WorldRemit vs Wise

WorldRemit offers

WorldRemit is tailored for individuals with account services that include:

• Foreign bank transfers
• Cash pick-up
• Foreign bill payments (ie electricity, credit cards and television services)
• Pre-paid mobile credit top-ups
• Recurring / regular transfers are also supported

Note: bill payments and cash pick-up services are not available in all countries.

WorldRemit has two unique features. These are:

• Mobile money - Shop in-store, online and withdraw cash at authorised agents
• WorldRemit Wallet - Money can be received through their vast global network into a multi-currency wallet

WorldRemit does not offer

• Travel debit cards
• Access to a personal account manager (helpful when transferring large sums of money)

Wise provides a simple easy to use international money transfer service with digital wallet capabilities. Their digital wallet, or Borderless account also gives the individual local banking details in 6+ currencies including, EUR, SGD, NZD, USD, GBP and AUD. Their Wise Borderless debit card backs on to their Borderless digital wallet allowing you to spend directly out of your multi-currency account balances.

What Wise offers individuals

• International money transfers
• Borderless multi-currency receiving accounts
• Borderless Debit Card - FX optimised debit card
• Android and Apple apps
• Send money to email address
• Scheduled and recurring transfers - sufficiently funded Borderless account required for this to work.

What Wise does not offer individuals

• Personal account management
• Full support for regular transfers. Currently regular transfers or ‘scheduled transfers’ need to have a Borderless multi-currency account balance. Find out which countries support TransferWise Borderless account.
• Cash pick up or international bill payments

WorldRemit does not provide a business service, although WorldRemit could be used for business transfers. The Mobile Wallet could be used for business, however it may not be suited for this purpose.

In addition to the services Wise offers the individual, there are some features only available for a business. Unfortunately, as Wise is online only, a business customer does not have support with currency fluctuations and trends. Wise does however offer easy to use transactional foreign currency receipts and payments.

Scheduled transfers is a recently added feature. This can reduce admin for those standard monthly, weekly payments to suppliers and staff. A sufficient balance in the Business Borderless account is required. Wise will remind the account owner to make sure there is sufficient funds in the multi-current account. What is not supported is standing orders from a business bank account through Wise. This may mean that businesses need to alter their business structure to ensure continuous sufficent Borderless account funding.

What Wise offers businesses

• Batch payments
• Xero and Quickbook integration
• FX optimised business debit card
• Multi-user account access
• Regular and scheduled transfers

What Wise for business doesn’t offer

• Business account management
• Risk management tools

WorldRemit Fees

Most of the WorldRemit fees are within the exchange rate offered. The exchange rate offered can and does change depending on payment type, receiving option and the amount being transferred.

• Bank deposit - 0.5% - 2% depending on the destination country and amount
• Bill payment fee - 1% - 4%
• Cash pick up fee - 1% - 4%
• Mobile airtime top up - 1% - 4%
• Additional fee - $1 - $5 per transfer

New customers from eligible countries signing up through iCompareFX receive 3 transfers fees for free using the code 3FREE. Eligible countries for this free transfer promotion are the USA, UK, Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, New Zealand, and Norway.

Wise offers the real time exchange rate at the time of your transfer. Therefore fees are visible in addition to the transfer amount. The fee structure is complex as it differs depending on the currencies you are sending from and to. Fees also apply to the type of Borderless account transaction. Fees can also apply on the use of the Wise Borderless debit card. Fees are briefly summarised below. Read the detailed TransferWise review for more details on Wise fees.

Registration - Simple and easy through their website or mobile app.

ID verification -  If requested, it is a simple process that can be actioned through their mobile app or via email. Simply upload the requested documentation as photos from your phone. 

Transfer speed -  Speed ranges from instantaneous to up to 2 days. This depends on the country you are sending money to, and if it is a bank transfer or sending cash. 

Payment options - Uploading your funds to WordRemit is also a simple process. With in-country solutions such as Australia’s POLi or via debit card, you can instantly transfer your funds to WorldRemit. This speeds up the entire process of sending money overseas.

Mobile app - There is a WorldRemit mobile app to help manage your transfers end to end.

The Wise app design and user experience of their technology is great with simple, intuitive processes.

Registration - Fast and easy account creation

ID verification - Instant in some countries

Transfer speed - It can be instantaneous in some countries. Fast payments to Wise comes at an additional cost.

Minimum transfer amount - $1

Mobile app - Simple and easy to use. Probably the best designed app of the international money transfer companies.

Payment options - Wise has the broadest range of payment options. Local bank transfer, debit / credit card and country specific solutions such as POLi.

WorldRemit supported countries

WorldRemit has an impressive list of supported countries. 

• Mobile Money - 23 countries
• Cash pick up - 80 countries
• Bank transfer - 150 countries
• Bill payment -  Selected countries
• Phone support - Multiple languages
• Multilingual website
• Local settlement accounts in dozens of countries.

Customer support

There are reports on TrustPilot and through its mobile app reviews of poor wait times to talk to a customer service representative.

Wise’s supported countries vary with different services having different supported customer countries and destination countries. These are detailed in the TransferWise Countries and Currencies article and is summarized below.

Send from - 23 countries plus the Europe SEPA countries

Send to - Over 60 currencies

Borderless account and debit card - Over 6 countries can sign up to their Borderless services.

• WorldRemit is regulated by multiple financial regulators globally including the FCA in the UK. 
• Their company structure is sound and customers funds are segregated from their company accounts thereby reducing the risk for their customer.
• The WorldRemit fee structure for money transfers includes a hidden fee within the offered exchange rate which reduces transparency. This is unfortunately common amongst most international money transfer companies.
• High TrustPilot rating. However, there are an increasing number of poor reviews. This will be monitored by iCompareFX. 

Wise is fully regulated by the FCA and their customer funds are segregated from their business banking activities.

Wise is rated on TrustPilot as Excellent. Unfortunately there have been some poor reviews on TrustPilot indicating sudden account closures with funds being returned with no explanation.

Wise continues to raise capital through private funding. This could be a concern for the future when the shareholders are looking for aggressive growth and / or a return on their investment.