Alex Manea
One of the challenges faced by frequent travelers is the huge fees they have to pay for carrying out transactions abroad. Thankfully, with the Wise card, you can now make purchases in any country you find yourself in without worrying your head about being charged huge conversion fees or card transactions. This article seeks to review the Transferwise card (now Wise), its benefits, how you can get it, and much more.
The Wise card is not a credit card but a debit card that is linked to a Wise multi-currency account. It is meant to be used for making purchases and withdrawals, at home, online, and when in another country. A great perk to it is that whenever you decide to make payments in foreign currency using the card, you'll get currency conversion using the real mid-market exchange rate.
The TransferWise card is currently available in the UK, Switzerland, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, most of the EEA, the US, and Brazil.
So if you are a resident in any of the aforementioned countries, you can request to get the card. Those who don't fall into either of the countries, can't be issued the card.
With a Wise debit card, you have no hidden transaction fees to worry about.
You are not expected to maintain a certain minimum amount in your account.
Wise adopts the mid-market exchange rate. There may be an exchange rate markup that many banks, PayPal, and travel money cards use. Due to these, bank services may be costlier for you to use.
You can spend and withdraw in over 40 different international currencies.
You get transaction messages on your mobile phone with the Wise app. If you misplace or lose your caron, you can get it frozen or unfreeze it later.
You will make a one-time small payment to have your Wise card delivered to you. After this, no additional payments are required for maintaining your Wise account.
You'll be allowed to add other currencies afterward. Wise may take a few days to review your application due to verification. Your Wise account and all the currencies on it will be linked to the debit card. You would be able to use the card so long as you have enough funds in your account available in any currency. You can always check your balance on the Wise app.
Your personal details will be checked like your name and address. You may also be requested to add a small fee to your account or pay a small fee for the card. Your card will be delivered to you after a thorough verification has been carried out.
Afterward, you can start using your card for transactions.
Wise also has a virtual card feature. The Wise virtual card allows you to make payments using the real conversion rate online, in-store, and while you travel - but only exists in your transferwise account.
Currently, to get access to the transferwise virtual card, you'd have initially requested the physical card. However, your physical card need not arrive yet before you can start using your virtual one.
You can get a Wise borderless account for free. You won't be charged any fees as regards your Wise account. The fees mentioned subsequently relate to the US. These vary depending on your country.
When you are making transfers, depending on the currency, you may be charged a fee of 0.35 (and more).
On the fees associated with using your Wise debit card. You can withdraw twice, monthly, up to USD 100, without being charged any fees. When you make withdrawals over USD 100, you will be charged USD 1.50 for every withdrawal and a 2% fee.
You will spend USD 9 to get a Transferwise debit card. The actual fees depend on the currency conversion and are subject to a minimum of 0.35% fee. You will have access to over 50 currencies in your Wise account for free. Should you wish to hold over EUR15000 in your account, you will pay a 0.4% annual fee (charged monthly).
You have access to account details in ten currencies, including EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, NZD, HUF, SGD, TRY, RON, and USD for free. Also, if you do not use the wire, receiving funds in these currencies is free. Otherwise would have you paying a fixed USD 7.5 fee.
To find out more about the fees, check out our article about Wise fees.
Wise is a reputable company with over 12 million users and is regulated in many countries. This is particularly important because wise would have had to satisfy the rules of these countries before it became regulated by them.
The company is also registered with a number of financial institutions where they operate like the UK Financial Conduct Authority (UK), and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (USA) amongst many others including the UAE, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Canada, Japan, Australia, and India.
Apart from being extremely regulated, Wise is also very particular about its safety and security.
The Wise debit card makes life easier for you, especially if you are a frequent traveler or you make international payments often.
