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- HQ
- London
- Fee
- Free
Wise
The mid-market FX rail everyone else is measured against.
Legal entity: Wise Payments Limited — UK EMI, FCA registration 900507. Wise Europe SA — payment institution, National Bank of Belgium, company 0713629988. US: Wise US Inc (money transmitter) and, in some states, Community Federal Savings Bank.
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8.6Strong
AlternativesFive questions
At a glance
Is it a bank?
No. Wise is not a bank. Your money sits with Partner banks for local account details; Wise itself is an EMI in the UK.
If it fails?
Safeguarded e-money at Wise Payments Limited — not FSCS. Wise’s own help: they do not lend customer balances; safeguarding is not a deposit-guarantee scheme. Local account details may sit at partner banks (US: Community Federal Savings Bank in some states).
Salary?
Local account details (UK sort code, EUR IBAN, US ACH, and others) can receive salary where issued. Wise itself is an EMI in the UK — not a UK bank current account.
Open from abroad?
Onboarding is residency- and corridor-gated. Local account details are not issued in every country Wise sends to.
Monthly fee
Free personal · Wise Business subscription optional
Account number
EUR IBAN is issued where Wise offers European account details (Wise Europe SA). UK sort code is account details, not a PRA bank.
NeoBankDB Verdict
Licence first · score second
8.6
/10 · Strong
The control for cross-border. Pair with a licensed local bank for salary protection. Never describe Wise personal as a UK bank account.
What it is
Wise (TransferWise) built the mid-market FX brand. Personal is an EMI in the UK; business is the B2B evolution. Local account details are issued via partners so clients can get paid as if they were local. Safeguarding is not deposit insurance.
Best for: Anyone who receives or sends money across borders for a living.
Last checked 2026-08-01. Not advice.
What it does well
- +Honest FX — the number others hide
- +Local details that make you look domestic
- +Business platform that scales past the card
- +Public company
What to watch
- −Not a bank in the UK — no FSCS on the EMI wallet
- −Account reviews can freeze funds mid-invoice
- −ATM and spend caps on the free plan
- −Some corridors still use partners
Legal entity, not the app icon
Who is behind it
- Legal name
- Wise Payments Limited — UK EMI, FCA registration 900507. Wise Europe SA — payment institution, National Bank of Belgium, company 0713629988. US: Wise US Inc (money transmitter) and, in some states, Community Federal Savings Bank.
- Formerly
- TransferWise
- Parent
- Wise plc (LON: WISE)
- Founders
- Kristo Käärmann, Taavet Hinrikus
- Offices
- London, Tallinn, and more
- If something goes wrong
- UK EMI complaints follow FCA rules for Wise Payments Limited. EEA PI complaints sit with Wise Europe SA / NBB.
Who holds the money
The account
- Platforms
- Web · iOS · Android
- Account types
- Personal · Business
- Minimum balance
- $0 / £0 / €0
- Lowest monthly fee
- $0 personal · Business has a plan fee in some markets
- Who can open
- Individuals and companies
- Availability
- 40+ countries; local details where live
- IBAN country
- EUR IBAN is issued where Wise offers European account details (Wise Europe SA). UK sort code is account details, not a PRA bank.
- Support
- In-app and email — holds on reviews are the known risk
- Hours
- In-app and email — holds on reviews are the known risk
- Remote open
- Onboarding is residency- and corridor-gated. Local account details are not issued in every country Wise sends to.
- Onboarding
- Identity check plus proof of address. Business KYC is heavier.
- KYC documents
- Government ID and proof of address. Business: incorporation papers.
- Minimum age
- 18
- Languages
- EN and many localisations
- Salary / payroll
- Local account details (UK sort code, EUR IBAN, US ACH, and others) can receive salary where issued. Wise itself is an EMI in the UK — not a UK bank current account.
- Local rails
- Partner-issued local details: BE/EEA IBAN, UK sort code, US routing, AU PayID and more
- ATM network
- Debit card ATMs; caps on the free plan
- Overdraft
- None — not a current-account overdraft product
How money actually moves
- Who holds the cash
- EMI safeguarded funds
- How money moves
- IBAN / SEPA · UPI / INR · ACH / USD · Faster Payments
- Built for
- Personal · Business · Freelancer · Travel
- Settlement
- Local rails instant where live; SWIFT slower
- Freeze risk
- Fintech reviews can pause inbound while they check a transfer
- Card
- Wise lists a physical card and a virtual card on mastercard, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Confirm the live product in the app — a card is not a current account.
Licence first
Safety
Safeguarded e-money at Wise Payments Limited — not FSCS. Wise’s own help: they do not lend customer balances; safeguarding is not a deposit-guarantee scheme. Local account details may sit at partner banks (US: Community Federal Savings Bank in some states).
Who holds the money: Partner banks for local account details; Wise itself is an EMI in the UK
- FCAEMI (personal) · United Kingdom
- MultipleLocal licences / partner banks for account details · Global
Fees
- Monthly
- Free personal · Wise Business subscription optional
- FX markup
- Mid-market plus a transparent conversion fee — the category benchmark
- ATM
- Two free ATM withdrawals / £200 then fees (personal, check current)
- Interest
- Assets / interest in selected currencies via partners
Features
- ✓IBAN
- ✓Fee-free core
- ✓Multi-currency
- ✓Apple Pay
- ✓Google Pay
- ✓Virtual card
- ✓Physical card
- –Metal card
- –Crypto
- –Stocks
- ✓Business
- –Kids
- –Halal
- Local account details in 10+ currencies
- Batch payments for business
- IBAN, US routing, UK sort code, AU PayID
- Debit card
- Open API
Editorial, not a live demo
Screenshots and video
Official YouTube · WiseMedia is editorial context, not a live demo of the app. Screenshots go stale — read the licence first.
Before you tap Sign up
How to open
Step 1
Pick the entity
Personal UK users sit with Wise Payments Limited (EMI 900507), not a PRA bank. EEA users sit with Wise Europe SA.
Step 2
Pass KYC
ID and address. A Wise account is not automatically a salary account in every corridor.
Step 3
Read the details you get
A UK sort code or EUR IBAN here is an account detail issued via the EMI/PI stack, not proof of FSCS or FGDR cover.
Official help: wise.com/help
Operator documents
Their own papers
These are the operator’s documents. They outrank this review if they disagree.
Score
- Safety25%
- 8.0
- Fees20%
- 9.4
- Features15%
- 8.2
- App15%
- 8.8
- Global15%
- 9.6
- Support10%
- 7.4
Change log
Full logLicence
Local account details added in extra corridors
More 'looks domestic' rails. Partner-bank mapping still needs a live check before payroll.
Licence
Local account details added in extra corridors
More 'looks domestic' rails. Partner-bank mapping still needs a live check before payroll.
Product
Business API and batch payouts expanded
The B2B corridor is the product. Personal app is the brochure.
Product
Business API and batch payouts expanded
The B2B corridor is the product. Personal app is the brochure.
Available in
Straight answers
FAQ
01Is Wise a bank?
No. Wise is filed as EMI (personal). The money sits with Partner banks for local account details; Wise itself is an EMI in the UK.
02What happens to money in Wise if it fails?
Safeguarded EMI funds in the UK — not FSCS. Local bank details may sit at partner banks.
03What does Wise charge each month?
The monthly fee on this file is Free personal · Wise Business subscription optional. Fees change — open the operator's pricing page if it is linked.
Ratings and reviews
4.7 / 5 from 3 published reviews on NeoBankDB.
Arun P.
India· 2026-08-27Verified userINR corridor is honest. Pair it with a real Indian salary account.
Elena R.
Germany· 2026-08-27Verified userLocal account details in three countries. ATM fees are the only sting.
Tom H.
United Kingdom· 2026-08-27Verified userThe mid-market rate is why I send payroll. Everything else is noise.
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From NeoBankDB
Note17 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Zero-forex and travel cards
Travel is a tariff, not a charter. Scapia is a Federal Bank credit card. Niyo Global is a partner-bank forex SKU. Wise is an EMI. Revolut is a UK bank for eligible customers and an EMI wallet elsewhere. Put them on one page so a search for “zero forex card” does not land on a clone shop.
Read the noteNews18 Apr 2026 · 2 min
Wise Business batch payments remain the freelancer default
Not a scoop. A reminder, because bank FX files have not improved.
Read the noteNote20 Jan 2026 · 8 min
Mercury, Airwallex, Qonto, Aspire: pick from the incorporation, not the homepage
US C-corp, APAC trade, French SAS, SEA SME — four products, four home markets, one bad habit of calling them all banks.
Read the noteNote12 Feb 2026 · 6 min
How the register is marked: six numbers, no mystery sauce
Safety 25, fees 20, features 15, app 15, global 15, support 10. Why those weights, and what a 9.0 actually means.
Read the note