Wise card review: the real exchange rate, with an ATM catch

What it is

Wise is best known for international money transfers. It also sells a multi-currency account with a Visa debit card, which US regulators describe as a prepaid product. You can hold more than 40 currencies, convert between them at the mid-market rate plus a fee shown before you confirm, and pay in 150 countries and territories. If you pay in a currency you don't hold, the card's Smart Conversion takes the money from whichever balance is cheapest to convert.

It is not a bank. In the US, Wise US Inc. is a licensed money transmitter, registered with FinCEN and supervised by state regulators and the CFPB, and its card is issued by Lead Bank and Community Federal Savings Bank. Money you hold there is not FDIC-insured unless you opt into Wise's interest feature, which sweeps dollars into a program bank with pass-through cover up to $250,000. In the UK, Wise Payments Limited is an e-money institution authorised by the FCA.

Pricing

The account is free to open and has no monthly fee. In the US the physical card costs $9, and a digital card for Apple Pay or Google Pay is free. In the UK the card is £7. A replacement costs $5 or £2.50, and one that has simply expired is replaced free.

Spending a currency you already hold costs nothing. Converting costs a percentage that depends on the pair. For a $1,000 conversion on 12 October 2026, Wise's price calculator showed 0.29% to euros ($2.89), 0.33% to pounds, 0.36% to yen, 0.51% to Mexican pesos, 0.59% to Thai baht and 0.87% to Brazilian reais. Argentine pesos cost 2.12%. Because Wise converts at the mid-market rate, that fee is the whole price of the conversion.

Cash costs more. US cardholders can take out $250 a month free across all ATMs. After that, each withdrawal costs $1.95 plus 1.95%, so a second $250 in the same month costs $6.83 in Wise fees. UK cardholders get £250 free, then pay 2.69% on the amount above it. ATM owners can add their own charge.

Set that against a typical bank card. Wells Fargo's Everyday Checking debit card adds 3% to every purchase in a foreign currency, which is $30 on $1,000 of spending in euros. On the same day, Wise's price for converting $1,000 to euros was $2.89.

What it does

For travel, Wise works in two ways. You can convert dollars into yen or euros before you go, when the rate suits you, and then spend from that balance for free. Auto Conversions will do the job for you when your target rate arrives. Or you can do nothing and let the card convert at the moment you pay.

When a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. Wise's help centre gives the example of an American in Japan: choose yen, not dollars, or you pay a higher conversion fee.

US accounts come with default limits by payment type. Chip-and-PIN and mobile wallet payments are capped at $1,000 a payment and $1,000 a day, with $5,000 a month, and you can raise those to $2,000 a day and $15,000 a month. Contactless payments default to $200 each. Failed ATM attempts may count against your limits and your free allowance.

The card is offered to residents of Australia, Brazil, Canada, the EEA and Switzerland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand (for accounts opened since 21 January 2026), the UK, and the US except Nevada. Move outside that list and your card keeps working until it expires, but Wise won't send a replacement.

The fine print

Wise says it adds no weekend markup and uses the mid-market rate seven days a week. Currency markets shut from 5pm on Friday in New York to 9am on Monday in Auckland, and transfers set up in that window use Friday's last available rate. Rate guarantees, which lock a price for 2 to 48 hours, are a transfer feature; card payments convert at the moment you pay.

ATM fees vary with the country that issued your card, and they are where Wise's US arm got into trouble. In January 2025 the CFPB found that Wise US had used deceptive disclosures about ATM fees, which led to overcharges, and had failed to follow error-resolution rules. An amended order in May 2025 required about $450,000 in customer redress and a $44,955 penalty.

US customer money sits mostly with JPMorgan Chase, as cash and liquid assets, mainly government bonds of two years or less, kept apart from Wise's own funds. That is safeguarding, not deposit insurance.

Who it suits

Wise suits anyone whose bank charges 3% abroad and who pays mostly by card. It suits long trips where you can load a local currency when the rate is good, and people who earn in one currency and spend in another.

Heavy cash users do worse: above $250 a month every withdrawal costs at least $1.95 before the percentage. It offers no credit line, rewards or purchase protection. Keep a credit card for deposits and big bookings.

Alternatives

Revolut is the closest rival. On its US Standard plan, the first $1,000 of exchanges each month carries no fee during market hours, at Revolut's own exchange rate, which can undercut Wise for modest weekday spending. Beyond that allowance a 0.5% fair usage fee applies, more than Wise charges for euros or yen. Outside market hours, from 5pm Friday to 6pm Sunday Eastern time, every exchange costs 1%. In-network Allpoint ATMs are free, and others cost up to 2% on that plan. In the UK, Revolut Standard allows £1,000 of exchanges a month before a 1% fee, and five ATM withdrawals or £200 a month free, then 2% with a £1 minimum.

A credit card with no foreign transaction fee is the other route. Read its cash-advance terms before you use it at an ATM.

How we rated it

We scored five criteria from Wise's pricing pages, price calculator and help centre, Revolut's fee schedules, a bank's fee summary and the CFPB's enforcement record, then averaged them. We did not open an account or use the card.

Value and flexibility score 4.5. Features get 4, and clarity of terms and account safety get 3.5 each.