Wise - Formerly TransferWise

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Revolut Megathread..

the_amazing_raisin

Has anyone used Wise (formerly TransferWise) for payments and how does it compare to Revolut?

I've an investment account which looks like it's free to transfer to a US local bank account (which Wise provides) and the fees look cheaper than sending a wire to Revolut

I'm thinking it might be a useful backup to Revolut as well since Wise also does debit cards and bank transfers

I wouldn't be looking for much beyond the basics of bank transfers, currency exchange and card transactions.

I know the fees can be different, Wise seems to work more on a pay per use basis which I'm okay with since I probably won't be a frequent user

daheff

i use it for a debit card type solution. very handy that i can limit how much funds are available (especially for online purchases).

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121951698#Comment_121951698

Wise is linked up with IBKR. Ironically I used to use Wise to transfer USD from US bricks-and-mortar to EUR Irish bricks-and-mortar before I started doing it through IBKR. Wise generally had tighter spreads than its competitors for that. You can't use IBKR only (or even mainly) for converting money though of they will close your account I've heard.

I have a Wise card also. But that was mainly because I already had an account with them and thought it might be useful for traveling. I've only used it for that, and the virtual card when buying stuff online, since I started converting though IBKR.

NSAman

have been using wise for quite a while. Have investigated other options, wise has been the cheapest option for me (based in the States) for international transfers.

I use it both in business and also for personal transfers.

I’m sure there are cheaper options in Europe but Stateside, I’m saving a fortune on bank rates and fees.

Their set up is easy, but the “account verification” can cause you to be left in limbo, especially if a time sensitive transfer is needed.

the_amazing_raisin

Thanks guys, I'll be using Wise for some transfers in the next few months so I'll see how it goes

One thing that was confusing me was how to get dollars from Wise to Revolut cheaply. The exchange rate is generally better in Revolut since there's the monthly no fees allowance

It seems the best way is to add money to your Revolut dollar account from your Wise debit card. The limit is pretty high and there's no fees, unlike wire transfers

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122025972#Comment_122025972

As I mentioned above, I used to use it for that too. But I would now use IBKR. I have a decent chunk in investments with them so I'm not going to get my account closed over what I convert through them.

You'd probably be saving ~50 bips on the conversion

Wise do freeze your account randomly though (although maybe it just appears to be random). You have to reupload ID etc. It's probably every two years or something.

feelings

Anyone else getting unsolicited emails from Wise (formerly WiseTransfer)?

NSAman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026063#Comment_122026063

Thanks for that, didn't know about them. Upon further investigation a good friend of mine works with them on the C-suite side of things… amazing he never told me about this….. must kick his ass.. ;)

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122028298#Comment_122028298

They don't allow people to use them just for currency conversions. But if you have an account and are trading or investing through them you can convert through them.

i.e. if you are moving 100k a year USD→EUR, you probably won't get away with having a few random penny stocks bought ……. but if your have a reasonably large chunk in a portfolio with them, they probably aren't going to flag your account for adding a few k USD a month, converting it to EUR and withdrawing to an Irish bank. You get one withdrawal per calendar month free.

The other thing to research is the possible delays. You cannot withdraw funds for a good while to a different institution that the funding institution if you fund by ACH. It is quite long - as in a couple of months maybe. Whatever the limit is for reversing an ACH transfer basically. But a wire transfer will be much shorter. Additional expense though for the wire itself.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026074#Comment_122026074

Nope, only emails I get are notifications

Probably a scam so don't click any links (that's generally good advice for most emails, navigate to sites directly)

Might be worth checking your communication preferences. I've noticed a lot of companies are quite cheeky and will automatically sign you up for some new mailing list they create

feelings

I don't believe it's a scam, the links are to the wise.com website and the headers show it came from wise.com also.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122029071#Comment_122029071

I still wouldn't trust it personally, better to be safe than sorry

Even if the link says wise.com it could still redirect elsewhere