Wise Review UK: Is the Wise Current Account Worth It?

Wise is not a bank. Wise Payments Limited is an electronic money institution, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (Firm Reference 900507). The money in your account is e-money, and Wise safeguards it: it is kept apart from Wise's own money, held with banks such as Barclays and JP Morgan Chase, and never lent out.

Because it doesn't lend your money, Wise says it doesn't need FSCS protection, so your everyday balance isn't covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. At a UK-licensed bank, such as Monzo or Revolut Bank UK, eligible deposits are covered up to £120,000 per person.

Interest and Stocks are different. They are run by Wise Assets UK Ltd (FCA registration 839689), your money is invested, and capital is at risk, but Wise says money in Interest and Stocks is eligible for up to £85,000 of FSCS protection.

On 30 March 2026 Wise launched its UK account as the Wise Current Account. You get pound account details for your salary or pension, Direct Debits and repeat payments (Wise says these work for bills in other countries too), and a debit card. It costs nothing to open, and there are no paid plans or subscriptions.

What sets it apart is the other currencies. You can hold and spend 40 currencies, and get account details in 22, such as a euro IBAN or a US routing number, so people abroad can pay you like a local. Receiving domestic payments in Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, Singapore and US dollars, euros, pounds, Hungarian forint and Philippine pesos is free, and payments between Wise users in the same currency are free too.

Adding money by bank transfer is free when the currency stays the same; Wise charges a small fee to add US or Canadian dollars. Wise Business is a separate account with its own pricing; this review covers the personal account.

Wise converts at the mid-market rate, the one you see on currency sites, and doesn't add a margin to it. Instead it charges a visible fee, from 0.24% and varying by currency, with volume discounts on large conversions.

We priced common routes in Wise's own calculator on 11 October 2026, paying from a UK bank account. Sending £500 to a euro account cost £2.16 and £1,000 cost £3.81; £1,000 to a US dollar account cost £4.60, and to a Hong Kong dollar account £4.27. The fee is a small fixed amount plus a percentage, about 0.33% to euros and 0.36% to US or Hong Kong dollars on these routes. Paying from your Wise balance into the recipient's Wise balance is cheaper: £1.65 on £500 to euros.

When you compare Wise with a bank or another app, compare the amount that arrives, not the advertised fee: a transfer with no fee can still cost more if a margin is built into the exchange rate.

Wise says 77% of its transfers arrive in under 20 seconds and 95% within a day. Money coming in by Swift costs a fixed fee per payment: £2.16 in pounds, €2.39 in euros and US$6.11 for US dollar wires. If the sender can pay into your local account details instead, it's free in the nine currencies above.

Ordering the physical card costs £7, with express delivery from £10.85. A replacement is £2.50, a new card when yours expires is free, and digital cards for online and in-store payments are free.

Spending in a currency you already hold costs nothing, and Wise charges no foreign transaction fee just for using the card abroad. If the card has to convert, you pay Wise's conversion fee at the mid-market rate. If a card machine abroad offers to charge you in pounds, say no: the merchant then sets the exchange rate, not Wise.

Since 1 May 2026, cash machine withdrawals are free up to £250 a month in total, per account. Above that, Wise charges 2.69% on the excess only, so taking out £400 in a month costs about £4.04 (2.69% of £150). The machine's operator may add its own fee. Older reviews may still quote the allowance from before May.

Topping up e-wallets and some other accounts with the card costs 2%. Daily and monthly limits apply: Wise shows yours in the Cards tab of the app or website. You can freeze the card instantly in the app if you lose it.

Switch on Wise Assets and your balance is invested in money market funds, offered in partnership with BlackRock. On the rates Wise last updated on 23 September 2026, based on seven days of fund performance, you'd earn 3.29% on pounds after a 0.55% annual fee, 2.25% on euros after 0.26%, and 3.61% on US dollars after 0.28%. Returns are paid monthly, and you can keep spending the money.

As an illustration, £1,000 in pounds for a year at 3.29% would earn about £32.90 if the rate stayed where it is. It won't stay fixed: it tracks the central bank's rate. Capital is at risk, and Wise says money can fall in value if governments default or interest rates go negative. You may have to pay tax on what you earn.

Wise's Stocks option charges from 0.59% a year and, like any investment, can fall in value. Both Interest and Stocks are eligible for FSCS protection up to £85,000 through Wise Assets UK.

Sign up through our link and Wise lets you choose one gift: a free card, saving the normal £7 order fee, or one fee-free transfer of up to £500. If you have already signed up without the link, you can add it on Wise's referral page within 30 days of signing up; after that it's too late.

The fee-free transfer is single use and applied automatically, and it can be used for up to six months after you sign up. It covers one transfer of up to £500: you pay normal fees on any amount above that, and it doesn't cover card payments or same-currency top-ups.

Which to choose: on the routes we priced, the fee on £500 is about £2.16 to a euro account, and even a £1,000 transfer costs less than £5, so if you want the physical card, the free card is the bigger saving. Take the transfer if you don't want a card and have a transfer to make within six months.

Disclosure: this is GetQuids' own invite link. Wise pays us a reward for every three people who join through it and then send or spend the amount set on the invite page. Same-currency transfers, converting between your own balances, cash withdrawals and card payments for gambling, investments or tax don't count towards it. None of this changes your gift.

On 11 October 2026 the Wise app was rated 4.8 from 169,004 ratings on the UK App Store and 4.8 from 2.07 million reviews on Google Play. On Trustpilot Wise scored 4.3 from 302,721 reviews, with 80% five-star and 9% one-star, and Wise had replied to 78% of the negative ones.

We read the 250 most recent UK App Store reviews, from 22 August to 9 October 2026; 83 were rated one or two stars. The themes that came up most were transfers delayed or held for checks, accounts frozen, blocked or closed with little explanation, verification and document requests, and slow or unhelpful support. Fees, app bugs, and refunds or scam disputes came up less often. Trustpilot's own summary points the same way.

A large or unusual payment can trigger checks, and the money can sit until you send the documents Wise asks for. Keep your rent and bills money in a bank account as well, and answer document requests quickly. Wise says support runs 24/7 in English, plus 14 other languages, by email, chat and phone.

Wise's own guide says you need to be 18 or over and live in the UK, with photo ID, proof of address and a selfie for the identity check. There's no fee to open. Children aged 6 to 17 can have a Young Explorer card through a parent or guardian who uses Wise.

To close the account, first send the full amount of every currency to a bank account outside Wise, and wait for pending transfers and card payments to finish. Then go to Settings, then Actions and Agreements, and choose Close your account.

Consider it if you send money abroad, get paid by clients or family in other currencies, travel and want a card that spends at the mid-market rate, or are moving to or from the UK and need accounts on both sides. Used alongside a bank account, it costs nothing to hold.

Skip it as your only account if you want your everyday balance covered by the FSCS, if you can't afford a payment being held while Wise checks it, or if most of your spending is in pounds at home, where its strengths don't come into play. Heavy cash users and anyone paid mainly by Swift should check the fees above first.