Wise: Our Review of the Iconic Money Transfer App

Are you Wise about global money transfers? Sending money from one country to another has never been so easy. In the past, international money transfers had restrictive conditions. The main service providers were companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram.

Nowadays, an increasing number of online financial technology companies allow you to send money abroad with just a few clicks. One such platform is Wise.

Known as TransferWise until 2021, Wise has become one of the world’s most popular money transfer platforms, moving over 100 billion dollars annually.

What is Wise, and how does it work?

Wise was launched in 2011 under the name TransferWise. This financial technology company has its own payment network, providing cheaper and faster international money transfers compared to the payment system used by traditional banks to send money abroad – the SWIFT system.

While Wise started as a money transfer solution directed at customers needing multicurrency international transfers, with its offerings now include multicurrency accounts, debit cards, and several features for business clients. Let’s take a closer look at how to create a Wise account and use each of these features.

Creating a Wise account

If you don’t have a Wise account and wish to create one, go to wise.com/ca, and click on the Register button. If you want to create a business account, make sure to select this option before clicking the Register button. You can register an account with your email address or a Google, Meta, or Apple account.

You can register from your mobile. Just download the Wise app for Android or iOS and follow the same steps described above. First, to create an account, you must select your country of residence and provide a valid phone number.

Once you provide this information, you will be asked to create a password. After completing this final step, you will be able to access your account.

You need to provide several personal information before doing any of these the first time. The information required includes your full legal name, date of birth, address, and phone number.

You will be asked to upload your ID documents to verify your information. This is a standard procedure.It protects your funds while preventing money laundering.

Valid ID documents include your passport, national ID card, or driver’s license. Valid proofs of address include bank statements and utility bills.

Sending money with Wise

On Wise, you can send international transfers to 160 countries. The recipients do not need a Wise account; you can send money directly to their bank account. The platform supports ACH, Wire, or SWIFT transfers.

When you enter the amount you want to send or the amount you want the recipient to receive, Wise shows you the fees, exchange rates that apply, and the estimated arrival time. If you don’t know the recipient’s bank details, with the recipient’s email address, Wise will send an information request by email on your behalf. Before sending the money or the request, you may also want to add a message for your recipient.

Receiving money with Wise

Wise provides its users with local account details in up to 10 currencies, enabling them to receive local transfers in any of these currencies fee-free. Receiving money in a Wise account is similar to receiving money in a standard bank account, as you must share the account details of one of your currency accounts and wait for the transfer to occur.

You can receive money in EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, CAD, NZD, RON, HUF, TRY, and SGD. It’s essential to keep in mind that you can only receive money in the same currency as your account.

For example, if you want to be paid in USD, you must share your USD account details with the individual or business paying you. Once you have received the money, you can convert them into other currencies in just a few clicks.

Receiving money with your account details does not entail fees in most situations, except when receiving US dollars SWIFT or domestic wires, which cost $4.14 per transaction. Payment options do not include cash or cheques. If you are looking for a payment solution that allows transferring funds from a chequing account to another, Interact e-Transfers is one option to consider.

There’s no limit on how much you can receive to your accounts, except for USD accounts, where some limits do apply. For example, you cannot receive more than USD 1,000,000 per day as an individual and more than USD 3,000,000 per day as a business. In addition, your personal account has an annual limit of USD 5,000,000, and your business account has a yearly limit of USD 15,000,000.

Funding your Wise account

The easiest way to fund your Wise account is arguably through a bank transfer. Besides wire transfers, you also have the option to use an online bill payment, a direct debit, or a credit card or debit card.

If you want to add money directly through Wise, you need to go to the balance where you want to add money to and click Add. You will then be asked to choose the amount of money you want to add and select your payment method, for example, with your credit card.

You can also send money from a bank account to a Wise currency with account details. To do so online, you need to go to your online banking and request a standard transfer, providing the bank account details of your Wise account. For the bank transfer to be approved, it’s important to ensure that the currency you are sending matches the currency of the receiving Wise account.

This article is the shortened version of an article originally published on Hardbacon.ca by Emma Martin under the title "Wise: Our Review of the Iconic Money Transfer App".