm’s net profit margin has reduced. Wise CEO and co-founder Kristo Käärmann has always had a steadfast commitment to drive the cost down for the end consumer but 2022 could prove his toughest test of nerve to date.

Is it possible to beat Wise’s rates with popular currencies like Euro, USD, AUD?

The fact that Wise is transparent and straightforward is generally very positive, but it is the company’s disadvantage when it comes to high volume transfers. Due to the fact that other companies like Currencies Direct have flexible pricing models, if the transfer is over GBP 25,000 (or equivalent in another currency), it is likely that they could offer cheaper rates than Wise. However, it’s always recommended to use Wise as a benchmark before you approach other recommended companies and negotiate your price.

TransferWise First Trade Free

If you’ve been invited by an existing customer then Wise offers new clients the chance to conduct their first trade for free up to a certain cap (the purpose of this is to check how the system works rather than moving tens of thousands abroad without paying a dime).

.

Limits:Wise.com has variable limitsfor each currency route.

< Currency	Limitation
NZD	NZD 85,000
AUD	AUD 1,500,000
USD	USD 1,500,000
EUR	EUR 1,200,000
RON	RON 5,300,000
SEK	SEK 1,000,000,000
CAD	CAD 70,000

Conclusion:

Research:

Dedicated Dealer: No.

Ways to approach:Email, Chat or Telephone

Translations: Italian, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Turkish, Japanese.

Accepts Clients:Listed Below.

Currencies Handled: 49 – 21 you can both BUY and SELL + an additional 28 currencies BUY ONLY (i.e. send money to)

Client Reviews:Love the support team.

Conclusion:

Wise has a very unique model when it comes to international money transfers. Other companies are usually more oriented towards a dedicated service and appeal mostly to clients who want to transfer £5,000+, and specifically focus on clients who need to move tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds. Wise, however, provides sharp margins to everyone and encourages clients of all sizes to use their system, while not offering dedicated dealers, hedging or any of the “complicated” options for large private clients or business clients.

That creates a situation in which Wise Money Transfers is a great solution for people who want to conduct smaller transfers and is a valid solution for those who need to move large amounts abroad – but not every person who wants to move big volumes is happy to do the entire transaction online.

New on TransferWise :

• Wise is now supporting the USD / MXN Corridor
• Wise is now accepting Canadian clients
• Wise launches local CAD Wise bank accounts (Feb 2021)
• Wise launches Wise debit card in Canada + Brazil (2022)
• Wise multi-currency account launched in Malaysia (2022)
• Wise has a new office in Australia (Sydney)
• Wise has a new office in Brussels (Belgium)
• Wise has a new pricing model

Clients accepted from:

Hedging:

None. Spot contracts (instant currency exchange) only.

Wise Debit Card:

The Wise debit card is available to both private and corporate clients, for use online and in-person at any mastercard accepting merchant around the world. Simply preload funds into your wise bank account and spend anywhere in the world with the wise debit card.

Wise Multi-Currency Account (formerly Wise Borderless Account)

The wise account allows clients to both make and receive payments and hold balances in over 40 currencies. In 10 countries, the Wise bank account is held in-country. For example a EUR account is held in Europe and includes a European IBAN account number, a USD account is held in the USA and comes complete with a US routing number and a GBP account has a UK account number and sort code. This makes it easy to make payments like a local and avoid excessive international transfer fees. The other 40 or so Wise bank accounts, which are not held locally, have a UK account number format and IBAN and are based in London. The Wise multi-currency account can also be used to transfer money from PayPal directly to Wise (TransferWise).

Below is a recap provided to us by Wise explaining the entire functionality offered by the Wise multi-currency account:

“Request Money” functionality – an option to send a payment request through the Wise system that auto-generates a link enabling the person/company sending the payment to move money via Wise.com easily into your Wise bank account, similar to Payoneer’s receive money system.

Rate Alerts:

Although you can’t book a forward contract with TransferWise you can set up rate alerts to understand when the market has hit certain parameters. Just remember the onus is then on the client to book a trade through the system at the desired rate.

Wise.com App:

An intuitive and attractive app, which receives a 4.5 / 5 rating from over 108,000 user reviews on Google Play. The app focuses on the actual functionality of sending money, and does so well, with very few bug reports. Customers can also view their Wise account balances and convert currencies between their different Wise bank accounts.

Mobile Transfers in Australia:

Wise has announced that it will enable clients in Australia to send and receive money using only their phone number (without having to fill in a bank account number).

Conclusion:

The app is definitely ideal for immigrants and expats who are sending money constantly. However, using hedging tools such as forward contracts, and limit orders, is really problematic if you want to use Wise for a large transfer (or for your business). There’s very little offered by Wise.com besides sending money using credit cards, or bank transfers.