TransferWise Money Transfer

Wise, formerly TransferWise, is a platform used to transfer money across borders. It is eight times cheaper compared to a bank and can send many to most countries in the world, in various ways.

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How to Transfer Money in TransferWise

To transfer money using TransferWise is very easy. Go to the TransferWise Website and then enter your details and those of the recipient and the amount of money you want to transfer. You can send money directly from your online bank account. The funds will be sent directly to the recipient’s bank account even if they do not have a TransferWise account. Once you have sent the money, you will receive an email when the recipient receives the money and another one when the recipient gets paid. Many transfers take place the same day. However, international money transfers can take 3-7 to be complete.

TransferWise is cheaper compared to banks and other money transfer platforms such as PayPal. For instance, PayPal charges $0.30 and 2.9% for every transaction. When the recipient is withdrawing the money, he incurs other charges. The receiving bank will also charge the recipient. In the long run, when you accumulate all these costs, it becomes costly.

TransferWise makes the process transparent. All you need to do is to go Wise website or app and then enter the amount you want to transfer and the local currency of the recipient. TransferWise uses the same exchange rates that you will find in Google.

Moreover, N26 bank and bunq bank use Transferwise to transfer money for their clients.

How to Receive Money from Transferwise

If your recipient has a Wise multi currency account, you can send money to Transferwise. They can receive money directly into Wise account in Australian dollars, British pounds, Canadian dollars, Euros, Hungarian forints, New Zealand dollars, Romanian leu (only available for residents in the EEA and Switzerland), Singapore dollars, Turkish Lira, and US dollars.

Luckily, your recipient does not need a Transferwise account to get their money. If they don’t have Wise multi currency account, they can receive money in their bank account.

Transferwise Limits

Transferwise minimum transfer amount is only 1 USD. Transferwise maximum transfer amount from USD for personal customers is 200,000 USD per transfer.

TransferWise Reviews

TransferWise is very fast while sending money since it has local bank accounts. In most cases, the recipient will receive cash in his bank account within one hour. On the other hand, it is very secure to use while sending money. Several regulators such as FCA and the FTC regulate TransferWise. Security is critical so that you and the recipient do not lose the money.

TransferWise has some set guidelines on how to use their services. At times they can close your account if you don’t comply with their rules. However, they give you room to explain your situation.

TransferWise Card

Transferwise also offer an online multi-currency bank account. The Wise multi-currency bank account comes with a free prepaid debit card and Wise virtual card. For European residents, you can apply for this debit card which you can use for any currency around the world. You can also link your multicurrency account to TransferWise debit MasterCard.

This MasterCard is a smart and contactless card that allows one to spend anywhere in the world and the real exchange rate. You can pay using the card regardless of the currency that you hold in your account. You can also convert the initial currency to your preferred currency at low conversion fees and zero transaction fees.

The card uses smart auto-conversion technology to convert the balance to another currency. With the card, you can make ATM withdrawals in any currency. The ATM withdrawals are free up to 200 Euros. The TransferWise card will be available to other people in the world and also for businesses. The TransferWise card has the following benefits to the users.

  • You spend less in international money transfers by up to eight times cheaper compared to the bank
  • You can send, hold and receive money in over 40 currencies
  • You don’t need any minimum balance in your account
  • You can switch from one currency to another at a small fee of about 0.35 per cent and 2 percent
  • You get real mid market exchange rates when converting currency

Countries with TransferWise Borderless Account

Some of the countries with TransferWise Borderless, rebranded Wise multicurrency, account include the following:

  • Europe Single European Payments Area (EUR)
  • USA US Dollar (USD)
  • United Kingdom Pounds Sterling (GBP)
  • Australia Australian Dollar (AUD)
  • Brazil Brazilian Real (BRL)
  • Switzerland (and Liechtenstein) Swiss Francs (CHF)
  • Canada Canadian Dollars (CAD)
  • Poland Polish Zloty (PLN)
  • Sweden Swedish Krone (SEK)
  • Norway Norwegian Krone (NOK)
  • Denmark Danish Krone (DKK)
  • Hungary Hungarian Forint (HUF)
  • Czech Republic Czech Koruna (CZK)
  • Bulgaria Bulgarian Lev (BGN)
  • Romania Romanian Leu (RON)
  • New Zealand New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
  • Japan Japanese Yen (JPY)
  • Singapore Singapore Dollar (SGD)
  • India Indian Rupee (INR)
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
  • Malaysia Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
  • Philippines Philippine Peso (PHP)
  • Pakistan Pakistani Rupee (PKR)
  • Morocco Moroccan Dirham (MAD)
  • Thailand Thai Baht (THB)
  • United Arab Emirates Emirati Dirham (AED)
  • Ukrain Ukrainian Hryvna (UAH)
  • Indonesia Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)
  • Colombia Colombian Peso (COP)
  • Georgia Georgian Lari (GEL)
  • Turkey Turkish Lira (TRY)
  • Mexico Mexican Peso (MXN)
  • Russia Russian Rouble (RUB)
  • South Korea South Korean Won (KRW)
  • China Chinese Yuan (CNY)
  • Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
  • Bangladesh Bangladesh Taka (BDT)
  • Vietnam Vietnamese Dong (VND)
  • South Africa South African Rand (ZAR)

Wise in Thailand: You cannot Wise to send money from Thailand. You can only use Wise to send money to Thailand. However, Wise has changed money transfer to Thailand from international transfer to internal bank transfer. Fortunately, Wise partner banks in Thailand can give you FET forms, the official statement by a licensed financial institution in Thailand (Thai bank) to report the remittance and exchange of foreign currency, to prove the transfer is from abroad.

TransferWise Alternatives

You can use the following platforms as alternatives to TransferWise to transfer money for personal or business reasons.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit is very similar to TransferWise. To transfer money, go to WorldRemit website and select the country you want to send money, details of the recipient and the amount you want to send. You can send the money in the form of cash pick up, bank deposit, mobile money or airtime. With WorldRemit, you can track your transfer, and it is also fast.

PayPal

You can also use PayPal as an alternative. It is the biggest money transfer platform in the world. You have an option to send money to either finds or business partners. You only need to sign up using your address and then verify your card and top up your account.

WorldFirst

WorldFirst is a UK money transfer company that is best suited for businesses that regularly pay suppliers and contractors abroad. The company stopped offering private clients services service in the beginning of 2021 to focus on corporate clients.

Transfer money with Transferwise

Vincent is a writer and researcher with an interest in finance, banking, startups, and remittance. He holds a Bachelors degree in Applied Statistics with computing. He founded Nexin Startups, an online platform offering startup advice to investors and entrepreneurs. Read more about us and our authors.