Compared to most banks, Wise and CurrencyFair are excellent options to transfer money. Most important, they charge low fees and offer favorable exchange rates — two big factors that will determine how much you’ll save on your transfer.
 Wise |  CurrencyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | From 0.41% to 1.5% of your transaction | On average, customers at the moment pay around 0.45% |
| Exchange rates | Mid-market rate | Exchange rate varies by user |
| Speed | 1–2 business days | 2–4 business days |
| Max Transfer Amount | $1 million per transfer and $5 million annually | No limit |
| Wise review | CurrencyFair review |
With Wise, enter how much money you want to transfer, and then send your funds to Wise. Wise will convert the currency and send it to your recipient’s bank account.
For CurrencyFair, you set the exchange rate you want on your currency, and then you’ll be matched with someone who wants to exchange money with you. After your currency is converted, CurrencyFair will transfer it to your recipient’s bank account.
Wise charges a percentage of your transfer, which changes based on which currencies you’re exchanging. The fee is incorporated into your transfer. (Check out Wise’s pricing page for details on fees).
If you’re transferring money by credit card, you’ll pay a transaction fee.
When customers exchange money on CurrencyFair, CurrencyFair charges a fee of the total amount. If there isn’t anybody on CurrencyFair for you to exchange with, it will step in and exchange the money for you at a higher fee.
There’s no fee to send money to CurrencyFair.
Winner: CurrencyFair
Wise charges at least a 0.41% fee to exchange currency. CurrencyFair charges 0.25% to 0.3% if you exchange with another user. This gives a slight edge to CurrencyFair.
Though a money transfer service might not charge for bank transfers, your bank may charge you for sending in your money. Your recipient’s bank may also charge fees for receiving money.
Wise exchanges money at the mid-market rate. That’s a great deal compared to most other money transfer services, though you should still keep an eye on the site’s percentage fee.
Because CurrencyFair is a marketplace that matches users, your exchange rate will vary from 0.25% to 0.3%. Depending on what you’re willing to exchange for, you could get anywhere from a poor rate to something even better than the mid-market rate.
Winner: Tie
Judging purely on exchange rates, this battle is a tie. Wise converts at the stellar mid-market rate, but you could theoretically get the mid-market rate or better at CurrencyFair.
It can take up to four days to send money to Wise, depending on which method you use.
Currency conversion takes anywhere from a few hours to two days, and it takes a few business days for the money to be sent to your recipient.
In total, it takes from one to six business days to complete a transfer.
It takes up to two days to send money to CurrencyFair, depending on which method you use.
It’ll take one to two business days for CurrencyFair to convert the money and send it to your recipient. In total, it takes two to four days to complete a transfer.
Winner: Wise
In most cases, Wise will provider faster transfer speeds. If there’s one weakness to both Wise and CurrencyFair, it’s that you can’t pay by credit or debit card for all currencies. Expanding credit and debit card payments would speed up the transfer time for many countries.
| Payment Methods | Minimum and maximum transfers | Delivery methods | Transfer speeds | Countries and currencies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wise | Bank transfer, credit card or debit card | $1 minimum; $1,000,000 maximum per day and up $5,000,000 annually | Bank transfer | 1–3 business days | 80+ countries |
| CurrencyFair | Bank transfer | €8 (or equivalent) minimum and maximum is unlimited | Bank transfer | 2–4 business days | 150+ countries |
Say you’re a business owner who needs to buy a few things from a supplier in Florence. Here’s what a transfer would like with Wise and CurrencyFair.
| Wise | CurrencyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee | $7.30 | $2.81 |
| Exchange rate | 1 USD = €0.941 | 1 USD = €0.9365 |
| Transfer speed | 1–2 days | 2–4 days |
| Total received | €934.33 | €933.5 |
Although Wise charges a higher transfer fee, their exchange rate is stronger and will save you a whopping €0.82 on your transfer. As you transfer more money, Wise should save you a bit more money. However, going with either service will result in big savings over using your local bank.
Wise and CurrencyFair are very similar, and each edges out the other in a few respects. For example, Wise offers credit and debit card payments for more currencies. On the other hand, CurrencyFair has a higher transfer limit and potentially gives you a better rate through their marketplace.
Still, you’ll want to compare your options to find a service that’s best for your situation.
