Wise Fees: How much does an international money transfer cost? 2024
Wise (TransferWise) was built to make international payments cheaper, faster and more transparent. The way Wise moves money is different compared to banks, which means the fees you’ll see when using Wise might also look a little bit different.
To make it easy to see exactly what you’re paying for every transaction, Wise splits out all its fees – unlike many providers which bundle costs together or hide fees in the exchange rates used. You’ll only pay for the services you need, and you’ll always see in advance any costs involved.
This guide covers all you need to know about Wise’s fees, how they’re structured, and how they compare – you can also get the full rundown of Wise personal fees and Wise business fees here.
Wise fees: An overview
Wise is on a mission to make it easier and cheaper to transact internationally. That means Wise fees are designed to be fair, transparent, and get lower over time.
Here are the key Wise fees you’ll want to know about.
| Service | Wise fee |
|---|---|
| Open your Wise multi-currency account |
|
| Hold 40+ currencies | Free |
| Get local and SWIFT account details for 10+ currencies | Free |
| Order a Wise debit card |
|
| Spend currencies you hold using your card | Free |
| First 2 ATM withdrawals up to 350 NZD/month | Free |
| ATM withdrawals over 350 NZD/month | 1.75% |
| Over 2 ATM withdrawals/month | 1.50 NZD/withdrawal |
| Convert a currency using your card | From 0.33% |
| Receive money with local or SWIFT details | Often free – the important exceptions include a 6.11 USD fee for incoming USD wires, and a 10 CAD fee for CAD SWIFT payments |
| Send high value international payments |
|
Wise currency conversion fee
Banks often add a markup – an extra fee – onto the exchange rate they pass on to customers. This makes it hard to see what you’re really paying for your international transfer or when you convert currencies in your account.
Bank markups are often around 3% – which pushes up the costs of a transfer significantly, especially over higher value payments. Here’s how a 3% margin would mount up over a few different transfer values:
- Sending 1,000 NZD – the exchange rate markup adds 30 NZD to the total
- Sending 5,000 NZD – the exchange rate markup adds 150 NZD to the total
- Sending 50,000 NZD – the exchange rate markup adds 1,500 NZD to the total
Wise transfer fees
Wise international transfers have a couple of different transparent costs:
- Fixed fee: covering the fixed costs associated with the transaction. For major currencies this can be from 0.82 – 1.77 NZD
- Variable fee: covering the cost of the currency exchange. For major currencies this is typically around 0.25% of the transfer value
You’ll always see the full fee before you confirm the transaction. Here are the Wise transfer fees for a few major currencies as an example:
| Sending 1,000 NZD
to |
Variable fee (NZD) | Fixed fee (NZD) | Total fee (NZD) |
| AUD | 2.29 NZD (0.23%) | 1.28. NZD | 3.57. NZD |
| USD | 2.69 NZD (0.27%) | 1.77. NZD | 4.46. NZD |
| EUR | 2.39 NZD (0.24%) | 0.82. NZD | 3.21. NZD |
| GBP | 2.79 NZD (0.28%) | 0.87. NZD | 3.66. NZD |
| SGD | 2.49 NZD (0.25%) | 1.68. NZD | 4.17. NZD |
*Fees correct at time of research 9th October 2024
Wise fee calculator
When you arrange a Wise international transfer online or in the Wise app you’ll be able to instantly see the full cost, the exchange rate available, and the estimated delivery time, using the TransferWise fee calculator.
- Choose the currency you’re sending to and from
- Enter the amount you want to send, or how much you want the recipient to get
- Choose how you’ll pay for the transfer
The Wise fee calculator will show you the variable fee as a percentage and a total, the fixed fee, and the total cost. You’ll also see exactly what your recipient will receive, and when it’s likely to arrive in their account. Take a look at the Wise fee calculator here, to see how much you could save on your international payment.
Wise account and card fees
As well as fast and secure money transfers, Wise also offers multi-currency accounts you can use to hold and exchange 40+ currencies, and linked debit cards for spending and withdrawals in 150+ countries.
You can add a balance to your Wise account yourself, or have someone else send you money using the local and SWIFT account details which come with your account. As the Wise account is a true multi-currency account, you can receive payments in a selection of foreign currencies and hold your balance for future use. Use your foreign currency balances for future payments to others, convert to another currency you need, or use your money to spend with your card when you’re abroad.
There’s no fee to spend a currency you hold in your account with a Wise card – and if you don’t have the currency you need you can just let the card convert for you, with the mid-market exchange rate and low fees from 0.33%. Here’s a rundown of the important fees you need to know about when using the Wise card:
| Wise card and account fees | |
|---|---|
| Fee to open account | No fee for personal customers |
| Ongoing fees | No ongoing fees |
| Cost to get a card | 14 NZD for personal customers |
| Cost to hold a balance | No fee |
| Currency conversion fees | From 0.33% |
| Cost to spend a currency you hold | No fee |
| Cost to spend a currency you don’t hold | From 0.33% |
| ATM fees | 2 withdrawals, to a value of 350 NZD/month free – after that, 1.5 NZD + 1.75% |
Fees to add money to Wise Account
The Wise top-up fees you pay depend on how much you want to add, and which currency you’ll pay in. If you need to convert currencies to deposit them into your Wise account, a small fee will apply.
Wise account fees for holding money
It’s free to hold money in your Wise account. In fact, you can hold money in 40+ currencies for free including NZD, AUD, USD, EUR, GBP and CAD.
Fees for sending money from your Wise account
Once you hold a balance in your Wise account you can use it to send payments to 160+ countries. Fees start from 0.33%, and vary depending on the currency you’re sending to and from.
Fees for receiving money into Wise account
You can receive payments to Wise using local or SWIFT account details. The costs can vary depending on the currency and the way the sender processes the transfer:
It’s free to receive payments in select currencies using local or SWIFT bank details – there are a couple of important exceptions:
- 10 CAD fee to receive payments via SWIFT in CAD
- 6.11 USD to receive a USD wire (ACH payments are free)
Wise ATM fees
With Wise, you’ll get some free ATM withdrawals every month, no matter where in the world you are. You can find how much is left of your free monthly ATM withdrawal allowance easily in the Wise app, so you’ll always keep on top of your costs.
Here’s how the Wise card ATM fee shapes up:
- The first 2 ATM withdrawals up to the value of 350 NZD/month are free.
- After this, a fee of 1.5 NZD + 1.75% of the withdrawal value applies
Wise foreign transaction fees
Many bank debit or credit cards will charge a foreign transaction fee whenever you spend or make a withdrawal in a foreign currency. The exact cost depends on the card you have, but it’s often about 3% of the value of the transaction. Wise does not have a foreign transaction fee. It’s free to spend any currency you have in your account, and if you need currency conversion you’ll pay a small fee from 0.33%, based on the currencies involved.
How does Wise pricing work?
Wise has its own payment network which lets it arrange international transfers faster and for a lower cost compared to banks which rely on the SWIFT network. This can cut down on the costs of transferring money and allows Wise to manage their pricing differently too.
As we mentioned earlier, Wise’s commitments include:
- Being radically transparent about costs
- Charging as little as possible – and lowering fees over time
- Using fair pricing so you only pay for the services you use
How much you pay with Wise will depend on the service you’re using, how you want to pay, and the currencies involved. However, you’ll always see the full fee upfront, with no hidden fees to worry about.
Sending large amounts with Wise
Wise is a safe provider which is already trusted by 16 million+ customers around the world, and overseen by global regulatory bodies everywhere it operates. That makes it a very safe provider to choose for high value international transfers. Even better, you can even get a discount on your costs if you regularly send Wise payments for yourself or your business.
If you send more than the currency equivalent of 20,000 GBP a month (around 43,000 NZD) you could get an automatic discount of up to 0.17%. There’s no need to pre-arrange the fee, which means everyone gets the best possible deal, every time. Here’s how the Wise high value payment discounts break down:
| Payment volume (GBP) | Discount |
| Under 20,000/month | 0 |
| 20,000 – 300,000/month | 0.1% |
| 300,000 – 500,000/month | 0.15% |
| 500,000 – 1million/month | 0.16% |
| 1 million+/month | 0.17% |
How does Wise pricing compare?
Before you choose a provider for your international payment it’s a smart idea to compare a few options, to make sure you’re getting the best available deal.
The good news is that specialist providers are often cheaper than using a bank. However, even some specialist providers hide a part of their fee in the exchange rate they use. That means you’ll need to look carefully at the overall costs to find the cheapest provider for your payment.
At The Currency Shop you can compare providers transparently, to find the best money transfer service for your needs based on both the fees and exchange rates available.
Conclusion
Wise takes a radically different approach to pricing compared to traditional banks and international money transfer services. You’ll see the full cost of the service you need upfront before you commit, with no hidden charges or exchange rate markups. This can be a lot to take in, but it’s more transparent than bundling costs or hiding a charge in the exchange rate, which is what many other providers do.
Overall, Wise’s low fees and transparent approach to pricing makes it a market beating service for many customers.
FAQs
How much does Wise cost?
Wises fees vary based on the service you need, how you’re paying and the currencies involved. However, you’ll always be able to see the full cost upfront before you arrange your payment.
What are Wise currency conversion fees?
Currency conversion with Wise uses the real mid-market exchange rate with no markup. All services have low, transparent fees which you can see before you make payment.
What are Wise transfer fees?
Wise transfer fees include a low fixed fee (often 0.26 – 0.41 NZD), covering the costs associated with the transaction, and a variable fee covering the cost of the currency exchange. For major currencies this is typically around 0.45% of the transfer value.
How does Wise compare?
Wise currency conversion and international payments use the mid-market exchange rate and low, transparent fees. This means they’re often among the cheapest – if not the cheapest – provider available.
