Wise
- This is an EMI, not a bank: funds are safeguarded, not covered by a €100k deposit guarantee.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- True mid-market FX
- local receiving details in 9+ currencies
- transparent fees
Cons
- Not a bank — no €100k deposit guarantee (funds safeguarded)
Rating breakdown
Why this score
Good fit for
- you need to hold a balance in USD
- you want yield on an idle balance (up to 1.76%)
- you receive international wires (SWIFT)
- you receive SEPA transfers
May not fit if
- you need crypto in or out
This is an electronic money institution (EMI), not a bank. Funds are safeguarded, but NOT covered by the €100,000 deposit guarantee. Convenient, but legally it isn't a bank deposit.
- Licence
- EMI · National Bank of Belgium
- IBAN
- Multi-currency details
- SEPA Instant
- Send & receive
- Verification of Payee (VoP)
- Rolling out
Deposit & savings rates
Compare all deposits →| Product | Currency | TAE / APY | Term | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wise Interest (EUR) | EUR | 1.76% | On demand | Función Wise Interest/Assets (fondo monetario), no el saldo principal. Opt-in. Variable, sin FGD. | Sourceas of 2026-06-23 |
Editorial review
Data reviewed by Ilya ChernetskiyFounder and editor, nomonedaUpdated: 2026-08-15
Wise runs on an EMI licence: convenient, but your money is safeguarded rather than covered by the €100k deposit guarantee.
It is a global fintech licensed in BE supporting EUR, USD, GBP etc. FX model: True mid-market rate + transparent percentage fee.
It tends to suit cross-currency, cheap fx, local account details.
Fees & terms
- Exchange rate
- True mid-market rate + transparent percentage fee
- Card cost
- One-off card issuance fee
- Local-currency withdrawal
- Not disclosed
- USD withdrawal
- Not disclosed
- Withdrawal fees
- Not disclosed
- Limits
- Not disclosed
- USD yield
- Not disclosed
- Cashback
- Not disclosed
- Currencies
- EUR, USD, GBP etc
- Cards
- Global Physical, Global Virtual
- Transfers
- SEPA in/out, SEPA Instant in/out, SWIFT in/out, Local multi-currency in
- Payments
- Apple Pay, Google Pay
- Licence
- EMI — National Bank of Belgium
- IBAN
- Multi-currency details
- Multi-currency account
- EUR+GBP+USD+6 more local details
- SEPA Instant
- Send & receive
- Verification of Payee (VoP)
- Rolling out
- FX model
- True mid-market rate + transparent percentage fee
- Opening requirements
- No local address needed
- English support
- Yes
- Remote opening
- Yes
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
Transfer routes
One row per direction, rail and currency — with what we hold on fees, speed and limits. A blank fee is not a free transfer; it is a fee we have not collected.
| Route | Fee | Speed | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWIFTincoming | 2.39 EUR | 2–5 days | — |
| SWIFTincomingUSD | 6.11 USD | 2–5 days | — |
| SWIFToutgoing | 7.41 USDConditional: 7.41 USD7.94 USDConditional: Outgoing SWIFT USD — 7.94 USD35 USDConditional: Outgoing SWIFT USD (correspondent fees predicted, max) — 35 USD | 2–5 days | — |
| SEPAincomingEUR | Free | Next day | — |
| SEPAoutgoingEUR | Not published | Not published | — |
| SEPA InstantincomingEUR | Not published | Instant | — |
| SEPA InstantoutgoingEUR | Not published | Instant | — |
| Local railsincoming | Not published | Not published | — |
Who holds your money
The name on the app is not always the company holding the balance, and deposit protection follows the licence rather than the brand.
| Role | Organization | Answerable for | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence holder | WiseNational Bank of Belgium | Operating under regulatory permission | All currenciesNo protection scheme recorded |
What to know before you move money
Elevated exposure — At least one thing here would change a reasonable person’s mind.
- CriticalThis is an EMI, not a bank: funds are safeguarded, not covered by a €100k deposit guarantee.
Read from: eu.license_type, eu.dgs_covered
- Medium1 route(s) state a fee we could not turn into a number.
Read from: transfer_routes.fee_components
Recent updates
- 2026-08-15checked19 facts about Wise re-checked against their sources
- 2026-06-23checked1 deposit rate at Wise re-checked
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User reviews
User score
No reviews yet.
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FAQ
- Is my money protected?
- No. Wise operates under an EMI licence — funds are safeguarded but NOT covered by a €100k Deposit Guarantee Scheme. It is not a bank in the deposit-protection sense.
- What IBAN and transfers?
- Wise issues local receiving details in several currencies. SEPA Instant: send + receive. Multi-currency: EUR+GBP+USD+6 more local details.
- Can I open remotely, in English?
- Opening is remote. English support is available. Requirements: No local address needed.
Data provenance & verification
Every fact is checked against an official source and stamped with a date. We re-check fees quarterly and document requirements twice a year. Fields not yet independently verified are labelled honestly.
Independently corroborated, rated on the full model and checked within the year. This service can appear in our ranked picks.