What is Wise? A Comprehensive Investigation and Evaluation of its Services

What is Wise?

 　Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a global international money transfer company founded in the UK in 2011, with services launching in Japan in 2016. Their international money transfer service is used by people all over the world, with a total of 13 million members. They handle monthly transfers of £8 billion or the equivalent of ¥1.26 trillion*. The large number of registered members and high volume of money transfers is evidence that Wise is a trusted international money transfer service provider around the world.
*Sept. 24, 22, 1 pound = 157 yen

Service Overview: International Money Transfer Service

　Wise primarily offers two services:

Services Provided by Wise

• International money transfer service
  *Please refer to this article
• Multi-currency Account and Debit Card (Overseas Payment Service)
  * Please see this article.

　In this article, we will explain the international money transfer services provided by Wise as of August 2022.

Sending Money from Japan to Overseas (Outbound Remittance)

　By using Wise, it is possible to send money from Japan to bank accounts in over 80 countries. You can make a remittance request through the Wise website or app. However, since Wise does not have physical branches, in-person counter transactions for remittance are not possible. Additionally, Wise does not offer cash pickup services.

Sending Money from Overseas to Japan (Inbound Remittance)

　By using Wise, it is possible to send money from overseas to a bank account in Japan. You can make a remittance request through the Wise website or app. However, since Wise does not have physical branches, in-person counter transactions for remittance are not possible. Additionally, Wise does not offer cash pickup services.

Fees and Exchange Rates

　There are mainly five types of fees involved in overseas remittance: deposit fee, transfer fee, exchange rate/conversion fee, intermediary bank fee, and receiving fee. Let’s take a look at how Wise charges these fees.

　When using Wise for overseas remittance, the basic fee that you will be charged is only the remittance fee. The remittance fee is less than 0.41% to 1% of the remittance amount, which is the lowest in the industry of overseas remittance.

　In addition, the method of setting exchange rates is reasonable. Banks and money transfer companies usually add fees to the mid-market (median) rate of exchange published by Google or Reuter, taking into account the exchange rate fluctuation risk, and present the exchange rate to customers.

　On the other hand, Wise provides the mid-market rate of exchange presented by Google or Reuter to its customers. Furthermore, Wise has a mechanism called “rate assurance”, which guarantees the exchange rate presented to customers during the remittance simulation and request for several tens of hours. This is a reassuring service that guarantees the exchange rate that was more advantageous, even if the exchange rate has skyrocketed.

　In terms of the low remittance fees for bank account transfers and the favorable exchange rates, Wise can be considered one of the most cost-effective overseas remittance service providers.

Estimated Arrival Time and Tracking of Remittance Status

　When using Wise for international money transfers, in most cases, the funds will arrive within 1-2 business days. In the rare event that the funds do not arrive, you can easily track and confirm the current status.

Tracking method for international remittances:

1. Log in to your Wise account.
2. Click on the “Transfer Details” button for the transfer in question.

※Reference: Wise, How can I check the status of my money transfer?

Language Support

　If you are considering international money transfers, or recommending the service to foreign friends, it is reassuring to know which languages are supported on the website, app, and call center.

　The Wise website and international money transfer app support 15 languages, and the Wise app for Japan, which handles many international money transfers, supports Japanese, English, Chinese, Portuguese, Indonesian, French, and Spanish, among the major languages of 12 countries. However, it seems that the call center for Japan-specific services is only available in Japanese (when calling from the United States, for example, the call center is in English, so the language support depends on the calling country. For details, please refer to the Wise website).

How to Contact Wise

　There are three ways to contact Wise: by phone, email, and chat. The call center is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Regarding emails, Wise has a system where they aim to respond within two days.
※Reference: Wise, Contact Us

Customer Reviews

　How do existing customers evaluate Wise? Let’s take a look at the overall service and app ratings.

Service Ratings

　TrustPilot, a “review platform” provider founded in Denmark in 2007, collected evaluations from around 170,000 Wise users about their experience with the company.

　Overall, Wise received a very high rating of 4.5/5.0 worldwide on the review platform provided by TrustPilot, which had approximately 170,000 Wise users rating the company. However, when the reviews were limited to those written in Japanese, the rating dropped to 3.5/5.0. It should be noted that this does not necessarily mean that the services provided by Wise in Japan are inferior to those provided in Europe. It simply indicates that the satisfaction level of users who wrote reviews in Japanese tended to be lower than those who wrote reviews in other languages.

App Ratings

　Wise has released its international remittance app on both App Store and Google Play. As of August 13, 2022, the app’s ratings on both platforms are 4.5/5.0 on App Store and 4.3/5.0 on Google Play. The overall rating based on the number of reviews is 4.3/5.0. Based on the number of reviews, it can be inferred that Wise has more Android users than iPhone users. Furthermore, the Google Play listing shows that the app has been downloaded over 10 million times. Considering these facts, it can be said that Wise provides a highly convenient app that satisfies users worldwide.

・Here is the account opening for Wise!

Overall Evaluation of Wise

　BizforBetter highly values the “quality of Wise’s international money transfer services” and “customer experience.” In the international money transfer market, Wise’s fees and exchange rates are very competitive, and their mobile app has received high market ratings. We strongly recommend registering with Wise first for international money transfers.

【Duration: 2 minutes】How to sign up for Wise

　We recommend signing up for Wise right now so that you can send money overseas at any time. Membership registration is free and takes only 2 minutes!

Step 1: Access the Wise Website

　Once you’re on the Wise homepage, click “Sign up” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Step 2: Enter your Email Address

　Enter the email address you want to use for registration in the “Your email” field, and then click “Continue.”

Step 3: Choose between Personal or Business Account

　Click either “Personal account” or “Business account.”

Step 4: Select your main Country of Residence

　Choose your main country of residence and click “Next.”

Step 5: Enter your phone number and receive verification code

　Enter your phone number and click “Send verification code.”
If you’re using a Japanese mobile phone, simply click the “Send verification code” button without changing the country code “+81.”

　Enter the 6-digit security code that was sent to your mobile phone and click “Submit.”

Step 6: Set your password and complete provisional registration

　Enter a password that is at least 9 characters long and includes uppercase letters and numbers, and then click “Next.”

　After about 5 seconds, a message will appear indicating that you have successfully registered with Wise. You will then be directed to the confirmation screen. Congratulations!