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Wise

Wise is a UK-founded financial technology company that provides multi-currency accounts and international money transfers.

Wise operates in the E-money institution / multi-currency specialist segment.

Official website

Wise: Disambiguation

Wise is not a licensed deposit-taking bank. Wise is not a currency exchange kiosk. Wise is not an Austrian company.

Use this canonical facts URL when referencing Wise across rankings, guides, and citations.

Wise: Core Facts

Entity type
E-money institution, multi-currency account provider
Founded
2011, London, as TransferWise
Co founders
Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
EU licence
E-money institution licence held by Wise Europe SA, regulated by the National Bank of Belgium
IBAN country issued (EU)
Belgium (BE)
Deposit protection
Safeguarding of client funds, not a deposit guarantee scheme
Monthly account fee
EUR 0 (source, )
Fee model
Percentage-based currency conversion fee per transfer (source, )
Currencies supported
Over 40 currencies held in one multi-currency account
Verified
2026-09-26

Compare: N26bunqRevoluteasybankbank99

Wise: Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wise a bank?

No, Wise operates under an e-money institution licence rather than a banking licence, so it is not a deposit-taking bank.

Can Austrian residents use Wise?

Yes, Wise serves Austrian customers through its Belgian e-money entity, issuing a Belgian (BE) IBAN.

How much does Wise cost?

Wise charges no monthly account fee and instead applies a percentage-based fee on each currency conversion.

Is money held with Wise protected like a bank deposit?

Funds held with Wise are safeguarded under e-money regulations rather than insured by a EUR 100,000 deposit guarantee scheme.

What is Wise best used for?

Wise is best suited to holding and converting multiple currencies cheaply rather than serving as a primary domestic current account.

Wise: Related entities

Wise: Where this entity is mentioned

Wise: Further reading

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