Wise Review

TransferWise—Overview

TransferWise is also known as” Wise.” It is an online account where a person or a business can send money abroad or get paid in other currencies. They can also spend abroad on their Wise debit card. Payments sent with Wise can be received instantly or might take two days. However, the time of transfer is related to multiple factors. For instance, the countries the clients are sending money, the mode and time of payment.

Who are they?

Wise was launched in January 2011 by two good friends, Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann. The two friends have financial backgrounds. The purpose of its being was to make international money transfers less expensive, simple, and secure.

Other investors:

The investors who have backed Wise are equally impressive and include Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, IA Ventures, Index Ventures, Seedcamp, Kima Ventures, and Max Levchin, the founder of PayPal.

Where does it operate?

In just ten years, the little venture has expanded tremendously. The multi-currency account helps millions of individuals and hundreds of businesses manage their money in different corners of the world. The foreign exchange companies headquarter is in Shoreditch, England. On a rough basis, TransferWise almost transfers 45 billion across 71 countries monthly. Wise has franchises across Britain, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Europe.

Which currencies do they allow?

TransferWise deals with more than 50 currencies.

By whom are they regulated?

Being an international money transferring company, TransferWise is also controlled in other countries by the regulated bodies to make every payment safe and secure.

• UK- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Canada – Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)
• USA – Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Regulatory authorities vary by state
• Hong Kong – Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department
• Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Working in compliance with these bodies, every payment made with Transferwise is protected from fraudulent activities. The personal and banking credentials of the clients are kept secure.

Rating:

Wise is gaining popularity with every passing day. On Trustpilot, the business has almost 100,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5. The total number of customers is more than 10 million.

Fees and rates:

One of the few money transfer businesses that offer an unbeatable exchange rate is Wise. The money transferring company provides the interbank, or “real,” exchange rate. It implies that the exchange rate the clients sees on Google or XE corresponds to the rate they pay for the transfer. The exchange rate calculator on Wise’s website provides an accurate estimate of the transfer’s cost.

Some other fees are:

Card fee:

TransferWise charges a fee if a client uses a credit card to pay for your transfer. The fee for a MasterCard debit card is 0.15 percent, a Visa debit card is 0.30 percent, a MasterCard credit card is 0.55 percent, a Visa debit card is 0.75 percent, and a business card is 1 percent.

Service fee:

A fixed fee and a percentage of the amount a customer send make up the service fee that TransferWise charges.