.svg)
Quick comparison of rates & fees
Below are the live fees and rates for Wise and Instarem for various transfer amounts.
It's clear that overall, Instarem is cheaper for major currencies and small amounts, however, once you get into higher amounts or more exotic currencies, Wise clearly becomes the winner.
How does Instarem compare to Wise?
Instarem and Wise are ranked among the top cross-border money transfer providers in the industry.
Both offer exchange rates with zero margins, meaning your transfer is processed at the mid-market rate. In this review, we're considering factors such as transfer speeds, fees, sending and disbursing network coverages, transfer and payout options, and user sentiment for each brand.
About Instarem
About Wise
Which brand has lower fees?
When comparing Instarem vs Wise, Wise has much lower charges for the same transfer payment methods.
If you're looking for the lowest fees, use our simple guide to find the cheapest way to send money abroad.
Wise
Wise's fees depend on the amount you are sending and how you pay. Most transfers will include a 0.35% variable fee plus a fixed fee, which is included in the quote for your transfer.
Here's a table of live rates from Wise for various amounts, assuming you are sending USD abroad.
You can use the dropdown to add or change currencies.
Currency pair | Wise fees | Receive amount |
|---|---|---|
GBP / AUD | £4.02 | $2,044.24 |
GBP / BRL | £9.99 | R$7,144.29 |
GBP / CAD | £4.06 | $1,866.79 |
GBP / COP | £22.07 | $5,151,989.5 |
GBP / DOP | £9.33 | $83,210.93 |
GBP / PHP | £6.66 | ₱77,046.63 |
GBP / USD | £4.67 | $1,352.6 |
Instarem
In general, Instarem will charge you transfer fees based on a percentage of the amount transferred. The percentage changes depending on the market you are transferring to. Some of the transfer corridors are expensive while others are relatively cheaper.
On average, the fees range from 0.25% to 1%.
Here's a table of live rates from Instarem for various amounts, assuming you are sending EUR abroad.
You can use the dropdown to add or change currencies.
Currency pair | Instarem fees | Receive amount |
|---|---|---|
GBP / AUD | £0 | $2,049.2 |
GBP / BRL | £0 | R$7,206.8 |
GBP / CAD | £0 | $1,871.5 |
GBP / COP | £0 | $5,225,856 |
GBP / DOP | £0 | $83,644.3 |
GBP / PHP | £0 | ₱77,429.9 |
GBP / USD | £0 | $1,357.7 |
Which brand offers better exchange rates?
This is almost a tie because neither provider charges an exchange rate markup on currency pairs.
However, Wise offers more currencies and overall lower fees.
At the end of the day, it's a combination of rates and fees that counts. This is why I think Wise still has a slight edge over Instarem.
Learn more about finding the best exchange rates in our simple guide.
Wise
Wise processes their rates at the mid-market rate, which is the exchange rate you would see if you were to look it up on Google. It offers guaranteed rates for up to 48 hours.
This is how much you can expect to receive with Wise based on their exchange rates (at the mid-market rate).
Currency pair | Wise exchange rate | Receive amount |
|---|---|---|
GBP / AUD | 2.0525 | $2,044.24 |
GBP / BRL | 7.2164 | R$7,144.29 |
GBP / CAD | 1.8744 | $1,866.79 |
GBP / COP | 5268.2600 | $5,151,989.5 |
GBP / DOP | 83.9946 | $83,210.93 |
GBP / PHP | 77.5632 | ₱77,046.63 |
GBP / USD | 1.3590 | $1,352.6 |
Instarem
Instarem shows you the conversion rate through its transfer widget and once you commit to a transfer, the rate holds until the transfer is complete and is also at the mid-market rate.
Here's how the Instarem rates compare to Wise.
Currency pair | Instarem exchange rate | Receive amount |
|---|---|---|
GBP / AUD | 2.0492 | $2,049.2 |
GBP / BRL | 7.2068 | R$7,206.8 |
GBP / CAD | 1.8715 | $1,871.5 |
GBP / COP | 5225.8560 | $5,225,856 |
GBP / DOP | 83.6443 | $83,644.3 |
GBP / PHP | 77.4299 | ₱77,429.9 |
GBP / USD | 1.3577 | $1,357.7 |
Which brand covers more locations?
In Instarem vs Wise, Wise has a stronger sending and disbursing network.
Wise
Wise allows you to open an online money transfer account from 200+ countries and territories. However, its disbursing network covers only 59 countries and 50 currencies, as listed on its website.
Instarem
When signing up for an account, Instarem gives the option of choosing from a dropdown list of 38 countries, most of which are from Europe, the Americas, and Asia. If you are based in an African country, you cannot open an account. Its disbursing network covers 29 countries.
Which is faster?
Wise, in general, is one of the fastest money transfer companies, with most transfers delivered in minutes.
Instarem transfers can range from minutes to hours, which gives Wise a slight edge.
If you're looking for the fastest provider, use our simple guide to find the fastest way to send money internationally.
Wise
Wise is not very clear on its website on how long it takes but estimates from its transfer widget show that some transfers are delivered instantly while others take a couple of hours and some take up to 4 days. For instance, if you transfer $1000 to Bangladesh, it takes 4 days. If you pay using a card, it is much faster.
Instarem
Instarem has some of the fastest and easiest transfer services to most of the markets it serves. Within 1 to 2 business days, the recipient gets the money transferred.
Which brand offers more transfer & payment options?
Between Instarem vs Wise, Wise has more transfer payment and payout options, which may be a crucial factor in many people's decision-making.
Wise
Wise allows customers to pay for their transfers using bank transfer, debit card and credit card. For the receiving options, where there was once only the option to transfer-to-bank accounts, there is now the option to transfer to digital wallets in Bangladesh(bKash), Ghana (MTN Mobile Money), Indonesia (DANA, GoPay, and OVO) and the Philippines (PayMaya).
Instarem
Instarem only allows bank transfers as the payment method and deposit into a bank account as the receiving option.
What do users have to say about each brand?
In Wise vs Instarem comparison, Wise is the winner here with more positive reviews overall.
Wise
Wise has a total of 79,830 reviews on Trustpilot; 68,000+ of these award 5 stars.
Below are some of the positive points frequently mentioned:
Faster transfers
Ease of navigating the platform
Affordable for both small and large transfers
Highly secure platform with security measures at the critical stages
Excellent rates
The areas of concern cited by dissatisfied customers included:
Transfer delays on some routes
Bad customer experience relating to the mobile app queries
Higher fees on some routes
Instarem
On Trustpilot, Instarem has 3,976 reviews, 2,400 of which are 5 stars.
The following are some of the positive experiences:
Faster transfers
Best exchange rates
An easy-to-use transfer platform
Helpful customer support
Lower fees
About 9% of the reviewers rated the company as either ‘Poor’ or ‘Bad’ on the following accounts.
Delayed transfers on some routes
Poor customer experience, especially when dealing with refunds
Longer time to evaluate transactions once funds are deposited
What brand offers better ease of use, accessibility & security?
Wise is more accessible due to the website translation capabilities, is licensed in more countries than Instarem and implements lots of security layers.
Wise
Wise has a vibrant customer support function available on phone, chat and email.
In addition, its website supports a total of 12 languages, which are English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Romanian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Italian, Hungarian, French, and Turkish.
Using the Wise app, that is available on both the iOS and Android platforms, you can send money, pay for your transfers, track your transfers, view historical transfers, and do so much more.
The company is licensed and regulated in the following markets Belgium and the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA), and the United States.
The company uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data security, has a two-step authentication system, and is ISO/IEC 27001 compliant for information security.
Instarem
Instarem offers 24/7 customer support through phone, chat, and email. The website is available only in English.
With the InstaReM App available on both Google Play and App Store, you can send money on the go, track your transfers, and view your transaction history.
The provider is licensed in 8 markets (Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, the US, the EU, and Canada) and has robust verification processes to ensure the safety of client funds and information.
For instance, if you sign up for an account, the provider gives you 36 hours to upload documents and verify your account failure to which they close it.
Additional Features
Wise has lots of solutions, both for personal and business, compared to Instarem.
Wise
Wise has several solutions for businesses, these include:
Multi-currency account – This is a free business account allowing you to send and receive payments in multiple currencies
Batch Payments – You can make batch payments to employees, suppliers, or vendors. It can send up to 1,000 payments with a single click
Xero Integration – You can easily sync your business activity with Xero on the Wise platform. This helps in business accounting
Open API Payment Automation – You can automate recurring orders and simplify expense reporting, as well as place standing orders through this solution.
Mastercard Branded Debit Card – This card gives you the convenience of shopping online and offline, and also allows you to withdraw money directly from an ATM
Instarem
Aside from sending money overseas, Instarem offers solutions that enable global expansion of businesses.
Through its payment solution, you can pay employees, freelancers, and associates overseas fast and easy.
The greatest product it has for businesses is the multicurrency payment solution. It targets small businesses that make payments to suppliers, vendors, and service providers in 55+ countries.
With a single payment, Instarem can facilitate multicurrency transfers in local currencies. They also have branded business cards to help you showcase your brand.
Bottom Line - who is better?
Wise has established itself as a go-to cross-border money transfer company with lots of solutions targeted at both individuals and businesses.
Instarem has also quickly taken up the challenge despite it being a recent entrant into the industry. However, looking at all the variables at play, Wise carries the day.
Wise
I suggest using Wise if you need to make:
Domestic Payments - Wise supports domestic payments in both EUR and USD. Instarem only supports international payments
Business Payments - While both Wise and Instarem have business payment solutions, Wise is more invested
Large Transactions - Wise is best for large transactions of up to USD 1 million, GBP 1 million, and EUR 1.2 million in addition to other currencies. Instarem limits vary depending on the market
Disbursing Network Coverage – Wise serves 59 countries compared to Instarem, which supports 29 countries
Instarem
On the other hand, if you need to make small transfers of around $1000 to major currencies, Instarem is also a good option.
.png)
