Business banking can be challenging and expensive, especially when you are a small business or solopreneur or traveling internationally! Dealing with different countries and banking requirements can be a huge hassle and a large expense. Foreign transaction fees, high costs for transfers, and any other fees the bank decides to tack on can be challenging to do business outside of your country, not to mention the fees you have to pay to access your cash from a foreign land ATM. I found a company named Wise that makes banking easier with an easy-to-use banking web application. It’s simple to use, less expensive, and very time efficient, and these are just some of the reasons why I use Wise to send money to businesses I work with outside of the U.S. Let’s go over why to use Wise and how to use the application to simplify payments so you can start saving money on foreign payments immediately.
Here’s my story: I first started using Wise in 2016 to pay my rent and buy farm boxes while I was living in London. As I traveled throughout Europe in the following years, I found that I could also use Wise to pay a traffic ticket in Italy, a marketing agency in Serbia, and even accounting and bookkeeping companies in various places. I used Wise to pay for my car in Slovenia, start a company in Croatia, and work with consultants and lawyers in several countries. As an American, I can’t easily open a bank account in different countries, so my best option is to utilize the low-fee Wise service to move money from my American bank accounts to European bank accounts with ease.
I’m now a Wise superfan, which is why when I started setting up affiliate marketing partners for FinancingSarah, I decided I needed to team up with Wise. I love to share products, services, and experiences that I personally have experienced and find to be the best. Wise is my favorite, which is why I have an affiliate link in this blog post. If you need a service like Wise, I would appreciate it if you clicked my link to sign up. It doesn’t cost you anything; you will get the same rate as signing up with them directly, and it helps me out. Thank you. Now, back to the post!
5 Reasons to Use Wise
- Competitive Exchange Rates: Wise provides current exchange rates without the hidden fees. This means you’ll get a more favorable rate compared to banks or other money transfer services, ultimately saving you money on currency conversion.
- Low Transparent Fees: Clear-cut fees, not hidden ones you learn about later. When setting up a transfer, Wise will show you their fees for international transfers. The fees are typically lower than those imposed by banks and many other money transfer providers.
- Fast and Efficient Transfers: Wise is known for its swift and efficient money transfer process. In many cases, transfers can be completed within a few hours or even minutes, depending on the destination and the currencies involved. For some of my repeat monthly transfers, the users have their money in minutes.
- Multi-Currency Accounts: Wise offers multi-currency accounts, allowing you to hold and manage money in different currencies. Super helpful for people who frequently deal with international transactions, as it enables you to save on conversion fees and exchange money at your convenience. I like to use this feature to buy currencies when they are a bargain. For example, when the Hungarian Forint was lower against the U.S. dollar than usual in early 2022, I stocked up to save on future purchases. I’ve done the same for the Euro, which has been going up and down a lot in 2022 and 2023. Saving a few cents per dollar adds up and really provides some great long-term savings regarding the money you plan to spend in the future.
- Secure and Regulated: Wise is regulated by financial authorities in various countries and takes security seriously. Your funds are protected, and the company uses encryption and two-factor authentication to safeguard your account and transactions. This provides peace of mind when using their services.
The Wise Motto “Money for Here, There and Everywhere” sums up their business. Users can send to over seventy countries. They hold money in established financial institutions and have dedicated security teams to weed out fraud and keep transactions safe. Two-factor authentication also helps make sending money safer, as the application will ask for the password again before completing any transaction. This creates a massive difference in security and makes sure your money gets to the right person or place.
There are no hidden fees, and they will always tell you the transaction cost upfront. Once you send money to someone or a business, Wise will save their details so that you can repeat transfers for quick transactions or choose them again for a different amount. It’s straightforward to use.
Wise provides a free account and only charges you when using their service. They show the charge before you send money on their platform. It’s all included before you complete the transfer. For example, the following transfer would be for $1000 USD to 993.18 Euro based on an exchange rate of .928000 with a fee of $6.82. Once I confirm, it will tell me again that I’m sending $1000 USD for a total charge of 1006.82 before finalizing the transaction.
Wise is easy to set up and super easy to use to send money. Just tap on how much you will send and where to send it. Choose the bank you will send it from, Apple Pay, credit, or debit card. Then press send, and in some cases, it will be in the receiver’s bank in just minutes, or in most cases, several hours. If you’re using SWIFT, it can take a few days. I use SWIFT for Serbia.
Whether you are sending money to pay a web designer in Taiwan, a marketing company in India, or an investment firm in Switzerland, whatever your business needs are, Wise will be a pretty good partner in transfers worldwide. This puts the world of contractors and services at your very fingertips, which is exciting. This is a huge pro. As far as cons are concerned, if you’re weighing the pluses and minuses first, I understand some people have had challenges with their customer service. Personally, I haven’t had an issue as of yet, but if you check the reviews, you will see some complaints.
For me, Wise transfers are the best. I’ve paid for a lot of bank transfers, both domestic and international. Those rates add up fast, and it’s a lot of filling out details and repetitive information. Let Wise replace your bank transactions, and I hope you find it a much smoother process than what you use today.
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