Wise 2024 Review: Pros & Cons

08 Nov Wise 2024 Review: Pros & Cons

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. We allow our partners to embed the best way to send, receive and manage money internationally into their existing infrastructure, creating value for their business and customers. Over the past decade, Wise (formerly known as Transferwise) has built a global payments infrastructure that has revolutionised how money moves around the world.

1. If you’re looking for an international money transfer service that’s cheap, Wise might not be the best pick.
2. Wise lists 50 countries where you can send money from the U.S.
3. Over 13 million people and businesses use Wise, which was founded as TransferWise in 2011.
4. Next, you must leave your Wise account, and complete the transfer by signing into your bank account and plugging in your Wise account information.
5. The card also can be used to make online payments, and for Apple Pay and Google Pay transactions.
6. We analyze seven providers in the international money transfer industry that work in the U.S.

When you check the exchange rate for an international transfer with services like Western Union, focus on the exchange rate markup by looking at the foreign currency amount. The higher it is, the lower the markup is, and the more money your recipient receives. 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.

To use the free Wise app for an iPhone or iPad, your device must be equipped with iOS 14.0 or later. The free Wise app also is 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.

Company and team

In addition, Xoom allows cash to be picked up or delivered, something that isn’t offered by Wise. Email turned out to be one of the contact options, but we couldn’t find any information on the Wise website about hours of operation for the customer service team. Wise is a global technology company building the best way to move money around the world. Wise Platform is Wise – but for banks, large businesses and other major enterprises. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.

Wise Assets

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. You can send money from the U.S. to another country using a bank account (ACH), wire transfer, debit or credit card, international SWIFT network, best investment opportunities Apple Pay or Google Pay. Transfer fees depend on the amount being sent, the type of currency the recipient will get and the payment method. 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.

Services

Perhaps most importantly, Wise takes a smaller cut of your money on large transfers compared to Xoom. Wise lists 50 countries where you can send money from the U.S. You also may be able to send money to someone in another country if the recipient’s bank account is in U.S. dollars, euros or British pounds. Overall, money can be sent to more than 80 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 currency being sent. The company says half of its transfers arrive within an hour.

We analyze seven providers in the international money transfer industry that work in the U.S. For more details, see our Ratings Methodology for Domestic and International Money Transfer Providers. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. It’s also worth noting that Wise is up front about not being the cheapest option for money transfers.

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. Transferring money from a Wise account to a bank account isn’t a smooth process. First, you must sign into your Wise account, choose the amount you want to send, enter the recipient’s banking information and select “bank transfer” as the payment method. Next, you must leave your Wise account, and complete the transfer by signing into your bank account and plugging in your Wise account information. 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.

Here is a list of our partners and here’s how we make money. By the way, Wise prides itself on not using automated systems to answer customer service calls. Wise https://bigbostrade.com/ 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.

General advice for international money transfers

A transfer paid by bank account directly tends to be a much cheaper (and much slower) transfer. If you need money delivered quickly, use a debit card, which will also incur a lower fee than using a credit card. Know how exchange rates work (and how to find the best). One of the ways money transfer providers make money is through exchange rate markups. Most transfer providers won’t give you the exchange rate you’d find on a currency exchange platform like the one at Bloomberg.com or Reuters.com. Those sites just tell you the price of one currency in relation to another, but they are a helpful starting point to know what the best rate looks like this minute.

The homepage has a cost calculator that makes it easy to see fees and rates, and FAQs are well-organized and helpful. Once you finish setting up a transfer, rates are guaranteed and you can cancel transfers that haven’t been converted or paid yet. A Xoom user can add cash to a prepaid mobile phone account or can pay international bills; neither of those features is available from Wise.

For a local bank transfer, you’re able to transfer as much as $1 million. The amount goes up to $1.6 million for an international wire transfer through the SWIFT network. Local bank transfers tend to be cheaper than international wire transfers. Navigation of the Wise website and app is user-friendly, with no glitches during our test of the platform. If you’re sending money in the same currency from one Wise account to another, there is no fee to convert the amount, but Wise charges a nominal fee to complete the transfer. If you’re looking for an international money transfer service that’s cheap, Wise might not be the best pick.