Wise, formerly TransferWise, Complaints and Quick Resolutions

transferwise complaints and resolutionBefore I make any decisions to purchase a product or try out a new service, I take the time to find out what customers have to say about the product. For me, customer reviews, especially the TransferWise complaints, give an indication of what is really happening with the company. Wise takes the time to listen to their customers, understand their problems and solve them as soon as possible, and better than the customer expected. It is clear to me that they place emphasis on managing their reputation. Here are some of the typical complaints I have come across, including the steps that the company has taken to resolve the issues.

Too Good to be True?!

I went through the people I know and asked one question, has anyone used Wise/TransferWise? I questioned whether Wise/TransferWise is a Scam. I believe this is because the excellent rates and brilliant service sound too good to be true. There may even be a question about whether with Wise/TransferWise lost money is possible. However, my experience has been excellent from the first transaction. I decided to consider the hundreds of positive reviews, visionary investors like Richard Branson, and all the recognition of Wise from the mass media. Now, years later through my personal experience, I can attest that Wise is real, true and lives up to promises. Just check out customers feedback below.

Cost Complaints

There was one client who loves the service that is on offer and confirms that TransferWise is legit but feels that the fees that they charge are not as low as what they can get from a bank. They acknowledge that the fees are better though and there is transparency since the real market exchange rate is used. A TransferWise Support staff responded to this complaint, informing the customer that the fee when sending money from Euros comes to 0.5% of the amount that is converted, which is approximately 8 times cheaper that the charges for banks from the UK. The customer complaint stemmed from a lack of understanding, especially when the fees may have been calculated in a different currency. Fees may differ based on the destination as well, for example, the fees for transferring in USD are slightly different from those of all other currencies. This is something that as a customer, you need to be careful to check on.

Not as Easy as it Seems

Another complaint I came across is that the transfer process has too many steps, and there are also requests for additional information that complicate the process. This is a common complaint for first time customers who may not have any experience with Wise. Direct Wise feedback explains that there are steps that have been put in place to ensure one’s security in the transfer process. These include ensuring that the names that are on the Wise profile as well as the bank account are a match. At certain point you need to be able to prove your identity and your address in order for a transfer to lawfully take place. All this is done for your safety and by law. When the response from the bank is inadequate, you will be asked additional questions. After this, Wise will ensure that your information is captured with the first transaction, so that this information can be referred to for future transactions, which simplifies the process.

Lost Money Concerns

I have interacted with some customers who feared that they had lost money during a Wise transaction. This complaint usually comes up when there is a Wise delay, meaning a transfer takes more days to complete than expected. Customer support are great at resolving these concerns and pinpointing the exact issue. Usually it comes down inaccurate details being provided or an issue with the recipient’s bank. The money can always be found and the transfer completed as required, revealing that Wise, formerly TransferWise, is safe.

Time Hitches

One customer was happy with the service and the rates that they received. However, they noted that the transfer took one more day than expected. Wise attributed this delay to the calculation of business days, especially on the side of the bank. Furthermore, the currency of the transfer and the destination country can also contribute to time hitches. Depending on your bank, some payments may not be processed on non-working days. In case of any anxiety, the support team are on hand to provide information.

Conclusion

well doneWise complaints are taken seriously, and handled swiftly. In fact, they go above and beyond what one can expect from an online transfer firm. I have heard one guy received a box of chocolates with an apology from Wise, all because of sharing a negative review, as this gave the company room to improve.

19 thoughts on “Wise, formerly TransferWise, Complaints and Quick Resolutions

  1. These people are full of ego. Your transfer information will go to wrong email addresses, compromising your privacy. When complaining about it, they will use their powers to stop/block your account for no reason, just to feed their own ego. The customer service operators will provide you with wrong and misleading information in terms of your account details. The managers will disconnect the call on your face. I realized my money was never safe in their hands as they let people transfer money via their platform without verifying their identity and details in full. You would notice that the app is too easy to use but it comes at a cost. The security of your money and the privacy of your transfer information. Any app that would let you transfer money overseas without verifying your identity in full, that app cannot be trusted. I wanted to get in touch with the head office of TransferWise to escalate my concerns but no one from TransferWise provided the contact number or email address of their head office. Thank God I learnt quickly about their unprofessional dodgy app. Never again…

    1. You should ensure that information is perfectly correct and check every letter when sending money abroad. Otherwise, your transfer will be delayed or failed. It’s strange to hear that TranserWise support didn’t help you resolve this problem. I’m using their services on monthly basis during several years, nothing similar happened to me so far.

    2. This comment must be completely delusional or malicious because I’ve used Transferwise for a year on average once per week, sometimes with very small amounts, a few times with large amounts. Only twice in about 50 transactions, was there any delay, the rest of the time the transfers almost always arrived faster than the quoted time and both times that it took longer than quoted, the matter was resolved with them going above and beyond what could be expected. I will go so far as to say your comment is fake, let us see the proofs of what you say.

  2. While I cannot say (yet) that they stole my money, I can report a strange things are going on there.

    I have opened Borderless Account. They give you an ACH routing number and an account number. I used them with my bank (Discover) and they initiated trial AHC deposits. Transferwise reported them, posted on my account, on the next business day! So far so good, so I sent $400 to test how it works. Now, after one week, I do not see my money posted on the “borderless” account. I can certainly exclude any issues with incorrect account numbers (trial deposits).

    1. I would recommend you to contact TransferWise support to figure out what happened there. Let us know about the result.

  3. Having used this service for a year and on average 4 transfers per month, between accounts, currencies and different countries, I can rate the service as more than 5 star. I’ve used dozens of banks in many different countries, and also many different money transfer services: NONE come even close to the transparency, ease and low cost of Transferwise.

    Regarding to speed, depending on from where to where and by what means the payment is made, I’ve found transfers taking from a few SECONDS (England to Australia), MINUTES (Australia to Ghana), HOURS (Australia to Thailand) and DAYS (Australia to Australia, believe it or not but due to a security check from the bank!) but in every time except for twice in this year, the transfers have been much SOONER than the quoted time of expected delivery.

    On the two occasions where it was longer than quoted (once within Australia, once to Thailand), I was more than satisfied with the assistance and support given to me by the excellent customer service support staff, both over the phone and in Email. This company is OUTSTANDING. Its employees are GREAT — not the uncaring robots you find on many online services and even in some banks!

    1. I fully agree that transfer time highly depend on the route you use. And it’s not the amount you send that affects the delivery time. I typically send money form the UK to Spain and it takes from few hours to a day for money to arrive. To get the best results I try to make transfers in the morning and avoid sending money over the weekend. I also observed that different recepient’s banks can be slower or faster.

    2. I have been using transferwise for a few years. The transfer time has just got quicker to Thailand. However , my latest transfer has still not arrived 24h hours later. I have spoken with their rep, who was very helpful and assured me that it was a technical issue and my money should be sent out this morning.
      Despite this one off in the few years I have used them, I still rate them outstanding!

  4. I used transferwise successfully for over a year. One day my account was deactivated without warning or explanation. Appeals have taken over 16 days and counting and still haven’t replied, so I have 750 euros stuck in limbo. Beware who sends you money because they just deactivate your account without explanation.

    1. That’s weird, their support team is quite responsive typically. Judas, was your problem resolved in the end?

    2. Hi Judas,

      Did you manage to get your money back and if so how?

      Thanks – I’m in the same predicament. They are keeping my money for 60 days and have stopped responding to emails.

      1. Did you get your money? I’m worried because my bank says they have my money and transferwise says it’s still in progress. It’s been 7 days.

      2. Hi Angie;
        I am in the same Predicament as you. They suddenly deactivated my account with out any reason .
        Did your issue get resolved ?? and if so how and who did you speak to???
        They do not even reply to emails, they have keep over £20000 of mine for over a months with no explanation and way forward.

        1. I can’t know for sure but can only assume one thing. The amount is quite big and this operation may raise a suspicion of money laundering or something similar. According to European anti money laundering law it’s not allowed for a company to provide much details about the ongoing investigation, moreover they even not allowed to inform you about running any sort of investigation. But again, I’m just guessing.

  5. I am using Transferwise from 2014 and very satisfied, however I am facing issue for the first time.
    I had a call with Transferwise executive post that I have converted my Euro into INR in Transferwise account itself. After transferring into INR I tried to transfer the amount to my Indian account and its not allowing as the application has a bug and has limitation for sending the money.
    I have called the customer care and asked them to help me in transferring the amt to my Indian account completely at one go or revert back INR to Euro as is so I can initiate a transfer from Euro to my Indian account.
    But customer executive are saying as there is a bug I need to send the amount via splitting which will take long time and I need the amount very urgently in my Indian account.
    They say they will give a compensation of 100 pounds and saying sorry for inconvenience but this will not solve my issue.
    I need a quick solution to address my issue.

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