Is Wise Safe? Wise Money Transfer Review (Pros/Cons) 🔥 (2024)

Wise Fees and Wise Exchange Rates

Research

Fees: Wise regularly updates its pricing model in line with the costs it experiences. In each update, some currency corridors become cheaper while some corridors increase in price. In recent years, the firm decided to base prices solely on the relevant costs incurred for the specific currency or country involved in your payment, rather than subsidising certain routes with income from other currencies.

Transferring money from around the world incurs variable fees with Wise but they are as low as under 1 Euro for most destinations from Europe, and less than £1 for transfers from the UK. Payments from the USA are slightly higher at a cost of $4.18, though the US is notorious for having high payment fees, regardless of whether you pay by ACH or wire transfer. Just be sure to fully understand the pricing structure for your currency corridor, particularly if you are trading any exotic currencies.

The pricing is so carefully modelled that not only is the size and speed of payment considered, Wise also alters their payment fee depending on where your destination of payment is. So any cheaper payout method the firm can employ, Wise can then pass this saving onto the consumer too.

In November 2022, Wise was even able to remove fees for same-currency transfers of Sterling, Euro, Hungarian Forint and Singapore Dollar. Interestingly, the reasoning provided by Wise as to why they were able to make the move was due to the higher rate of return they had been receiving on the customer deposit balances they had been investing.

Lars Trunin, UK head of product at Wise, said: “We’re happy to be in a position to pass on the economic benefits from the balances customers are holding with us through these new prices”. In this sense, Wise very much goes against the grain in the industry and is the only known provider to invest its customers’ deposits, as opposed to simply holding these funds in segregated accounts at major banking institutions. Wise is completely transparent with regards to the banks it holds customer deposits with and the investments it makes. Wise has invested customer deposits into what it regards as low-risk assets – UK and US Government bonds. All information is available from wise.com but it’s something for you to decide if you’re happy with it. The net interest income made by Wise on customer balances jumped 29 per cent to £56m in the final quarter of its 2023 financial year, and in the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, this has even grown to £71.4m.

Exchange Rates: Here is the complete fee structure for payments sent in the currency specified below and converted to GBP (be aware fees have increased when you send money TO GBP from any currency in 2023. Payment fees and spreads can vary slightly depending on where money is being sent so be sure to use Wise.com’s online calculator first):

Currency Sent	Wise.com Fee October 2023 Updated
AUD	0.35% – 0.48%, depending on amount sent + $ 0.54 AUD fixed payment fee.
BRL	1.89-1.96%, depending on the amount sent + R$ 2.59 BRL fixed payment fee.
CAD	0.40% – 0.56%, depending on the amount sent + $ 3.33 CAD fixed payment fee.
CHF	0.35% – 0.49%, depending on the amount sent + 0.60 CHF fixed payment fee.
CZK	0.37% – 0.50%, depending on the amount sent + Kč 5.44 CZK fixed payment fee.
DKK	0.44% – 0.57%, depending on the amount sent + kr 2.53 DKK
EUR	0.40% – 0.56%, depending on the amount sent + € 0.45 EUR fixed payment fee.
JPN	0.66% of the amount that’s converted + ¥ 70.00 JPY fixed payment fee.
NZD	0.35% – 0.48%, depending on the amount sent + $ 0.29 NZD fixed payment fee.
TRY	1.06% Fee + ₺ 21 TRY fixed payment fee.
USD	0.34% – 0.50%, depending on the amount sent + $4.18 USD fixed payment fee.

Compare Wise Money Transfer and Paypal Fees

As Wise, formerly TransferWise, is a completely “online” platform that enables people to send money abroad, it is
often compared to Paypal, one the world’s largest online payment providers.

Destination	Real Exchange Rate	Amount Received for £1,000:
Australia	1 Pound is$AU1.73 AUD	1,707.33 AUD	1,650.30 AUD
UAE	1 Pound is4.87 AED	4,793.55 AED	4,647.56 AED
Canada	1 Pound is$CA1.71 CAD	1,682.04 CAD	1,630.82 CAD
Switzerland	1 Pound isCHF1.33 CHF	1,323.19 CHF	1,270.00 CHF
Eurozone	1 Pound is€1.14 EUR	€1,135.16 EUR	€1,089.53 EUR

See Also

Is Wise Safe? (was Transferwise) → 6 Must KnowsIs Wise Safe? Things You Must Know Before Using TransferWiseMoving to New Zealand from Australia.

Please note these are simulated prices and not the real rates and mistakes can occur in calculation or in our foreign currency exchange rate feed

2021 – Price Hike

The Wise pricing update in 2021 looked to have increased variable fees for a number of currencies when being converted to GBP. The fixed payment fees came down slightly vs 2020 but it’s the variable fee (processed as a %) which has a much larger impact on the price you have to pay for your transfer.

Compared to 2020, USD saw an increase in both the variable fee/spread and the fixed payment fee. The best rate possible on a USD transfer used to be 0.27% but, in 2021, it moved to 0.31%. The fixed fee of $6.25 was also much higher compared to the $1.23 fee in 2020, though it was still some way short of the $40+ US banks charge for international payments.

First Price Hike in 2022

The 2022 update for Wise money transfers impacted some important corridors. Payments sent from GBP and EUR became more expensive and bearing in mind a large majority of Wise’s 6+ million active customers are based in the UK & Europe, this is likely to have a big impact. A payment from EUR to GBP used to be capped at 0.41% but then moved to 0.47%. A payment from GBP to EUR used to be capped at 0.35% but could then be as high as 0.41%.

There was also a notable increase in fees for sending money from TRY, a variable fee of 1.03% replaced the old fee of 0.66% and the fixed payment fee increased from 10.57 TRY to 21.78 TRY.

Q3 2022 – Another Price Hike

Wise raised prices again on 1st October 2022 for customers who send money from USD, CHF, CAD, JPY, HUF, MYR, TRY, INR, SEK, PLN, CZK, DKK, NOK and RON to any other currency and those sending money to USD, INR, THB, PHP, IDR, MYR, MXN, PLN, PKR, KRW, VND, MAD and HUF from any other currency.

The reasoning provided by Wise was twofold; firstly, they explain that foreign exchange markets have been more volatile in recent times and that this has made it more expensive for them to buy and sell currencies. Secondly, the increase is required so they can continue to sustainably invest in their payment infrastructure to offer a faster and more convenient service.

2023 – Significant Rise in Cost for EUR to GBP Transfers

In April 2023, Wise announced they were increasing fees when you:

• Send money FROM EUR to any currency.
• Send money TO GBP from any currency.
• Pay for a USD transfer using a debit/credit card.

Given the changes impact both when you send money from EUR and when you send money to GBP, it obviously had a significant impact on the cost of sending money from Europe to the UK, such as transferring money from France to UK.

To send money from EUR to GBP before April 2023 the fees were anywhere between 0.32% – 0.45%, depending on the amount sent. This increased to anywhere between 0.39% – 0.54% in the most recent price hike. Substantially more than EUR to GBP transfer fees back in 2020 which were anywhere between 0.23% – 0.33%, depending on the amount sent. In fact, the 2020 worst case rate of 0.33% (for small transfers) cannot even be achieved as the best possible rate (for high value transfers) in 2023, is now 0.39%.

Fees have also seen a sharp increase when you send money to GBP from DKK (Denmark) and CHF (Switzerland).

DKK to GBP transfers have moved from anywhere between 0.36% – 0.49% to 0.44% – 0.57%, depending on the amount sent. Substantially more than the 2020 fee of 0.26% – 0.36%.

CHF to GBP transfers are now charged at 0.35% – 0.49%, depending on the amount sent vs 0.28% – 0.42% in 2022 and 0.22% – 0.32% in 2020.

For payments to GBP from most other currencies, variable payment fees have increased by 0.03%.

With the uptick across the board in variable payment fees (which remain the most influential figure in transfer costs), it looks like Wise has tried to soften the blow by slightly reducing its fixed payments fees for transfers to GBP. Though you’re almost certainly looking at a net-negative, unless you’re sending a very small sum.

In the Autumn of 2023, Wise announced an increase in fees for USD transfers made outside of the US. Be sure to check the Wise calculator to understand exactly what payment fees you’ll be charged for USD transfers to non-US receiving countries.

Overall, while it may appear as a small increase in variable fees with each pricing update, we can see that the net increase from 2020 to 2023 is certainly not insignificant.

Wise Fees in Perspective

With all that said and despite the changing nature of fees over the last few years, the exchange rates offered by Wise currency transfers are still among some of the best in the business, and in no way comparable to other remittance companies (i.e. companies with low minimum transfers used by overseas workers to transfer money abroad to families). To put Wise’s fees into perspective, Ria Money Transfer and Transfast’s margins are around the 2-3% mark.

What’s more, their commitment to passing on savings is even demonstrated by the small micro changes they make to payment fees, such as when sending money from EUR, where the fixed fee has moved from 0.50 to 0.46. Many firms would not bother with such small amendments to fees like this at all.

In some particular countries, Wise is cheaper (for example, the UK), while in Canada and the USA, it is great, but not as cheap as in other countries. Wise is a good option for sending money to/from some traditionally difficult markets for remittance, such as India and Indonesia, where brokers will traditionally charge you a much higher fee.

In some countries, like Brazil, Wise is making strides to reduce the overall cost of transfers but we’re sure Wise hasn’t been able to reduce fees by as much as it would like. These are currencies that are usually more expensive to transfer money from anyway (“exotic”) and at 1.96% the offering from Wise is a little below the 2.5% average in the market. As always Wise tries to give you savings where possible though – a payment from the UK (GBP to BRL) attracts a spread of 1.11%, whereas flip this and make a payment from Brazil (BRL to GBP) and you’ll see a spread of 1.96%. That’s why it’s always worth using the Wise free pricing calculator so you’ll know exactly how much you’ll need to pay.

Can Wise Continue to Honour its Low-fee Approach now its Publicly Traded?

The reasoning provided by Wise for its price hikes to GBP and EUR in June 2022 and April 2023 was that they themselves were starting to incur higher transfer costs from banks and other providers in these regions. While we have no reason to doubt this, we can’t help but wonder if the company will soon start to come under pressure to boost its returns now that it is publicly traded. Since its listing in July 2021 the Wise share price has fallen by more than 50%. Originally trading at 880p, the share price peaked at 1150p a couple of months after launch, before it gradually slumped to 311p in June 2022. Since then, it’s been better news for Wise as their FY2023 financials reported significant YoY increases in trading volumes, turnover, gross profit and EBITDA. As of October 2023, the share price is sitting at 680p. However, this still remains around 30% down on its opening price. Wise CEO and co-founder Kristo Käärmann has always had a steadfast commitment to drive the cost down for the end consumer but 2024 could prove his toughest test of nerve to date.

Is it possible to beat Wise’s rates with popular currencies like EUR, USD, AUD?

The fact that Wise is transparent and straightforward is generally very positive, but it is the company’s disadvantage when it comes to high volume transfers. Due to the fact that other companies like Currencies Direct have flexible pricing models, if the transfer is over GBP 25,000 (or equivalent in another currency), it is likely that they could offer cheaper rates than Wise. However, it’s always recommended to use Wise as a benchmark before you approach other recommended companies and negotiate your price. Conducting a cheap money transfer comes down to a number of factors and to have all bases covered, it’s best to see our guide to the cheapest way to transfer money internationally.

Limits:Wise.com has variable limitsfor each currency route.

Currency	Limitation
NZD	NZD 2,200,000
AUD	AUD 1,800,000
USD	USD 6,000,000
EUR	EUR 6,000,000
RON	RON 5,300,000
SEK	SEK 12,500,000
CAD	CAD 8,000,000

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Wise, formerly TransferWise, is cheaper than almost any competitor when it comes to small or medium-sized transfers inside Europe. Its 0.3%-0.5% margin on major currencies, with small payment fees, represents an average saving of approximately 0.5%-1% against the average quote from other companies for small transfers.

With some destinations, it is not necessarily the cheapest even for smaller transfers, but as long as the margin is at 1% or less, it will be around what other companies are offering.

For large transfers, their pricing system is definitely beatable by traditional FX institutions, such as moneycorp.

To summarise, this is a very good choice for remittances and small transfers. The company specialises in European
corridors.