Review: Wise Multi-Currency Accounts for Business

Wise is a London-based financial technology company founded in early 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus (Skype's first employee). Formerly known as TransferWise, the company rebranded in February 2021 to reflect the significant expansion of its product portfolio. The company went far beyond its original mission of offering simple, quick and affordable money transfers.

Wise became profitable just 6 years after being founded and has been exploring various expansion opportunities. Nowadays, Wise offers multi-currency accounts, a debit card, and a very solid proposition for businesses. Could it be the service your business needs? Read our in-depth Wise review below to find out.

Wise's Multi-currency account can help businesses streamline their financial operations by allowing them to hold and transact in multiple currencies within the same account. It also assists in cutting down on currency exchange costs by offering "real" exchange rate without any additional fees. In this article, our experts walk you through the benefits and downsides of using a multi-currency account for businesses and explain how these accounts work.

But before we jump in, we suggest you also explore our selection of apps, services and platforms that supercharge your business, and offer you to take a look at our curated list of the best bank accounts for businesses.

Signing up for Wise Business grants you local bank account details for 10 different currencies. Once you have these, you can provide them to your customers and get paid from all over the world at no cost whatsoever.

With Wise, 50% of payments are either instant or arrive within an hour - and they're completely free for you as long as no currency exchange happens. You can also seamlessly collect money from Amazon, Stripe and many more popular services. And there is an option of creating liquid invoice templates where you can plug in your local bank details with a single click!

Powered by Mastercard, Wise bank cards allow you and select employees of your company to spend money all over the world at a "real" exchange rate without any additional charges. As a bonus, you get instant notifications and a real-time cash flow overview in your Wise app, along with an ability to set spending limits for each card. You can freeze/unfreeze cards with a single tap in case the card gets lost or the person holding it is attempting unauthorized transactions. You can also get virtual cards - and you'll get the details of these immediately, allowing you to set up Google Pay or Apple Pay the moment you order one.

Wise business debit cards also feature... Cashback! Your business accumulates 1% of all eligible transactions' amounts, even if these come from employees' expense cards.

Wise features an "out-of-the-box" integration with multiple accounting platforms like Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent.

For the tech-savvy (or these who have a developer on their team), Wise offers an incredibly powerful and easy-to-learn Open API. Extensive documentation, a sandbox account and 24/7 customer support - it's very easy to automate your payment flows or connect various financial services and business tools.

Did you know that multiple digital and mobile-first banks use Wise "under the hood" to facilitate users' currency payments and transactions? The list includes, but is not limited to, Dutch up-and-coming neobank bunq and a digital banking powerhouse Revolut.

In conclusion, a Wise multi-currency account is a valuable tool for businesses that operate in multiple countries or deal with international clients. While there are several options available when it comes to multi-currency accounts, Wise stands out due to its competitive exchange rates, intuitive interface, and excellent customer service. Overall, our assessment is that Wise Multi-currency account truly is a wise choice for businesses looking to simplify their global financial management.