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Wise (Transferwise) — Money Transfers Without Borders
When transferring money abroad, many of us face high fees, hidden charges, and complicated procedures. This can take a lot of time and become a real test of our patience. But what if there were a way to send money to other countries with low fees and a simple interface? Wise is precisely that solution. The service lets you send money to more than 160 countries with substantial savings on fees compared to bank transfers. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about Wise and guide you on how to transfer money to Ukraine using the platform.
About Wise.
Wise (formerly known as TransferWise) is an innovative fintech project launched in 2011. The company's operations in the United Kingdom, where its headquarters are located, are supervised by the FCA and HMRC; in Australia, by ASIC and AUSTRAC; and in the US, by FinCEN. This confirms Wise's status as a reliable and legitimate financial service provider.
For the financial year ended March 31, 2026, Wise reported 18.9 million active customers and an annual cross-border volume of $243.5 billion. Wise supports transfers in over 40 currencies to more than 160 countries; the availability of a specific route depends on the sending country.
Wise financial results for 2023. Source — WISE 2023 Annual Report and Accounts
Key Features of Wise.
Services for Individuals
The main advantage of Wise is that the platform allows you to make low-cost international transfers and convert currencies at the mid-market exchange rate rather than bank rates. To do this, Wise uses peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and accounts in different countries.
Other notable Wise services include:
The ability to open a multi-currency account that lets you hold 40 currencies and provides instant exchange at the current market rate. This is ideal for international workers, freelancers with earnings in multiple currencies, and travelers.
The Wise debit card, which gives you the ability to spend funds in any available currency directly from your multi-currency account, avoiding currency conversion fees and keeping costs low.
The Wise mobile app, which simplifies financial management and lets you send transfers across the globe, ensuring convenient and fast transactions.
Services for Businesses
Wise also allows you to create a business account, already used by more than 300,000 companies worldwide. Here is what it provides:
Affordable and fast international transfers.
A multi-currency account that lets you hold funds in various currencies and convert them at the current market rate.
Local account details in different countries, which can be used to receive payments from clients or partners in those countries.
Integration with popular accounting software such as Xero and QuickBooks.
Batch payments from a single account to multiple accounts across different countries.
Corporate debit cards with spending limits.
How Wise Sends Money.
When you send money through Wise, it is not transferred directly to the recipient as in a standard P2P transaction. Instead, Wise makes two separate payments: one from you to their account in your country, and another from their account in the recipient's country to the recipient. It is similar to giving money to your friend, while Wise gives an equivalent amount to their friend in another country. This approach avoids costly and slow currency conversion through banks, making transfers faster and cheaper.
Here is how it works with a simple example:
Sending Money:
Imagine you are in Poland and want to send money to Ukraine. You start a transfer via Wise, specifying the amount in Polish zloty (PLN) that you want to send to Ukraine.
Currency Conversion:
Wise takes your zloty and converts it to Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) at the real exchange rate, showing you the exact amount the recipient will get and the transfer fee.
Receiving Money:
Next, instead of sending your zloty to Ukraine the way banks do, Wise first transfers your funds to its bank account in Poland, and then uses its account in Ukraine to transfer money from it to the recipient.
Sign up for Wise
Transfers to Ukraine.
Based on rates from the 2024 review: first, it is worth noting that since August 12, 2022, Wise no longer allows Ukrainians to open new currency accounts and digital cards. In addition, Ukrainian citizens are restricted from sending money from hryvnia accounts to foreign bank accounts (a National Bank of Ukraine requirement). However, no one prohibits using Wise to transfer money to Ukraine.
Here is how you can do it with Wise:
Standard Offer:
For a Wise hryvnia transfer, use the IBAN of a Ukrainian account. For PrivatBank, a limit of 399,999 UAH per transfer and per month is specified; for other banks, it is 29,999 UAH per transfer. After the money is received and converted, crediting usually occurs on the same business day; conversion can take up to two business days. You can check rates and fees using the calculator.
Transfer to a Bank Card:
Do not rely on the old description of Wise transfers using only a card number without a service fee: use a supported IBAN and the cost estimate in Wise.
SWIFT Transfer:
Hryvnia transfer limits cannot be applied to SWIFT. The availability of a foreign-currency SWIFT transfer, fees, and delivery time must be verified separately for the currency and recipient details.
Peer-to-peer Wise transfers are not yet available for Ukraine.
Fees and Limits.
The transfer fee depends on the amount sent, the currency the recipient will receive, and the payment method. Based on rates from the 2024 review: for example, the fee for sending £100 from the UK to Ukraine (to a hryvnia card) ranges from £0.58 for a bank account transfer to £1 for a card-to-card transfer. Based on rates from the 2024 review: if sending, for instance, $1,000 from the US to Mexico (recipient receives Mexican pesos), the transfer cost varies from $10.33 for a peer-to-peer Wise transfer to $54.25 for a credit-card-to-card transfer.
Conclusion.
Wise is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a simple and fast way to transfer money abroad. The service uses an innovative peer-to-peer transfer model that avoids expensive bank fees and unfavorable exchange rates. In addition, Wise offers plenty of useful features for individuals and businesses, such as a multi-currency account, debit card, and integration with accounting systems, making it an ideal solution for personal and corporate needs alike.