Launched in 2010, Transferwise was originally a service for international money transfers. They changed their name to Wise in 2021 to reflect their broader range of financial services which now also includes a multi-currency account and travel debit card.
Together you can easily and inexpensively do almost everything in 40 currencies and they are available in 160 countries. Apart from transfers, you can do things like hold multiple currencies in various wallets, generate virtual bank details for many countries (to get paid without opening a bank account), and pay by card anywhere in the world in your preferred currency.
Ultimately, Wise is a great solution for travelers, digital nomads, expats, immigrants and basically anyone who needs to manage their money across borders.
But, Wise is not always the best solution for some things and despite using them personally for many years, I don’t use them for everything.
In this Wise Review, I am going to focus on Wise as a whole including some specifics for money transfers.
Pros
- Highly rated by 3rd party review sites
- Available in the US, Canada, UK, Eurozone, Australia, New Zealand
- Send money to over 160 countries
- Transparent and low fees
- Available for both personal and business
- Offers a multi-currency account and Mastercard debit card
Cons
- No cash transfers
- Although Wise can transfer large amounts, you are generally limited to support via email up to £80,000 (or equivalent to approximately $96,000 USD, $144,000 AUD)