Wise (formerly TransferWise) Reviews | Read our Customer Reviews (2024)

FAQs

How legitimate is Wise? ›

They're a provider that is regulated and licensed in the US, overseen by several bodies. Wise doesn't keep your money in a general pot either – it safeguards all customer funds by placing about 60% of your money in liquid assets and 40% in cash in reputable banks at reputable financial institutions.

Your money is always protected in a segregated account; Customer funds are insured to prevent loss; Just like banks and other financial providers, we monitor transactions and verify customers' identities to prevent fraud.

Who owns Wise? Wise started over 10 years ago, and in that time, we've raised money to help us grow. Today, Wise is owned by a number of venture capital firms that invested in us, our co-founders Kristo and Taavet, and over 4,000 current and former Wisers (employees).

Once you're all set up and have finished the verification process, you can activate your Wise account and begin holding a balance in dozens of currencies — sending your money all over the world. Or just inside the US.

Is Linked Bank Account secure? Yes. There are stringent security measures to safeguard your personal data that passes through eGIRO scheme. Your data is encrypted.

We need to verify your social security number and ID

Like your bank, Wise is a regulated financial institution. To comply with local regulations (the USA Patriot Act) and our banking partner agreements, we need to verify the identity of any of our customers who want to order a debit card in the US.

That means Wise accounts aren't FDIC insured, but funds are safeguarded instead. While banks lend out customers money, Wise does not. Banks often have FDIC insurance cover, to protect customers and ensure their funds are kept safe.

You can withdraw money from a Wise balance to a bank account - either in the same currency of the balance, or in a different supported currency, depending on your preferences. Simply tap the currency balance you want to withdraw from in the app's home page, to see your balance in that currency, and your options.

Wise PLC, previously known as TransferWise, is a financial technology company focused on global money transfers. Headquartered in London, it was founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in January 2011.

Which bank does Wise use? ›

We may close your account if you use it in a way that goes against our Customer Agreement — please check the relevant contract for your region. In some cases, for example where activity in the account goes against our Acceptable Use Policy for your region, we're able to give you more notice about closing your account.

If you earned 10 or more USD in the 2023 calendar year across your interest-earning balances we'll provide you with a 1099-INT to comply with standard IRS tax procedures. To download your 1099: Select your profile icon (top left in the app or top right on the website) Select Statements and Reports.

Wise is a safe provider to send international money transfers with. As well as being FinCEN registered in the US, Wise has a range of security measures in place to protect customer funds and ensure payments are safe.

If you're based in the US and create a balance in USD, EUR, AUD, NZD, GBP, HUF, RON, CAD, TRY and SGD you can also get details to get paid like a local in these currencies. 6. Once you're fully verified, you'll be able to access your local details!

If your SSN is not accepted, then you can verify yourself with an ID. Entering the SSN is a completely secure, one-time only verification process that we have to do as part of how we're regulated in the US. We don't run a credit check, or share your number.

For example, both Wise and PayPal offer multilingual services through their online, in-app, and phone channels. And regarding safety and security, both Wise and PayPal are fully licensed and regulated, providing users with peace of mind in their financial transactions.

It's free to send money from one balance to another, as long as they're the same currency. There's a fixed fee to send money from your balances to a bank account outside of Wise. Add money to your balances for free by making a bank transfer to your bank details.