The review
Wise started as a way to move money between currencies without a bank taking four percent of it, and that is still what it does best. It quotes the mid-market rate — the one you can look up — and shows its fee as a separate line, which on 25 September 2026 was £3.81 to send £1,000 into euros.
For anyone who actually moves country, though, the reason to start here is duller and more important. Wise lets you update the country on your profile and carry on with the same account, the same balances and the same account details. Revolut requires you to close the account and open a new one in the new country, and will not transfer money between your own two accounts. If you relocate every year or two, that difference costs you more time and trouble than any fee on this page.
Two things to be straight about. Wise is an electronic money institution, not a bank, and it says plainly that its e-money services are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme — your money is held separately from the company’s own, which is not the same as being insured if the company fails. And if you invoice clients directly rather than being paid through a platform like Upwork, that is business use, which their rules do not allow on a personal account; a business account is £50 once.
What works
- Keeps the same account when you change country
- Real mid-market rate, with the fee shown separately
- No monthly fee and no monthly exchange allowance
- Local account details in nine currencies, including US ACH and wire
- Holds more than 40 currencies
What does not
- Not a bank: your balance has no FSCS cover at all
- Only £250 of free cash withdrawals a month, then 2.69%
- A personal account may not receive business payments
- Fined $4.2m by six US states in 2025 over money-laundering controls