Searching for an easy, quick and cheap way to receive and send money internationally? The service named Wise Borderless account has it all covered. You can open a bank account online, hold and manage money in 15 different currencies on it.
Wise, previously known as TransferWise, is an international company which has bank accounts in most parts of the world, so they are using peer-to-peer technique, providing very low fees for currencies conversion.
Borderless account is their newest service introduced this month, which allows you to open a bank account quickly online in order to have money deposited on it. This makes it great to be used by expats, freelancers, business owners and whoever has the need for international transactions.
How to open a Borderless account
All you need to do is to create Wise account and activate Borderless account in your profile:
- for free
- with no credit check
- no loads of paperwork requested
- saving you precious time
- without visiting branch
- with no deposit
- no monthly maintenance fees requested from you.
It will not cause you any concerns or problems if you have bad credit history. Such enquiries are not being raised, so you can freely open an account.
How does it work?
You can deposit money on it in euros, US dollars, British pounds (GBP) and 13 more currencies which ensures easy and cheap payments to be made in currency of your choice. Each currency gets assigned with its very own local bank account details, so that the transaction can be conducted as it would for a national bank account.
If you would deposit GBP to your bank account, you would obtain a sort code and account number, which are used to receive local GBP payments made via the Faster Payments scheme.
With US routing and account number, you can receive both ACH and domestic wire payments sent from within the United States.
For euros, you are assigned with your own SWIFT/BIC and IBAN details.
This simplifies international collaboration for non-residents and for foreigners who are freelancers or business partners with companies located in USA, GB and many other countries. If you are one of them, I definitely suggest opening a Borderless account as a solution for the usual challenges that you are faced with.
>>> Open a bank account in currency of your choice in minutes! <<<
Borderless account in comparison with international bank accounts
This makes the Borderless account very practical in comparison with national bank accounts offers. International bank accounts are not available to everyone. Many of them require you to keep a high minimum balance, or to pay a monthly fee, ranging from £5 up to £15. They will also request from you a lot of paperwork to justify source of your income, you may need to be a resident etc.
Borderless account has no monthly fee charged, there is a small commission when you are exchanging currencies so that you make a payment in a currency different to the one in which you deposit money on your account.
For transfers between the UK and other countries, you can receive local GBP payments made via the Faster Payments scheme. In the near future, you’ll also be able to receive BACS payments, allowing you to have your salary and other types of regular, scheduled earnings paid into your account, without going to bank.
For example, at the time being, you can receive your wage if you are located in Spain and you are being paid in euros. This would be processed as a regular bank transfer into your Borderless account.
Receiving salary to your Borderless account can also be arranged if you are being paid in US Dollars via ACH or domestic wire.
Simple money transfers – Worldwide and European bank account
The new option they have introduced is making simple transfers in one currency which transforms your online account into a worldwide and European one. Since Wise was primarily an option for currency exchange at an international level, for simple money transfers a small value flat fee would be included. This fee is charged in order to cover the costs of the transaction, and varies by currency: 50p, 0.60€, $1.30 etc.
>>> Open your free Wise Borderless bank account <<<
Exchanging currencies
When exchanging currencies, the commission is such that when sending 1000 pounds the person in the EU raises 1,138.50 euros. The included commission for Wise is 4.98 pounds and the guaranteed time to complete the transaction is 24 hours from the moment of arranging the transaction.
By easily comparing this commission with the one requested by similar providers, you gain an impression that this is by far the cheapest one out there and also one of the quickest ones. They are making the effort to bring the commission they charge you the closest possible to the mid-market rate.
It is also worth noting that with Wise the recipient will not be charged for receiving the transfer, which may be the case with usual international transfers.
Borderless account = Worldwide account
It can be of great use for you, regardless if you are in London, UK, India Australia, Germany, Gibraltar, in the USA, Latvia Poland, Spain, Zurich, Switzerland, most parts of the world are covered.
Borderless account vs. traditional international bank accounts
MyBank tracker has recently published an article with a detailed comparison of the wire transfer fees charged by the 10 largest U.S. banks – Bank of America, Chase, U.S. Bank etc, conducted using data from May 2017.
Regarding the banks providing similar services in the UK such as UK Barclays, UK Santander, Natwest, UK Lloyds, their international bank accounts are not available to everyone. Also,majority of them require a high minimum balance to be kept or you are charged a monthly fee. The monthly fees of these standard banks are usually ranging from £5 up to £15.
For example, on an international account in Lloyds bank a monthly fee of £7.50/€8/US$10 will be charged. You require a sole annual income of £50,000 or £25,000 to save or invest (or currency equivalents).
There are also costs attached, which you need to bear in mind. International drafts cost around £15, and electronic funds transfers around £25.
The usual dilemma people have when something new and somewhat revolutionary comes up is regarding the safety of it, so I am expecting a similar question to emerge here –Is Borderless account safe?
Wise as a company in general is under the control of FCA – Financial conduct Authority, so the case is similar with the Borderless account. Since Wise is an Electronic Money Institution, it is required by law to keep your money safe by storing it in a low -risk financial institution (e.g. bank account).
Regarding the data protection, you can find most detailed information on their Wise review
For those concerned about the efficiency and safety of such system, more than 38 000 TransferWise reviews available on Trustpilot can help in reassuring you and leaving you in good faith with this system. Most of the comments are saying that Wise is safe, quick and efficient. Less than 5% of comments are the criticizing ones.
Their Support Center team has also gained highest possible scores, so you will definitely not lose out if you open a Borderless account with them and try using their services by making your first transfer, which may turn out to be more than a wise one.
I live in the USA but I receive my monthly retirement money in a german bank.
I use TransferWise every month to transfer money from my german bank account to my US bank account,; with other words, I have already a reference # from TransferWise.
My question, can I open a borderless account with TransferWise?
Looking forward for your early reply.
Thank you in advance.
Yes, I think you should be able to get the borderless acount, just apply for it.
Hi at transfer wise, soon I may need to take an account out with you, before i do could you tell me please ;Q 1,what are the addresses of your agents in can-goo Bali please, the address MUST be can-goo as the recipient of the transfer is on holiday there and has no transport. Q 2, What would the transfer cost be say for 200 euro to my recipient in
can-goo,my euro,s would appear in Bali as Indonesian dollars i think, looking forward to your reply . Many Thanks Colm, ( so 200e to the local Indonesian currency)
Hi Colm, first of all I’m not representing TranserWise, I’m just their customer. TransferWise sends money to bank accounts directly so you will need to provide a local Inodnesian bank account. You will recieve money in your local currency, check exact fee using the calculator http://transfersreview.com/link/calculator/transferwise.com
Can you purchase things such as airline tickets or train tickets online with your borderless account?
The debit card that is linked to your borderless account is good to pay for tickets. Of course first you will need to deposit money to the borderless account.
I receive money from an company in America, which they pay into a paypal account opened in Australia, up yo date I have had to transfer the money into my bank account in Australia and then another transfer from Australia to Thailand.
Can I open a borderless account, have the paypal transferred in to it and then have it straight into my Thailand bank account. If possible what would the fees be?
PayPal has really high margin for each transfer. You can save a lot if you just open TransferWise borderless account in USD currency and your American partner will pay to it using a local bank transfer. Then TransferWise can convert money to Thailand bahts applying mid-market exchange rate and send to your personal bank account. That may sound complex but it’s really easy.
Hi Colm,
This is a very informative post about an online bank account. TransferWise is one of the best options for an online bank account. The interesting part is it’s free and easy to use.
Thank You!
I have a GBP account in Egypt. I have to send money every month to my bank account in Thailand.
Whether I do a TransferWise transfer through my bank account or through a borderless bank account, it looks like I have to do a SWIFT transfer which will have additional fees (probably making it similar to the fees I pay when I transfer through my bank).
Does that sound correct? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If it’s a GBP account then I assume SWIFT transfer will not be required. Just register and try to make a small transfer to see how it works. You can cancel the transfer before uploading money if you find it too expensive for you.
Hi there!
Can a TransferWise account replace my bank account?
My bank is making me suffer in so many ways!!!!!
How can I deposit money into a TransferWise account without needing a normal bank account?
As an option you can try getting your salary to TransferWise borderless account directly and use it as a main account. Keep in mind you can’t deposit with cash.
do you do south africa as well? i am an S.A citizen, am interested by your offer. regards.
I don’t but TransferWise does. Yes you can use the service in South Africa.
I want to purchase an item from a small shop in France. They do not take credit cards. I am looking for an inexpensive, secure way to pay for the item. I need to send USD and have it converted to EURO. Is Transfer Wise an option for this transaction?
If the shop accepts bank transfers then you can do it cheap with TransferWise.
Hi,
I’ll like to know if the company i work for in Uk can transfer to me on transferwise and i will receive it in my local bank account here in Nigeria.
Try setting up a direct debit on your TransferWise bank account https://transferwise.com/help/17/borderless-account/2977956/how-do-i-set-up-a-direct-debit and once you get money to it you can make a transfer to your local bank account in Nigeria in your local currency.
Hi, we currently live in Syria, but we do have bank account with UNFCU in Newyork. Is it possible to use transferwise if I want to send money to the Philippines? Thanks
You can send money to Philippines with Transferwise. I think the question here is if you can use your US account for sending money. Transferwise will expect you to send money from an account that is local to your country of residence.
Hi we live in South Africa and my husband works offshore, can his salary go into
a Transferwise account and can we leave it there for any period of time and is there interest earned on it. It would probably be left there so as to invest offshore from that account. I understand there is a debit card that one can use as well, what are the fees on the card if used here in SA?
You can use borderless account as a regular account and receive salary on it. Both account and card are free, but I think no any interest can be earned on your account.
Will my Transferwise account be linked to my local South African bank so that the government can see what my income is for tax reasons.
No, it will be a separate account.
I am satisfied border cash less account and I hope provide me best services of transfer money. thanks
Hello there!
I live in Papua New Guinea and I have already opened up a transferwise account intending to receive commissions for my online affiliate marketing business.
Most of my customers use Paypal, Stripe, cash app mainly in the US. Can they use these online money services to transfer money to my transferwise account?
Or will they open a tranferwise account to send money to my account?
Karl, PNG
If they are in the US just create a USD borderless account and ask your customers to make a regular bank transfer.
Hey! I am UK based company and want to open an company’s official bank account where i receive payments in UK , USA and Europe and all can transfer money to payments my vendors. is it possible that i can do this with TransferWise?
Yes, it all doable.
Hi I am not based in USA, but wish to open a Dollar Account for payments to be made around the world in Dollars. Can it be done ?
What KYC documents that I need to provide ?
You should be able to open borderless account in USD even if you are not USA resident. For KYC they usually ask your passport/ID. Later they may ask prof of address and prof of income source.
I live in Jamaica and I need to send money to Japan how do I do this through TransferWise
Interesting question, not sure. Just try opening an account and setting up a transfer. If it allows – all good, if not – you loose nothing.
Hello there, I have a passport for proof of ID, Could you elaborate in more detail if initially they ask for more than that and at what point they ask for address verification documents. I travel, so address change often.
I think that’s should be enough to get started. They may ask for more later once you reach a specific threshold in total amount sent through Wise.