How to Use Wise in 2021: Wise (Formerly TransferWise) Login & Fees

Have you heard about Wise? It used to be called Transferwise up until 2021 and has been one of the largest and most widely-used payment transfer platforms for a decade. In fact, over 10 million people around the world use Wise to transfer money to friends, family, and businesses outside of their home country. 

Whether you need to transfer money easily to another friend in the US and don’t want to use PayPal, Zelle, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or any of the other payment transfer apps out there, or are in dire need of an international payment transfer solution that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, Wise is a great resource for you.

The best part? Wise is super easy to use and the fees are minimal. Here is what to know about how to use Wise, how to log into Wise if you previously had an account before the branding shift, and how to connect Wise to a US bank account.

What is Wise (Formerly TransferWise) ?

Wise (Formerly TransferWise) was the original name of the brand that was created in 2011. In February of 2021, it was rebranded as just Wise. This is important to understand as some customers have recently become confused about the difference between the two. In fact, there’s no difference at all!

The platform still offers you the ability to set up a free personal or Wise Business account in order to quickly and easily transfer money to accounts in different currencies. The latter is an account that is specifically built for businesses that need to send and accept payments internationally. Again, it’s somewhat similar to a PayPal Business account.

In most countries, Wise offers you the ability to:

• Send money at the real exchange rate to and from international bank accounts
• Receive payments like a local in various currencies (the exact number of currencies depends on where your account is located)
• Convert and hold up to 50+ currencies in your Wise account (again, the exact number depends on the country where your account is located)
• Spend abroad with the Wise debit card that you can connect to both Apple Pay and Google Pay (this feature is one that’s not as common in the majority of countries)

In most countries, you’re able to avoid foreign transaction fees and bank markups by using Wise instead. Plus, it also allows you to receive international payments like pension payouts and international client payments with ease.

How Do You Create a Wise Account?

Let’s start by addressing the Wise login question. If you previously had an account with Wise, does that mean that you now need to create a new account with Wise? Nope! Your old login will still work, the name of the brand has just changed, that’s all.

If you signed up for Wise a while ago and need to log in but have forgotten your information, head over to the login page here and then click on “Forgot Password?” The support team will be able to help you recover your account.

If you’re new to Wise then you’ll need to create an account. Head over to the Register page and enter your email to get started. Likewise, you can also sign up with Facebook, Google, or Apple as well.

Once you have entered your information and your account is created, you’ll be prompted to connect a payment method. This involves connecting your bank account or linking a debit or credit card. In terms of learning how to connect Wise to a US bank account, you’ll need at least some of the following information:

• Personal information (your name, address, etc.)
• Your bank account number
• Your bank account routing number
• Other sensitive personal information to confirm your identity like a passport, ID, or social security number

Now, you’re all ready to transfer and receive money!

How to Initiate a Wise Money Transfer

Setting up your account is probably the most time-intensive aspect of using the Wise transfer app, and it’s not even that hard. This means that performing a Wise money transfer is even easier!

To start, you’ll head over to the Transfer page of the Wise website. Choose the payment transfer method that suits you best, choosing from:

• Debit card
• Credit card
• Bank debit (ACH)
• Wire transfer

Wise will tell you how much the total fees are for each option so that you can choose based on the most economic option. At the bottom, you will also be able to see when the money is expected to arrive.

Simply click through to complete the transfer and it will take a few seconds to process. Assuming there is no issue with your bank, it’ll likely be approved immediately! You’ll receive a confirmation email with all of the details to keep for your records just in case there are any issues with your bank or the recipient’s bank.

What Are Wise Wire Transfer Fees?

Fees with Wise are actually super low, at least compared to other options such as sending money internationally via Western Union or even sometimes PayPal in certain cases. And, the fees vary depending on how much money you’re looking to send.

For example, you can go into Wise right now and look at the transfer calculator on their homepage. We did it just to show you an example of how it works. At the top, you’ll enter the currency that your account is. In this case, we used USD.

Now, let’s say we want to send $100 to a friend in France whose bank account is in Euros. You’d enter 100 at the top where it says “you’d send.” At the bottom, be sure to check Euros as the currency where it says “recipient gets.” Then, click on the dropdown menu to select the payment method you’d like to use. For this specific transfer, the fees are:

• Debit card = $1.13 USD
• Credit card = $3.74 USD
• Bank debit (ACH) = $0.16 USD
• Wire transfer = $4.14 USD

Below that you will see that Wise does charge a one-time fee for the service. Again, that varies depending on how much you’re looking to send. In this case, when sending $100 USD to someone in Euros, the fee is only $0.95.

Assuming you choose the regular debit card fee, your total fees for sending $100 to that friend in France would be only $2.08. Their calculator estimates that that’s currently $2.32 in savings versus initiating the transfer via a traditional bank. However, when you start to send larger amounts of money, those savings increase significantly!

Need a Debit Card to Connect to Wise?

In need of a US debit card to connect to your Wise account so you can send money internationally? We’ve got you covered! The Cheese Debit Card is super easy to set up and designed to help you save just as much as you’ll save on wire transfers with Wise.

With the Cheese Debit Card, you’re able to apply with an established US address, passport, and valid visa. There are still even more perks, though. Other rewards include:

• Up to 10% cash back at over 10,000 stores
• Up to a 3% deposit bonus
• No fees!

Ready to apply for your debit card? Download the Cheese mobile banking app for either iOS or Android to get started.