TransferWise is an international money transfer service that rebranded to Wise in February 2021. The company still does everything TransferWise was known for, including cheap international transfers using the mid-market exchange rate, but it now offers a broader set of tools: a multi-currency account, a debit card, and business payment infrastructure. If you’re searching for TransferWise, you’ll find it under the name Wise at wise.com.
Why TransferWise Became Wise
TransferWise launched in 2011 as a way to send money between countries without the steep fees banks typically charge. By 2021, the company had expanded well beyond simple transfers. Customers were using it to hold money in multiple currencies, spend abroad with a debit card, and receive payments from overseas clients. The old name no longer fit.
On February 22, 2021, the company officially became Wise. As the company put it at the time, the name needed to catch up with what they were already building: tools for people and businesses with “multi-currency lives.” Nothing changed about the underlying service. Your account, transfer history, and login all carried over.
How Wise Moves Money
Traditional international transfers typically travel through the SWIFT network, a messaging system that routes payments between banks across borders. Each bank in the chain adds its own fees and exchange rate markup, and the process can take several business days.
Wise works differently. Instead of sending your money across borders through a chain of banks, Wise maintains local bank accounts in multiple countries. When you send dollars to someone in Europe, for example, your dollars go into Wise’s U.S. account, and Wise pays your recipient from its European account in euros. The money never actually crosses a border, which cuts out the intermediary fees and speeds things up considerably. Wise has direct access to domestic payment systems in markets including the U.S., UK, Europe, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Fees and Exchange Rates
The biggest selling point is transparency. Banks often advertise “free” international transfers while quietly marking up the exchange rate by 2% to 4%. That markup on a $5,000 transfer could cost you $100 to $200 without any line item showing the charge.
Wise uses the mid-market exchange rate, which is the rate you see on Google or Reuters. It’s the midpoint between the buy and sell prices on the global currency market, with no markup added. On top of that rate, Wise charges a small, upfront fee that varies by currency pair and payment method. You see the exact cost before you confirm the transfer.
For larger senders, Wise offers an automatic discount once your transfers hit $25,000 (or equivalent) in a calendar month. The discount applies whether you reach that threshold in one transfer or several, and it covers most major currencies. The discount resets on the first of each month. One thing to watch: if you’re sending money in a currency that converts to euros and your recipient is outside the SEPA zone (the group of European countries that share a streamlined payment system), additional SWIFT fees may apply.
The Multi-Currency Account
Beyond one-off transfers, Wise offers an account that lets you hold, send, and receive money in multiple currencies. This is useful if you freelance for international clients, get paid in a foreign currency, or regularly move money between countries. You get local bank details in several currencies, so a client in the UK can pay you as if you had a British bank account, and a client in Europe can pay you as if you had a euro account. The money lands in your Wise balance, and you convert it when the rate suits you.
The account is free to open. You can hold balances, convert between currencies at the mid-market rate (plus a small fee), and withdraw to your regular bank account whenever you want.
The Wise Debit Card
Wise also offers a debit card that works in over 160 countries and territories across more than 40 currencies. The card costs a one-time fee of $9 to order and connects to your Wise multi-currency balances. When you pay in a foreign currency, Wise converts the money at the mid-market rate rather than the inflated rate your regular bank card would use.
The card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and you can freeze or unfreeze it instantly from the app if it’s lost or stolen. You also get real-time notifications for every transaction and the option to generate virtual card numbers for online purchases. ATM withdrawals are free up to $100 per month, with a low fee on anything beyond that.
Who Wise Works Best For
Wise is particularly useful for a few groups of people. Expats and immigrants who send money to family abroad regularly save on fees compared to traditional wire transfers or remittance services. Freelancers and remote workers who invoice clients in other countries can receive payments in local currencies without losing a chunk to conversion markups. Travelers who spend in foreign currencies get better exchange rates with the Wise card than with most bank-issued cards. Small businesses that pay international contractors or suppliers can also use Wise’s business accounts to cut costs on cross-border payments.
Where Wise is less useful: if all your financial life happens in one currency, there’s not much reason to open an account. And if you need a full-service bank with lending, credit cards, or savings products, Wise doesn’t offer those. It’s a financial tool, not a replacement for a bank.
How Customer Funds Are Protected
Wise is not a bank. It operates as a licensed electronic money institution, which means it’s regulated by financial authorities but isn’t covered by bank deposit insurance programs like the FDIC in the U.S. or the FSCS in the UK. Instead, Wise is required to “safeguard” customer funds, meaning it must keep your money separate from its own operating funds, typically in ringfenced accounts or low-risk liquid assets.
Regulators have been tightening safeguarding rules for companies like Wise in recent years, pushing for stronger fund segregation, better record-keeping, and faster return of customer money if a firm were to go out of business. In practice, your money in a Wise account is protected, but through a different mechanism than a traditional bank savings account. The key difference: if Wise failed, you’d get your money back through the safeguarding process rather than through a government insurance payout.
How to Get Started
Signing up takes a few minutes on the Wise website or mobile app. You’ll need to verify your identity with a government-issued ID and, depending on your country, proof of address. Once verified, you can send your first transfer or set up a multi-currency account immediately. Most transfers arrive within one to two business days, though some currency routes are faster and a few take longer. You can track the status of every transfer in real time from the app.