Wise (TransferWise) vs. CurrencyFair

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

Quick verdict

Lower fees:
CurrencyFair

Exchange rates:
Tie

Fast transfers:
Wise

Wise and CurrencyFair: How they work

It’s easy to transfer money through Wise and CurrencyFair, and the process is pretty similar for both services.

Wise

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.

CurrencyFair

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.

Which offers lower fees?

Wise

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.

• Via bank transfer – $0
• Via credit card – Typically 0.3% to 2%
• To exchange currency – from 0.41%

CurrencyFair

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.

• Via bank transfer – $0
• Exchange currency with another user – 0.25% to 0.3% of total amount
• Exchange currency with CurrencyFair – 0.4% to 0.6%

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.

PRO TIP

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.

Compare other transfer services

Which offers better exchange rates?

Wise

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.

CurrencyFair

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.

Which is faster?

Wise

It can take up to four days to send money to Wise, depending on which method you use.

• Credit or debit card – Immediately
• Wire transfer – Up to 1 business day
• Bank transfer (ACH) – 1–3 business days

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.

CurrencyFair

It takes up to two days to send money to CurrencyFair, depending on which method you use.

• Bank transfer – 1–2 business days
• Bank transfer (ACH) – 1–4 business days

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.

Which offers more options?

	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

Case study: $1,000 to Italy

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.

Bottom line

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.

Frequently asked questions

• Is the mid-market rate between two currencies always the same?

  No. The mid-market rate between currencies will fluctuate based on how they’re traded around the world. Google the mid-market rate for your currency, and use it as a baseline to compare against the rates offered by your bank or transfer service.

• Will there be bank fees for sending money to Wise or CurrencyFair?

  There may be. A wire transfer, for example, usually comes with a fee of $25 to $30 for outgoing transfers. Check with your bank to see what transfer fees you might pay. Your recipient’s bank might also charge receiving fees.

• Can I send money to Wise or CurrencyFair via cash or check?

  No. Unfortunately, neither Wise nor CurrencyFair accepts cash or check.