Why I use Wise to manage money while traveling

Why I started using Wise

Why should you use Wise to manage your foreign currency while traveling? Well, let me tell you why I do. I’ve been using Wise since 2016 when they were called TransferWise. Back then I was moving from New Zealand to the UK and needed an option to move my savings to a UK account after I arrived. I could have used a bank transfer and lost hundreds on the bad exchange rate the Banks offer, instead I used this new app I found called TransferWise, now known as just ‘Wise’.

When I first signed up in 2015/16 this was what Wise was known for. Transferring money internationally at the mid-market rate, not with a spread like traditional banks, and taking the same, or less, time to arrive. From memory, transferring between NZ and the UK was a little quicker than previous international transfers that I’ve made, and a lot cheaper.

A few years later I got a notification from Wise that they were launching the Wise debit card. I ordered one as soon as it was available where I live. I now use it pretty regularly for online shopping, mainly in USD, and organising my travel money.

Using Wise on my latest trip

My latest overseas trip involved traveling through four Countries before landing in England, then a short trip to mainland Europe. I loaded NZD, AUD, Thai Baht, Euros, and British Pounds onto my Wise card. The Wise website says you can spend in 50 currencies, that should cover a big chunk of the world I think. There are some limits on withdrawing cash without incurring fees, that differs slightly, I think, depending on what Country your Wise card was issued. Best to check on the website on the exact number, mine was $350 NZD per Month. I exchanged some cash before I left on my trip then mostly used my Wise card for card payments. I’ve seen other travel debit card options from local banks, travel agencies, and the like, but never offering as good of an exchange rate and nowhere near the amount of currencies that the Wise debit card offers.

How I’ve used the Wise card the last few years

Travel isn’t the only reason to get a Wise card. In the years between getting my card in 2018 and 2022 I didn’t really travel to much. In spite of that I got a good amount of use in using it for online shopping in USD and occasionally other currencies. The Wise card can be used just like a regular bank debit card except without the foreign exchange charges and bad conversion rate your bank card gets. It makes online shopping easy.

The main currencies, think Pound, Euro, US dollar, Australian dollar, NZ dollar, come with their own bank account details. This means you can give someone in these Countries your Wise account ‘bank details’ and they can pay you like a local. I haven’t really used this feature properly yet so can’t comment except to say its a feature that will be useful to some people.

Pros of the Wise card

• No fees for cash withdrawal – below a certain amount per Month (check exact amount in your Country of issue)
• Lower conversion fees than traditional banks charge
• The Mid-Market rate of exchange
• Easy to use app on iOS and Andriod
• Good security – Can freeze and unfreeze your card within the app
• Convert and hold many currencies in advance

There are some limitations to aspects of the card. Some bank account numbers don’t allow direct debits. I have seen a blog post that details the introduction of direct debits for GBP and Euro accounts on Wise so it is possible that this may be rolled out further in the future.

Depositing money is simple and done via bank transfer or you can pay via credit card for an instant deposit. Other people can also deposit if you need to be paid for services. I have had money deposited into my GBP account and it works, on the front end, the same way a regular British bank account would work. The ability to get paid in a number of different currencies is something that would be useful to many. As of writing this article, you can get bank details for nine currencies. There is also the ability to create links to send people requesting to be paid money, like an invoice you can deliver over WhatsApp or another messenger service.

For specific use cases another currency card may be better, I couldn’t find a better card but maybe you can for a particular purpose. I was looking for a currency card that was flexible in that I could withdraw some cash when I needed to, primarily use it as a debit card while spending currency like a local in whatever Country I am in. The Wise debit card is, in 2023, still the best option I can find. I has made managing my foreign currency overseas a lot easier than it was when I first started traveling years ago.

*Disclaimer – This article is based on my own positive experience with using for over 5 years. Of course anyone should do their own research when choosing a financial product as there are a lot of options on the market. I only write about products that I have used myself.

The OB