Last Updated on December, 2024
Imagine being able to engage in financial transactions in a foreign country in their currencies for little fees with a debit card.
This is pretty much the purpose of the Wise card.
However, I’m sure you have questions regarding how to get it, how and where it works, the fees linked to it, and even security features.
I aim to cover those and much more in this article that you MUST read before getting your wise card.
But why trust me?
Contents
- Why Trust Me?
- Wise Card Features 360° Quick Summary
- What is a Wise Card, and How Does it Work?
- Wise Card is Most Suitable for…
- Can I Get a Wise Debit Card in the US?
- Can I Use the Wise Card Internationally (Abroad)?
- Wise Card Fees (Including International Spending)
- Wise Debit Card for Business
- Wise Card Vs. Competitors
- How-to Guides With the Wise Card: Activation, Using, etc?
- Currencies Wise Supports
- Countries Wise Card Supports and Doesn’t
- Wise Exchange Rates: Is it Mid-Market Exchange Rate?
- Can I Get a Wise Virtual Card in the US?
- Wise Card Limits
- Is the Wise Card Safe Enough?
- My Rating for the Wise Debit Card
- What Wise Debit Card Customers Say
- Pros and Cons of Wise Card
- Conclusion: Is Wise Card Recommendable?
- FAQs: Wise Card Review
Why Trust Me?
I have been using the Wise debit card for personal and business use for more than 4 years. That’s why I know real things better than almost all online reviewers.
I also contacted Wise whenever I wanted to clarify things as I was reading through several reviews and hundreds of customer comments.
This article is the result of that effort.
Before we dive into the details, let’s have a look at a quick summary.
Wise Card Features 360° Quick Summary
What is a Wise Card, and How Does it Work?
The Wise card is a debit card linked to your Wise account.
This international debit card is designed to make international spending and travel easier by enabling budgeting and currency conversion within the Wise platform. As mentioned earlier, Wise operates in 160 countries with 40+ currencies, making the Wise card the most travel-friendly debit card.
The best feature of this Wise international debit card is the free auto-convert feature. What happens here is that you can switch your balance to the required currency with the lowest possible fees.
For all this, you should access your account and activate the card via the app or the website.
The cherry on top is how you can freeze and unfreeze the card instantly, which also shows real-time transaction notifications to tighten overall safety.
If euros run out following spending and transfers, Wise will automatically convert the balance using the mid-market exchange rate from either GBP or USD, based on which has the lowest fee.
Wise Card is Most Suitable for…
The Wise card is for pretty much anyone who wants a wise multi-currency account and fee-less or lowest-fee transfers and transactions.
It’s most suitable for:
I’m sure this draws a clearer picture.
Can I Get a Wise Debit Card in the US?
Yes, you can get a Wise debit card in the US for both personal and business use.
The Wise card is available for US customers just as much as for customers from a broad selection of other countries and regions, including the UK, Brazil, Australia, and even most EEA countries.
To get your Wise card, you must first register for a Wise account online, get verified, and then order the card for a one-time fee of around $9. Before 2020, it was free.
Once you receive the card, you’ll need to activate it easily via the Wise app before using it in the US. You’ll typically receive the Wise debit card between 3 working days and 3 weeks at most if you’ve ordered it for delivery to a US address.
Can I Use the Wise Card Internationally (Abroad)?
Yes, you can use the Wise card abroad. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why it is so popular.
The only condition is that you must set up and order your Wise card to a US address, being in the US. The second part is that you have to activate the card in the US.
When you do, the Wise card can be used in 170+ countries around the world, making overseas transactions safe and easier after topping up your Wise account.
You can use the Wise card internationally for:
Wise Card Fees (Including International Spending)
While I will discuss overall Wise fees in a later section, here I aim to cover the Wise card fees when being used across borders.
| Service | Wise Card’s Fee |
| First 2 ATM withdrawals per month, up to $100 | FREE |
| Additional ATM withdrawals per month exceeding $100 | $1.50 per withdrawal + 2% of the withdrawal amount |
| Spending currencies in your account | FREE |
| Spending currencies not in your account | Wise will automatically convert your balance to the required currency using the mid-market exchange rate and the lowest available fees |
| One-time card issuance fee | $9 |
| Ordering a second card | $5 |
| Replacing an expiring card | Free (and Wise will remind you when you need a new one) |
Next, let’s quickly peek into the business category.
Wise Debit Card for Business
Wise offers a Wise card to business customers and expense cards for team members. The best feature is that you can remotely track all expenses just by your app.
Both personal and business cards get the mid-market exchange rate.
Wise debit card for businesses also allows account managers to set and adjust card spending limits, just as much as expense monitoring. This will make expense claims easier for the operation.
With that covered, let’s have a look at how Wise card compares to competitors.
Relevant guides:
- Wise Review
- How to Receive Money From Overseas Using Wise?
- Wise Exchange Rate
- Is Wise Safe?
- How Does Wise Work?
- Wise Limits
- How to Open a Wise Account?
- How to Withdraw Money From Wise to Bank Account?
- Wise Fees
Wise Card Vs. Competitors
Wise card definitely is not the only popular debit card within the context of amazing foreign transaction fees.
In the table below, I have considered the most popular Wise alternatives, such as Revolut, Capital One, and Chime.
| Feature | Wise | Revolut | Capital One | Chime |
| Availability | Can be used in personal and business formats in a broad range of countries | Can be used in personal and business formats in a broad range of countries | Only for US-based customers | |
| Currencies supported | 40+ currencies | 28 currencies | Only USD | |
| Ongoing account fees | No fee | 0 to $16.99 monthly, depending on the plan type | No fee | |
| Fees to get a card | $9 | No fee, although there is a delivery charge | No fee | |
| International ATM withdrawal fees | First 2 ATM withdrawals for a month, up to $100 is free $1.5 per withdrawal + 2% of the withdrawal value, after that | Depends on the account type – Standard plan users can withdraw $400 monthly with no fee 2% charge after that | No fee | $2.5 |
| Foreign transaction fee | No fee Currency fee of 0.43% applies | No fee | ||
| Exchange rate | Mid-market range | Mid-market rate-to-plan limits A fair usage fee of 0.5% applies afterwards | Mastercard rate | Visa rate |
Looking at the comparison, it’s clear that Wise card wins with a lead.
How-to Guides With the Wise Card: Activation, Using, etc?
Let’s look into all the how-to guides with the Wise debit card to ensure you don’t have to guess anything.
How to Make a Wise Account?
To get a Wise card, you first need to have a Wise account.
Here’s how to make a Wise account in seconds:
How to Get Your Wise Card? (With Wise Account)
Now that you have a Wise account and verified it let’s see how to get your Wise card, which is linked to your Wise account.
After that, you can expect the physical card to arrive somewhere between 2-3 weeks.
How to Activate Your Wise Card?
Once your physical card arrives, you must first activate it before using it; the process is very simple.
Step 1: Log in to your Wise account:
Step 2: Enter the 6-digit code that’s underneath your name on your Wise card:
How to Find Your Wise Card Pin?
US-based customers will be able to set a personal PIN when either ordering or activating the Wise card. This basically means that you cannot see your PIN in the Wise app.
If you’ve forgotten the pin, you can simply set a new one:
That’s it; you’re good to go.
However, you should remember that you’ll only be able to do it while you’re in the US.
How to Top Up Your Wise Card?
Before you can do ANYTHING with the card, you should first top up the account affiliated with it, which is equivalent to topping up your Wise card
Just like that, now you can use your Wise debit card for anything.
How to Replace or Cancel Your Wise Card?
If your Wise card is damaged or you want a new card for some other reason, you can order a new one quickly. If you wish to cancel it, you must get in touch with the Wise team.
If you want to replace your card,
On the app:
On the web:
When you do this, you’ll see 4 options:
If you choose “I lost my card” or “My card was stolen,” your card will be blocked and canceled immediately, and you’ll be able to order a new card.
How to Freeze or Unfreeze Your Wise Card?
For me, one of the most significant advantages of the WIse card is that you can freeze and unfreeze it any time you want.
Traditional banks allow you to cancel your card, but it takes some time. The same situation applies to Wise, too, as you have to contact them to cancel the card.
Imagine you’re overseas, and your card is stolen or lost, and the more you wait, each second increases the risk of losing your money.
Wise has fixed this loophole with instant freezing and unfreezing.
Here’s how to do it:
If the card is already frozen, the button will show unfreeze card instead.
How to Withdraw Money From Your Wise Card?
ATM withdrawals are one of the top services the Wise card offers.
For you to withdraw money from ATMs, you must activate your card and set up the PIN while you’re still in the US.
Assuming it is done, all you need to do is go for any ATM that supports Visa or Mastercard. However, Wise only provides you with 2 fee-free ATM withdrawals for a month up to $100. After that, Wise will charge you $1.5 per withdrawal + 2% of the withdrawal value.
With the how-to section finished, let’s move on to discuss Wise-supported currencies.
Currencies Wise Supports
Wise and its currencies in your multi-currency account can be categorized into 3 such as:
For adding money, Wise supports these currencies: AUD, BGN, BRL*, CAD, CNY* CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HUF, IDR*, JPY, MYR*, NOK, NZD, PLN, RON, SEK, SGD, TRY and USD:
For holding money, you can keep 50+ currencies. You can convert money between any of these currencies, always with the Wise currency exchange rate.
For receiving money, here are some of the conditions, and you can read the complete list here:
With that covered, let’s talk about the countries that support Wise.
Countries Wise Card Supports and Doesn’t
The Wise card (connected to your Wise account) works perfectly in the below list of countries:
The Wise card also works in several other countries in the European area:
In the Asian region:
In the Oceania region:
In North America:
Latin America:
The Wise card doesn’t work in some countries:
It’s advisable to check with these countries before traveling, relying on the Wise card.
Wise Exchange Rates: Is it Mid-Market Exchange Rate?
Before I switched to Wise, I was sick of financial organizations that have hidden markup. Not only does Wise not have hidden markups, but it also offers the most transparent and cheaper conversion based on the mid-market rate.
How does Wise avoid extra fees?
Firstly, Wise is not a traditional bank, and that allows it to cut down several expenses required for currency conversion. Secondly, it’s because this practice aligns with their mission statement.
Suppose you switch to the card’s auto-convert feature. In that case, Wise will automatically convert currencies with the lowest fees with no hidden markup.
Can I Get a Wise Virtual Card in the US?
No, you can’t. The Wise virtual cards are still unavailable in the US.
However, you can get one if you live in the UK, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil or EEA.
Wise Card Limits
Your Wise card limit is automatically set to default, but you can always adjust the max limit by the app.
Here’s a breakdown of the standard Personal Wise debit card limits based on the transaction type:
| Transaction Type | (LIMIT) Single Transaction | (LIMIT) Daily | (LIMIT) Monthly |
| ATM withdrawal | Typical: $250 Max: $1,000 | Typical: $250 Max: $1,000 | Typical: $1,500 Max: $6,000 |
| Contactless | Typical: $200 Max: $400 | Typical: $500 Max: $1,000 | Typical: $1,500 Max: $4,000 |
| Chip and PIN and mobile wallet | Typical: $1,000 Max: $2,000 | Typical: $1,000 Max: $2,000 | Typical: $5,000 Max: $15,000 |
| Online purchase | Typical: $1,000 Max: $1,500 | Typical: $1,000 Max: $1,500 | Typical: $1,500 Max: $6,000 |
| Magnetic strip | Typical: $1,000 Max: $1,500 | Typical: $1,000 Max: $1,500 | Typical: $1,500 Max: $6,000 |
Is the Wise Card Safe Enough?
Yes, the Wise debit card is very safe to use, whether personal or business.
From account creation to verification and to getting your Wise card, the organization has a loophole-less security policy. You also get 2-factor authentication and 24/7 fraud prevention protocol by Typically.
Wise is regulated by several financial regulatory bodies worldwide. This means that your money in any currency is safe and in compliance with global laws and best practices.
The cherry on top is the real-time transaction notifications that allow you to freeze the card instantly via the Wise app, in case you ever want it.
My Rating for the Wise Debit Card
| Aspect | Rating out of ★★★★★ |
| Ease of use | ★★★★★ |
| International acceptance | ★★★★★ |
| Fees | ★★★★½ |
| Security | ★★★★★ |
| Customer support | ★★★★½ |
| Transparency | ★★★★★ |
| Exchange rate | ★★★★½ |
| Overall rating | ★★★★★ |
What Wise Debit Card Customers Say
Wise has an impressive 4.2/5 stars rating in Trustpilot with over 200,000 reviews. Here’s what Wise customers say specifically about the Wise card and its multi-currency accounts.
Hassle free, very easy to get the card, my partner got one when we went to Bali and this card was excellent and cheap to use for ATM and general transaction.
Ms. Richmond appraises the convenience of getting the card and her preference to use the Wise debit card, especially as an international money transfer service.
Excellent service, used while on holiday with digital card, easy to add money, problem free all of the time. I couldn’t rate the service highly enough
Robert emphasizes the Wise card’s convenience during holidays. Having had a similar experience, I agree with Robert.
Yep I use Wise (formerly TranfserWise) for both Business and personal accounts. It works exactly as you note..You transfer from your base currency into your Wise account.
I also came across the below Reddit comment in the Subreddit r/Travel, where the Wise card was being praised.
With that covered, let’s move to the pros and cons of the Wise card.
Pros and Cons of Wise Card
Pros
Cons
Conclusion: Is Wise Card Recommendable?
Wise cards are one of the most popular money-holding, exchanging, and transaction cards that mimic the features of a standard bank debit card with the least fees and more mobility. Wise was created with a mission to make currency conversion cheaper and more transparent.
Given that we have dissected the card from what it is to customer reviews, it’s safe to say that I can recommend the Wise card easily.
All you need to do is be compliant with their security measures, and you’re good to go.
I hope this article helped you feel free to be a model citizen and share this with your community to raise awareness.
FAQs: Wise Card Review
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