If you are reading this article and are living in Switzerland, France, or anywhere for that matter, you will know how much the bank fees are for transferring money from one person to another. I'm not talking about transfers within the same country (we all use Twint now at any rate).
But my example is concrete. I live in Geneva and my son lives in San Diego. I asked my son if I could Twint him (equivalent for him is Venmo) but we quickly both realized that those services are only aimed at payments within the same country and currency. TWINT was founded in September 2016 as Switzerland's payment app.
When he needed money transferred to his US bank account, I was using bank-to-bank transfers, often swallowing up huge fees and long transfer times. I was so delighted when I used Wise.com (previously TransferWise.com) and saw how fast and inexpensive it was.
For instance: I send CHF 1,000 today and my son will get USD 1,141.43 tomorrow (this is accurate on 06.02.2024). I have only to pay a fee of CHF 5.53! Wise does the rest. Let me compare to what I would pay with my account at PostFinance (see chart below): My son would receive USD 1,107.01 instead (a difference of USD 34.68).
Comparison disclaimer https://wise.com/gb/compare/disclaimer
About Wise.com
Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move money around the world. With the Wise account people and businesses can hold over 50 currencies, move money between countries and spend money abroad. Large companies and banks use Wise technology too; an entirely new cross-border payments network that will one day power money without borders for everyone, everywhere. However you use the platform, Wise is on a mission to make your life easier and save you money.
Co-founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, Wise launched in 2011 under its original name TransferWise. It is one of the world’s fastest growing, profitable technology companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker, WISE.
16 million people and businesses use Wise, which processes over €10 billion in cross-border transactions every month, saving customers over €1.6 billion a year.
How it works
When you’re sending money, enter the amount you want your recipient to get in the calculator. You can send as is or click the padlock icon, to make sure your recipient gets that exact amount.
Pay in the currency of your choice and select which currency you'd like the recipient to receive. I prefer to pay from my bank directly to Wise who then transfers it when the money is received. This is usually all done within 24 hours. You can also pay with a credit card.
When you are logged in to the website, all the transactions you have made over time are listed, the amount you sent in CHF and the amount the recipient received in USD (in my case).
Sign up and benefit from this code
You will be offered a fee-free transfer up to CHF 600 when you sign up with this link: https://wise.com/invite/dic/lisac934 Give it a try!
https://wise.com
Money for here, there and everywhere
One place to manage your money. Save when you send, receive and spend worldwide.
