Banking Wise

Moving abroad isn’t easy. But managing your finances in two or more different countries is challenging and expensive at the very least. Although there is no one right banking solution for everyone, it is worth delving into your bank agreements and finding out what your bank is costing you and what fees you can avoid. Maintenance fees, transfer fees, minimum balance fees, paper statement fees, withdrawal fees, debit card fees, you name it. While a few euros here and there may seem nominal, it can all add up over time. 

Banking with Wise

After years of painful transactions, I needed an alternative. God bless the day I discovered Wise and went borderless.

International Lifestyle

Wise makes moving and living abroad so much simpler. Geared to individuals and businesses who buy, sell or travel in multiple currencies, a Wise multi-currency account allows you to hold more than fifty currencies and exchange them inexpensively at your choosing; it is up to eight times cheaper than a bank and up to 3 times cheaper than PayPal; delivers instant money transfers, and a MasterCard debit card for online shopping and international travel will automatically pay in the local currency of the transaction and without hidden fees.

The Wise app also gets top marks for its user-friendly interface and functionality. Wise also has a dedicated business account, making it easy for companies to reduce their costs on large payments, invoice in multiple currencies, set up mass payments, and even integrate Wise as a payment provider in online stores.

People without borders are Wise people

All in all, there’s no such thing as fee-free currency exchange, but Wise (former TransferWise) is the closest thing to it. It has a transparent pricing structure with low fees and is stripping all the complexity of international money transfers.

They use the exact exchange rate you will find on Google, XE, and Yahoo, so it is entirely independent of banks or currency exchange providers. Their currency converter lets you check how much you should get when you convert your currency into another showing you the actual mid-market exchange rate.

There’s no monthly account fee to have a multi-currency account, enabling you to get local bank details for eight different countries/regions: Australia, Great Britain, Europe, Hungary, New Zealand, Romania, Singapore, and the United States. Each bank detail includes the numbers and codes unique to the country, like a European IBAN or an Australian BSB code. Such an account allows you to relocate without the stress and multiple bank accounts and is also an excellent tool for businesses that process international payments.

While eliminating the need for bank fees and exchange rate fees, the company does charge for transactions with a “transparent fee.” However, this fee is significantly cheaper than competitors’ and has no additional hidden costs.

Wise in a nutshell

Simply put, Wise is an online service for sending money across borders. Founded in London in 2011, the company has experienced significant growth ever since, thanks to the demand for cost-effective and easy international money transfers.

The service has had such a positive impact on my travels—and my banking situation as a whole— it has become the bank I use the most, and I wanted to share that here, too. In my opinion, Wise is a game-changer in the world of international finance. If you’re not already in that world, you will be soon.

The Wise story

It started with two friends and their vision of making international money transfers cheap, fair, and simple. Today, Wise multi-currency account helps millions of people and businesses manage their money across the world.