Cross-border Remittance｜Can Wise Be Used as a Bank Account?

Through a Wise account, you can hold balances in over 40 currencies, send payments to more than 80 countries/regions, and use your associated Wise card to spend globally.

You can also obtain local bank details for up to 9 currencies, including USD, GBP, and EUR, making it more convenient to receive local payments from abroad.

Can Wise Be Used as a Bank Account?

The answer is: No, Wise cannot be used as a bank account because Wise is not a bank; it is a money services business. However, through a Wise account, you will get some functionalities similar to those provided by a bank account, such as holding balances, sending and receiving payments, and spending using an associated card.

This means that depending on your needs, you can use Wise for many everyday financial transactions, and it can even be used as your primary account.

Pros and Cons of Using Wise as a Bank Account

Next, we will go into more detail about some of the similarities and differences between a Wise account and a bank account. Let’s first talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using Wise as a bank account:

Is Wise Suitable for Everyday Use?

If you need to deposit cash or checks, Wise may not be suitable—because you can only fund your Wise account through electronic payments, such as using a card, wire transfer, or ACH.

However, if you frequently use a card for spending, or engage in international transactions—whether online, using your phone, or offline—Wise can be a convenient choice for everyday use. Wise offers mid-market exchange rates and low, transparent fees, making it generally cheaper than using a bank for international transactions, as you don’t need to worry about foreign exchange transaction fees.

Main Differences Between Wise Accounts and Bank Accounts

Although there are some similarities between bank accounts and Wise accounts, there are also some key differences.

Security

Wise cards and the app are equipped with multiple security measures to help protect your funds. You can set up two-factor authentication when logging into your Wise account to ensure no one else can access your money.

Additionally, you can set up instant notifications on your phone to see every payment made. You can easily view balances in various currencies at a glance and freeze, unfreeze, or cancel your Wise card with the touch of a button.

Behind the scenes, Wise operates 24/7 fraud monitoring, including automatic and manual processes to detect and block suspicious transactions, giving you extra peace of mind around the clock.

Fees

Wise personal customers can open an account for free without paying monthly fees. There is a low one-time fee for obtaining an associated Wise card, after which there are transparent transaction fees for using any service.

Wise specializes in international services and currency exchange, offering mid-market exchange rates when you need to convert from one currency to another. This lowers the cost of sending, receiving, and spending foreign currencies.

Banks have different pricing structures depending on the type of account you open. Some banks charge ongoing maintenance fees, even if you do not frequently transact. There are usually transaction fees, and additional charges for foreign currency transactions.

Account Options

Wise offers accounts for both personal and business customers. Wise accounts can be used for many everyday transactions, such as spending with your Wise card, sending payments domestically and internationally, or receiving payments from others.

Compared to Wise, banks offer a broader range of account options, including accounts for savings and investments, as well as credit, loan, and overdraft products.

Features

You can access similar features with both Wise and bank accounts, including holding, sending, and receiving payments, and spending with your debit card.

The difference with Wise is often the range of multi-currency features—every Wise account can hold over 40 currencies, while bank checking accounts typically only support the local currency, such as USD.

On the other hand, banks may offer more credit-related services, including credit cards, mortgages, and loans—services not available with Wise.

It’s also important to note that Wise does not provide check services, nor can you deposit cash into a Wise account. If you frequently need to deposit cash or checks, or prefer using checks for payments, a bank account might be more suitable for you.

FAQs About Using Wise as Your Primary Account

Have more questions about using Wise as your primary account? Check out the FAQs below:

Can You Deposit Funds into a Wise Account?

Yes, you can. With a Wise account, you can hold over 40 currencies, including major currencies like USD, GBP, and EUR. You will receive banking details for up to 9 currencies, which you can use to receive local transfers from abroad.

You can maintain an account balance, spend with the associated Wise debit card, send payments to others, or switch to the currency you need at the mid-market exchange rate.

Is Wise Considered a Bank?

As previously mentioned, Wise is not a bank but a money services provider.

While banks offer a wide range of services, such as loans, savings, and interest-bearing accounts, Wise focuses on holding and converting foreign currencies, as well as sending international bank transfers.

Focusing on these types of transactions means you often find a broader range of multi-currency features and lower fees compared to major U.S. banks.

Can Wise Be Used as a Business Account?

Yes, you can open a Wise account for your business and enjoy the same benefits as personal customers, along with additional conveniences tailored for businesses, such as batch payments and integration with Xero accounting software.

Wise Business is suitable for freelancers, sole proprietors, and business owners. For a small one-time fee, you gain full access to the account’s features, and any additional service fees are kept low.

Whether you are a personal or business customer, a Wise account offers a smart and intuitive way to reduce the cost of transactions in the U.S. and other countries.

With multi-currency features and the option to exchange currencies at the mid-market rate, you may find that using Wise as your primary account provides more flexibility and lower overall costs compared to a traditional bank account.

In Summary

If you need to send, receive, hold, or exchange international payments, using a Wise account might be your best option. Wise allows you to safely hold over 40 currencies and switch between them. You can also obtain local account details in up to 10 currencies to receive local payments from over 30 countries.

This is convenient for family travel expenses, children’s education abroad, real estate investments, fund trading, insurance, and more. Additionally, if you want to exchange mainstream fiat currencies through digital currencies (such as USDT, BTC, etc.) and remit to Wise, you can use the BiyaPay global multi-asset wallet tool, which offers low fees, fast speeds, and zero thresholds to help you remit safely and quickly to your Wise account.

BiyaPay: The Preferred Choice for Cross-border Remittances

BiyaPay is an international wallet that offers multi-asset trading for users worldwide, including global payments and international remittances, as well as major investment services such as U.S. and Hong Kong stocks, options, and digital currencies.

The most notable feature of BiyaPay is its support for real-time exchange rate inquiries and exchanges for over 20 fiat currencies and over 200 digital currencies. The borderless, global, decentralized, and real-time transfer nature of digital currency to fiat exchange allows unlimited global remittances, enabling users to make large transfers in most countries or regions around the world at any time, with fast arrival times and low fees.

BiyaPay’s global remittance fee is 1%, which is advantageous compared to traditional remittance methods (e.g., TransferWise fee 1.5% and Xoom fee 1.8%).

Additionally, BiyaPay is completely secure. All global remittances on the platform are completed online, supporting full-process on-chain tracking and possessing multiple compliance qualifications. It has obtained financial licenses in the U.S., Canada, the U.S. SEC, and New Zealand, making your digital currency to fiat exchange safer and legal, avoiding the risk of freezing in over-the-counter transactions. With comprehensive KYC certification and professional, legal offshore accounts, each remittance is treated with care, ensuring users can remit every penny with peace of mind.

Furthermore, if you frequently travel abroad, invest overseas, and exchange and transfer between different currencies, you may encounter various funding issues such as foreign exchange limits, wire transfer limits, lack of offshore accounts, difficulties in cross-border transfers, difficulties in repatriation, slow broker fund transfers leading to missed market opportunities, or even liquidation due to delays. In these cases, you can also use BiyaPay as a professional funding tool.

How to Use BiyaPay to Remit to Wise?

Let me explain with an example of recharging digital currency U and exchanging it for U.S. dollars:

1. Register an Account: First, sign up for a BiyaPay account.
2. Link Your Bank Account: Link your U.S. dollar bank account.
3. Recharge Digital Currency: Recharge digital currency U in the BiyaPay wallet.
4. Exchange Currency: Find the exchange interface to exchange digital currency U for mainstream fiat currencies.
5. Transfer to Wise: Transfer the exchanged U.S. dollars to your linked Wise account.

In Summary

Overall, you can use Wise or a more secure and convenient cross-border remittance method like BiyaPay with confidence.