Wise review
Updated September 28, 2026 · HodlCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Wise suits people who hold several currencies and want a plain debit card rather than a crypto-branded product. Costs stay low, with a monthly fee of £0, a currency conversion fee of 0.1% and an ATM withdrawal allowance of £250.
Key facts
- Best for
- Everyday spending and travel across several currencies, with a monthly fee of £0.
- Monthly fee
- £0↗
- Currency conversion fee
- 0.1%↗
- Free ATM withdrawals
- £250↗
- Card type
- Debit↗
- Currencies
- 40↗
- Legal entity
- Wise Europe SA↗
- Headquarters
- Belgium↗
- Founded
- 2011↗
- Support channels
- Email, Chat, Phone, Help-centre↗
- Features
- Multi-currency, Travel
- Audience
- Business, Kids
- Official website
- wise.com
Facts checked September 26, 2026, 5 sources
Pros and cons
Pros
- A monthly fee of £0 and a conversion fee of 0.1% sit well under the site median of 1% for currency conversion.
- The ATM allowance of £250 is well ahead of a site median of €0, so cash rarely adds a cost.
- Monzo Flex lists a currency conversion fee of 0% against 0.1% here, which matters on any foreign purchase.
- It is a debit card, the most common type here at 73.4% of the cards compared.
- Support runs through email, chat and phone, so help is not limited to a help centre.
Cons
- It is a debit card, so there is no crypto balance to hold or spend from.
- Conversion still costs 0.1%, where Monzo Flex lists 0%.
- The feature set, multi currency and travel, stops at multi-currency and travel, with no rewards or cashback line to weigh.
- The ATM allowance of £250 ranks 10 of 104, so heavy cash users will feel it sooner.
Who it suits
- Anyone paid in several currencies or spending abroad each month, since 40 currencies can be held and conversion costs 0.1%.
- Parents and business users, as the listed audience is business and kids.
- Bitpanda, which also lists a monthly fee of €0, fits readers who want crypto holdings, while Wise fits readers holding cash.
Who should look elsewhere
- Readers who pay in foreign currency constantly: Monzo Flex lists a conversion fee of 0% against 0.1% here.
- Anyone chasing card rewards, as the feature set, multi currency and travel, covers only multi-currency and travel.
- Heavy cash users, who have an ATM allowance of £250 to work within.
Using it day to day
The card is a debit card, so purchases come straight out of the balance in the account instead of a prepaid balance that needs topping up. Cash is where most people notice the value, and the allowance of £250 covers ordinary withdrawals without a charge. If something goes wrong, support runs through email, chat and phone: a help centre for routine questions, live chat for quick ones, and a phone line for a card blocked at a till. None of that needs a branch, which suits anyone who banks online.
Safety and regulation
Regulatory cover comes from European registers rather than a single home regulator. The banking side sits with the National Bank of Belgium under licence 0713629988, with a payment institution entry in the same register as PSD_PI BE_NBB!0713629988. Anything touching crypto runs under a Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission authorisation, MiCA CASP 549300ET4IUR6RCZOL84, and a Lithuanian electronic money registration sits alongside it, PSD_EMI LT_LT_BL_304940980. That spread matters for a money account: the balance is authorised by a named bank regulator, and the crypto side carries its own separate permission and its own id.
Using it abroad
Abroad is where the card earns its keep. Converting currency costs 0.1%, a fraction of what most travel cards charge, and that rate applies whenever you spend in a currency you do not already hold. Cash is the other side of the same trip: the allowance of £250 is comfortable for a week of small withdrawals, and past that the ATM operator's own charge takes over, which is the part to watch in places with expensive machines. Holding the currency you need also avoids a conversion on the card altogether, so the saving adds up across a whole trip.
Regulation
Authorisation is spread across four entries, and each one can be read on a public register. In Belgium, the National Bank of Belgium licence is recorded as 0713629988, and a separate payment institution registration appears as PSD_PI BE_NBB!0713629988. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission holds the crypto authorisation, MiCA CASP 549300ET4IUR6RCZOL84, while the Lithuanian electronic money registration is listed as PSD_EMI LT_LT_BL_304940980. For a reader checking where the money sits, those ids are the quickest route, since each points to a named authority and a record that can be checked.
Where it sits among rivals
Against the field, the picture is strong on the fees people feel every month. Monthly fee ranks 1 of 379, currency conversion ranks 99 of 237, and both sit near the top of the table. Free ATM withdrawals come in at 10 of 104, which is respectable rather than exceptional. The pattern is a card that stays out of the way on running costs, with the cash allowance as the part that could be higher.
Who runs it
The card is issued by Wise Europe SA, a company based in Belgium that has been running since 2011. Its regulatory footprint matches the corporate one: a National Bank of Belgium licence in Belgium, 0713629988, a Belgian payment institution registration, PSD_PI BE_NBB!0713629988, a Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission crypto authorisation, MiCA CASP 549300ET4IUR6RCZOL84, and a Lithuanian electronic money registration, PSD_EMI LT_LT_BL_304940980. Day to day, customers reach the company through email, chat and phone, which covers email, chat, phone and a help centre.
How Wise compares
9.2 vs 9.4
9.2 vs 9.0
9.2 vs 8.2
9.2 vs 9.5
9.2 vs 9.6
9.2 vs 9.0
9.2 vs 9.1It lists a monthly fee of €0, so running cost matches, but it suits readers who want crypto balances on a card rather than a debit card.
9.2 vs 8.9
9.2 vs 8.1
9.2 vs 8.2
9.2 vs 9.5
9.2 vs 9.4
9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 9.1
9.2 vs 9.0
9.2 vs 8.9- 9.2 vs 8.8
9.2 vs 8.8
9.2 vs 8.6
9.2 vs 8.5
9.2 vs 8.3
Where Wise is available
- Available
- Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania, United Kingdom
- Licence in Belgium
- National Bank of Belgium (0713629988), checked September 26, 2026
- Licence in Cyprus
- Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) (MiCA CASP 549300ET4IUR6RCZOL84), checked September 26, 2026, also valid in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia
- Licence in Lithuania
- LT_BL (PSD_EMI LT_LT_BL_304940980), checked September 26, 2026, also valid in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia
- Licence in Belgium
- BE_NBB (PSD_PI BE_NBB!0713629988), checked September 26, 2026, also valid in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Does the Wise card charge a monthly fee?+
The listed monthly fee is £0, so holding the card costs nothing. What you pay is what you use it for: 0.1% to convert currency, and whatever an ATM operator charges once the £250 allowance is used up. Spend only in a currency you already hold and the card stays effectively free.
How much does it cost to convert currency?+
Converting currency costs 0.1% on the card, well under a site median of 1% for the same fee, and it ranks 99 of 237 among the cards compared here. The rate is built for travel, since multi currency and travel lists multi-currency and travel among its features.
How much can I take out of cash machines?+
The allowance is £250 for ATM withdrawals, well above a site median of €0. Once that is spent, an ATM operator's own charge applies and the card's pricing no longer covers it. Among the cards compared here, the allowance ranks 10 of 104.
Is it a debit card or a prepaid card?+
It is a debit card, so spending draws on the balance in your account rather than a prepaid balance that has to be topped up. Debit is the dominant type on this comparison, at 73.4% of the cards listed, and it means the card and the account balance move together.
Which regulators authorise Wise?+
The National Bank of Belgium holds the banking licence, 0713629988, with a payment institution entry at PSD_PI BE_NBB!0713629988. Crypto services fall under the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, MiCA CASP 549300ET4IUR6RCZOL84, and a Lithuanian electronic money registration sits at PSD_EMI LT_LT_BL_304940980. Each id is on a public register, so the authorisation can be checked directly.
How do I get help with the card?+
Support runs through email, chat and phone, so a routine question can go to the help centre, and a stuck payment can be raised in chat or by phone. Phone support matters most for a card, since a block at a till is a problem that will not wait. Email is there for anything that needs a written trail.
Who is the Wise card aimed at?+
The listed audience is business and kids, which points at parents and business users rather than a narrow group. In practice it suits anyone who earns or spends across several of the 40 currencies the account can hold, and fits less well for a card that only ever spends at home.
How does Wise compare with Monzo Flex on conversion costs?+
Monzo Flex lists a currency conversion fee of 0%, against 0.1% at Wise. Wise's rate costs more, so a reader paying abroad most weeks is better off on Wise, while a reader who stays in a single currency loses nothing by taking Monzo Flex instead.
Sources
- euclid.eba.europa.eu/register/downloads/PSDMD/20260926/do... checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Headquarters, Legal entity, Licences
“EntityCode=BE_NBB!0713629988; EntityType=PSD_PI; ENT_NAM=Wise Europe SA”
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransferWise checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Founded
“it was founded by Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus in January 2011”
- wise.com checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Currencies, Currency conversion fee, Support channels
“150 countries and territories. 40 currencies - Wise Account”
- wise.com/gb/card checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Free ATM withdrawals, Audience, Card type
“You pay only a super-low fee on withdrawals after the first 250 GBP - Wise Current Account debit card”
- wise.com/gb/pricing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Monthly fee
“You only pay for what you use - no subscriptions or plans - Wise Current Account”
- wise.com/gb/pricing/card-fees checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Features
“Spend at home or abroad in 40+ currencies - Wise debit card”
Compiled from 8 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Protection.
Wise
Everyday spending and travel across several currencies, with a monthly fee of £0.