Wise (formerly known as TransferWise) is not a bank. It works more like PayPal as a payment processor and money transmitter. The service was created in 2010, and its mission is to make it fast, easy, and cheap for you to send and receive money. Today, it is one of the largest international money transfer providers worldwide. Over 12 million people and businesses worldwide use Wise, from individuals who use the service for occasional small payments to business customers who transfer millions each month. You can find a very detailed review here.
Wise Money Transfer
Through Wise, you can send money in over 50 currencies to over 80 countries worldwide. You can make your payment online or through the App, and the money will be directly deposited into the recipient’s bank account. Compared to other providers, your recipient does not need to set up a separate Wise account to receive their money.
And because Wise uses its own payment network, the costs are significantly lower than traditional methods of transferring money across borders. These savings are passed on to customers in the form of low fees – and because Wise cuts out the intermediaries usually involved in international transfers, your money could also arrive faster.
You can initiate Wise payments by entering the amount you want to send or the amount you wish the recipient to receive in the end. You fund the payment by transferring your money to the Wise account – and Wise forwards the equivalent in the recipient’s currency to their account in the destination country. It’s fast, affordable, and secure. All services are monitored by regulators around the world, and you can track your money movements at any time online or through the Wise app.
Receiving Money
Receiving money through Wise is as easy as sending it. The only thing to consider is in what currency you will receive your money. This is simply done by creating a balance for that currency. So if you want to receive money in EUR, you need to create a EUR balance. You then send the EUR account details (BIC, IBAN) to your friends, company, or customers so they can send you EUR from their bank account.
If you want to receive money in a different currency, you need to set up another balance for that currency. Should you try to have someone send you USD into your EUR account, the transfer will be rejected. You might think this is no good because you need to receive money in EUR but then want to get it into your USD account. No problem. There is a Convert option for that. Just get your money into the appropriate account and then convert it to the account where you want it.
