Watch Monito's Video Review of Wise Multi-Currency Account & Card

Jonny from Monito

you love to shop with overseas stores, as you'll be able to pay the real exchange rate and avoid paying excessive fees like you might do with a traditional bank. Basically, this is a great account and card, and there are a lot of benefits and a lot of people that will benefit from using.

This is an account for anyone that travels frequently and spends foreign currency. It's definitely not a good account if you want to withdraw a large amount of foreign currency from an ATM. In today's video, we're going to be reviewing the Wise Multi Currency Account, formerly known as the Borderless Account, and we'll be looking at how they ranked on our Monito score.

A number that objectively ranks money transfer companies and their services using four main categories: trust and credibility, service and quality fees and exchange rates and customer satisfaction. Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, made a name for themselves as an affordable alternative for sending money internationally compared to traditional banks and other providers like PayPal.

Their mission statement is money without borders. Instant, convenient, transparent and eventually free. And as part of their mission, in May 2017, they introduced their online Multi Currency Account and cast. The wise Multi Currency Account is widely available throughout the world, and there are very few countries that it's not.

However, while you can use the debit card in over 50 countries, it's only actually available to account holders in around 40. So it is possible that while the account might be available to you, the card might not. But the account, I'm sure, will be.

And it's great for anyone dealing with foreign currencies and not just if you're in a distant country, you could be in your native country and just use it to receive foreign currency. It's also a great online tool for spending foreign currency using the Wise virtual debit card.

The account is also great as a means of international money transfer, which is available in their app. Even more specifically, this account is great for anyone who travels frequently and spends money abroad. Or, if you're, say, relocating to another country to work and you want your employer to pay you in the local currency, it's also wonderful if

It's important to note that Wise is not a traditional bank, although you will still receive bank details when you register, they’re actually just addresses for an electronic money account. Basically, your money is stored by a larger financial institution such as Barclays in the UK or perhaps Wells Fargo in the US.

And this isn't a bad thing, though, as it actually means your money is very safe. As if Wise were to go bust. You would be refunded in full by the bank holding your funds, so you can definitely trust that your money is safe with Wise.

And that's why we scored them a 9.3 for trust and credibility. They're also required to fulfill rigorous regulations not only in the UK, but Europe, the US and every country they operate. And with over 10 million customers worldwide all trusting wise with their money, you can absolutely trust them with yours.

One of the biggest advantages to the wise Multi Currency Account is that you can get personal bank details for several countries, and in my opinion, I think this is the coolest thing. You can actually get any of the following bank details, including a British, US, EUR Iban account, which basically covers most European countries.

Turkish, Canadian, Australian and a New Zealand bank account, as well as a Singaporean, Romanian and Hungarian bank code and account number. This means basically that you can use it to get paid in various currencies without the usual high fees.

For example, I could get a Singaporean bank code and account number and share these details with a client in Singapore who could then pay me directly into their account with Singaporean dollars. I could then be in Singapore and spend money without incurring any transaction fees.

It's also great if you have multiple currencies and you spend money in a country where you have their currency in your account. Wise would just deduct the amount for free from that currency balance, so you don't pay a foreign transaction fee.

And if you don't have the currency, well, that's OK, too, because wise would just make the conversion from the balance you hold that has the lowest fees, basically, meaning you get the best possible deal. I think Wise calls this their smart conversion technology and it really is small, although it currently doesn't work if your card was issued in Brazil.

So if you try to spend in currency that you don't have and you only have Brazilian real then your transaction will be declined. You can also put funds into the account yourself. Simply just choose the currency you wish to add, and you can do this by either a credit or debit card or a bank transfer

Of course, this may incur a fee depending on how you pay. Quick tip, though just make sure when you do fund the account or receive money for that matter, the account details that you share are the same as the currency you're being sent.

For example, if my friend in Canada wants to send me money, I must share with them the account details for my wise Canadian dollar account. This is any other currency. The transaction will be rejected. Although signing up for a Wise Multi Currency account is free.

In order to receive the debit card, you'll need to pay a small fee of £5 in the UK and $9 in the US. You'll also need to have a minimum balance, which I know in the UK is £20 and I think in the US it's $20.

This may vary depending on where your card was issued as well. The debit card is bright green, so it's easily recognizable and harder to lose down the sofa. And this thing works pretty much anywhere Visa is accepted, and if you use it to pay in a foreign currency, you'll get the benefits of Wise's low fees.

For example, while typical banks such as Barclays mark-up the exchange rate 2.75% for payments in a foreign currency, Wise on average charges as low as 0.35%. You can see how spending in a foreign currency with this card will be much cheaper, for example, than using a standard card from Barclays.

Cash withdrawals are fairly reasonable, but while you still receive great exchange rates, there can unfortunately be fees when withdrawing money. This is the part of the card that we like the least and why we were only able to give it a 7.64 fees and exchange rates.

If you need to withdraw cash, an ATM in the US in the UK, it's free to make up to two cash withdrawals with a combined value of £200 or $100 every 30 days. So if you withdraw money more than twice in one month, Wise charges a fixed fee for each withdrawal and then if you exceed the maximum amount.

So in the UK, £200 wise also charges a percentage on top of that fixed fee, which is 1.75%. These fees and rates apply to people in the UK, and it'll depend on where your card was issued.

There are some other fees to consider as well. I think if you hold more than €15,000 in your Wise balance, you'll be charged an annual point 4%. I mean, that's definitely a negative. Anyone looking to hold a large amount of euros a positive, though, is that the card is easy to freeze and unfreeze and you do

that from the Wise app and you can also receive push notifications every time you spend. And it will also sync with Apple, Google and Samsung Pay for quick and easy transactions using your smartphone. There are, of course, other multi currency accounts and cards with similar benefits that we have compared for you.

This comparison was made in October of this year and we looked at N26, Monese, Revolut and of course, Wise, and it's fair to say they all share similarities in terms of benefits. N26 doesn't charge a currency conversion fee.

However, they do charge a flat fee for ATM withdrawals in a foreign currency. Monese will deliver your card free but charge a 2% conversion cost. At the end of the day, you just need to weigh up what matters most to you before making a decision on which one is right. For me, the Wise card makes the most sense.

I travel a lot so I can use it to spend money with low costs, but I also like to withdraw a little bit of money. So I have some local currency on me, but I always make sure to not exceed the limit to keep the withdrawals free.

Most account holders highlight the speed, simplicity and low fees that Wise offers. one reviewer said they've used it a few times to move money and it's been fast and secure. They went on to say that they've saved a large amount of money.

They would have otherwise lost the currency exchange fees and poor conversion rates, and that the app and customer service are great. We found that only 4% of reviews were negative, and these were typically issues with the verification processes or transfers being delayed.

So that's why we gave them a 9.6 for customer satisfaction, as it's pretty clear that the majority of people with a Wise Multi Currency Account are satisfied. If you're someone that travels frequently or perhaps or freelancer getting paid by clients abroad, or maybe just a digital nomad, living life across borders in this account is likely going to be

beneficial for you. It's probably not for you if you want to withdraw large amounts of foreign currency from an ATM, or perhaps if you're partaking in risky transactions, as Wise are quite risk averse and may cancel your account.

They also don't like crypto, so you can't send money to a crypto platform like Binance. However, you can receive money from certain crypto platforms. You can also choose to have the money you hold in your Wise account invested into a fund, so you'll have a stake in some of the world's biggest companies like Apple, Tesla or Microsoft.

This is quite neat, but of course, comes with some risks and is only currently available in the UK. In short, though, the account is versatile and quite a unique tool for managing finances like a local in multiple currencies, and you'll definitely save a lot in comparison to your bank or for example, PayPal.

In some instances, you may find cheaper services to spend or exchange money. But generally speaking, I think it's safe to say you can't make a mistake signing up with the wise Multi Currency account. If you enjoyed today's video, check out this video where we did a full review on Wise and their money transfer services.

And don't forget to subscribe just here so you don't miss out on future videos. I'll see you soon. Goodbye.