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These Are the Best Sites Like Wise For Money Transfers & Digital Finances

Byron Mühlberg, writer at Monito.com

Byron Mühlberg

Guide

Jan 8, 2024
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There's no getting around it: Wise is one of the best ways to transfer your money internationally. Its high-tech platform offers much better exchange rates than the bank and lets you send payments faster and conveniently over a slick, user-friendly interface.

Still, Wise isn't always the best choice for everybody. Whether it doesn't support money transfers to your desired destination or whether you think you could find better fees and exchange rates elsewhere, there are other options to compare! In this short guide, we explore what we believe are the three best alternatives to Wise: Remitly, WorldRemit, and Revolut, and discuss how they differ and might make sense for you in different use cases.

Find better deals on sites like Wise:

Revolut: Best Overall

A big name in digital banking, Revolut is an online bank and fintech that boasts 12 million users globally. In addition to its mobile banking app and smart features (you'll need to sign up to make transfers), Revolut offers some of the best-priced international money transfers to global bank accounts that you'll find anywhere on the market.

To see how Wise's account (called the Wise Multi-Currency Account) compares with Revolut regarding online financial services, look at our Wise vs Revolut comparison!

  • Similarities to Wise: You can send money online (although with fewer receiving currencies).
  • Differences to Wise: Revolut is a full banking app that offers far more than just money transfers.
  • Cost: Approx 0.5% - 1.5%
  • Coverage: Available from most major currencies to around 28 others worldwide.
  • Speed: Within 1 business day.
  • Transfer limits: Up to USD 1 billion or currency equivalent.
  • More info: See our Revolut Money Transfer review or visit the website.

Remitly: Best For Cash Pick-Up

Remitly is a US-based digital remittance app that's very often the fastest and cheapest money transfer app on Monito. Like Wise, Remitly offers various pay-in options and supports currency transfers to over 85 countries worldwide, but unlike Wise, it also sends money for cash pick-up!

See our dedicated Wise vs Remitly head-to-head comparison here.

  • Similarities to Wise: You can send money to foreign bank accounts for very low fees.
  • Differences to Wise: It supports cash pick-up and mobile wallet deposits in addition to bank deposits.
  • Cost: Approx. 0.5% - 2%
  • Coverage: Available in Europe, North America, Singapore, and Australia and supports transfers to around 47 currencies.
  • Speed: Remitly 'Economy' bank transfers take three to five business days, while 'Express' card transfers arrive within minutes.
  • Transfer limits: Exact limits vary depending on currency and country, but generally, the minimum transfer is USD 1, and the maximum transfer is USD 20,000, or currency equivalent.
  • More info: See our full Remitly review or visit the website.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit is a UK-based online remittance provider that offers the best way to transfer money internationally to diverse regions, including Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America (often the cheapest transfer app to these countries). Like Remitly, WorldRemit lets you send money to mobile wallets, bank accounts, and cash pick-up locations all across the globe — all at excellent exchange rates!

For more, take a look at our dedicated Wise vs WorldRemit comparison.

  • Similarities to Wise: You can send money to bank accounts in dozens of currencies.
  • Differences to Wise: Supports cash and mobile money payouts.
  • Cost: Approx. 1% - 2.5%
  • Coverage: Available in 56 countries and transfers to as many as 150 foreign currencies.
  • Speed: Depending on the pay-in methods, payout methods, and countries involved, WorldRemit transfers take anywhere between a few seconds and a few working days to arrive.
  • Transfer limits: USD 1 - USD 9,000 in the US and GBP 1 - GBP 50,000 in the UK.
  • More info: See our full WorldRemit review or visit the website.

How to Find the Best Sites Like Wise

It's worth stressing that there are many alternatives to Wise, and no single one will necessarily be better than Wise or every person in every instance. Overall, however, the money transfer apps we outlined above will, on average, be cheaper than Wise and give additional benefits as well.

If you're changing from Wise to another provider, there are a few other rules of thumb to keep in mind to ensure that you save every extra dollar when sending money internationally for everyday use. These include:

  • Open bank accounts that don't charge additional fees for international money transfers. Take a look at our list of the best banks for international travel to find out more.
  • Avoid using a credit or debit card to fund your money transfer. If you do, then Paysend is by far the best option.
  • Make sure you choose a safe and fully-licensed money transfer service. All services on Monito adhere to the highest security standards and are among the safest ways to send money internationally.
  • Avoid using big banks and PayPal, which are practically never the cheapest way to send (or receive) money overseas.
  • Where possible, send money to a bank account or a mobile wallet rather than to a cash pick-up location.
  • If you're looking for the cheapest way to exchange money with cash, avoid doing so at bureaux de change or airports.
  • Where possible, send one large transfer instead of multiple smaller ones. Larger transfers almost always incur lower percentage fees than smaller transfers. Learn more about making sizeable international money transfers here and about how much you can send internationally here.
  • Choose a longer transfer speed if it reduces your fees.

Best Alternatives to Wise By Country

Wise is especially popular for sending money to countries like India, Mexico, and the Philippines in particular. According to millions of searches on Monito, here are the best sites like Wise for transfers to these three countries in general:

  • Mexico: Remitly is often the best site like Wise to Mexico. It's usually the cheapest money transfer app to Mexico from the countries where Wise is available.
  • India: XE Money Transfer is the best site like Wise to India, as it's normally the cheapest money transfer app to Mexico from the countries where Wise is available.
  • The Philippines: The best site like Wise to the Philippines, Instarem is typically the cheapest money transfer app to Mexico from the countries where Wise is available.
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Though XE and Instarem are usually the cheapest apps for transfers to India and the Philippines, Remitly is even cheaper on your first transfer. Sign up for Remitly with our link to get market-beating rates on your first transfer and then good exchange rates forever after that!

It's important to remember that it's impossible to send money internationally for free and that every currency exchange comes with a cost. However, not all money transfer services are created equal, and some charge you considerably lower fees than others. Monito has reviewed and compared hundreds of money transfer services to simplify your research. Compare them in real-time using our award-winning comparison engine below:

Find the best site like Wise:

FAQ About Sites Like Wise

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