Wise international debit card

I

iamaspinner

Registered User
Messages
293
Has anyone used the Wise international debit card abroad, specifically the virtual/digital card?

Do you just put money into it in your currency of choice and then spend away?

Would it be a good alternative to Revolut when abroad or to buy things in Amazon UK?
 
I have had the Wise card for years, and am very happy with it. I have been offered the digital card but prefer an actual card, so can't comment on that specifically. I once left my phone on a cafe table in Germany and don't wish to feel panic like that ever again.

Wise possibly doesn't support every world currency but I've used it in Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia with no problem. I don't have to warn that I am visiting a certain country, and every time I use the card I get a notification, which includes the currency exchange rate, and fee. I often have sterling in my account as well as euro, if I have received a UK transfer. Whichever currency you transfer in is held until you want to use some in a different currency.
I have often used the Wise card to buy from Amazon UK from my euro account, as the exchange rate is better than the one Amazon offers.
 
Don't know about iPhones but with Android phones you can set it up that it always requires the device to be unlocked to use contactless
 
I have been using Wise for several years now but have the physical card. Originally opened up an account to transfer RSU dollars to Euros to avoid bank exchange rates. Everything worked seamlessly.

Over the last 2 years I've been doing a lot more travel with work. Worked great in the US, UK and India so now always use Wise for anything abroad.

You add funds into your Euro account and can then open up accounts in 40 different currencies and transfer money from your euro account. Wise uses the real transfer rate and adds a small fee which the app details before you exchange currencies. If you run out of money in the foreign Exchange account you can set it so it automatically uses your Euro account.

The app is excellent can't fault it. P.S. I don't work for Wise, I'm sure Revolut has benefits too. ;-)
 
Likewise, I've used in UK, Czech Rep.USA, Australia, New Zealand, Bosnia, Croatia ( before euro) . No issues. I've physial and digital card. I use revolut also.
 
Are you charged the annual stamp duty (€30 I think) for having this card?

Also can people send instant money to you like revolut?
Or would that just be a normal bank transfer I suppose.
 
Last edited:
I looked at the site, there are a lot of fees incurred for transfers, maybe it works out cheaper than exchanging physical currency but still seems to have quite a few deductions in transferring money to the wise account
 
AndroidMan said:
Are you charged the annual stamp duty (€30 I think) for having this card?

Also can people send instant money to you like revolut?
Or would that just be a normal bank transfer I suppose.
Click to expand...
The 30 euro stamp duty is for credit cards. Going by the other posts in this thread, this is a debit card. The stamp duty for debit cards is 12 cent for each ATM withdrawal and it maxes out at €5 a year.
 
Side note: Is stamp duty payable on cards issued by financial institutions with no presence in Ireland, and if so, how would one go about paying it?
 
I have a Sterling credit card issued by AIB Northern Ireland. There is no Irish stamp duty charged.

Curve Card is useful for foreign currency purchases.
You can add any credit or debit cards to it and avoid the currency fees from the other card provider.
 
Wise's exchange rates are slightly better than Revolut's and unlike Revolut there is no surcharge once foreign currency transactions go beyond 1000 Euro a month. Wise's transfer charges are significantly higher though, which is how they make their money. The cheapest option is to use Revolut until you hit the 1000 Euro limit and then switch to Wise or one of their competitors (but always double check both apps).
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register