Remitly vs Wise
Remitly Key Features
- Good customer service
- Thousands of cash pickup locations
Wise Key Features
- Offers low rates
- Well known brand
The main difference between Remitly and Wise is that Remitly’s Express transfers usually take minutes to arrive while Wise takes 2-3 working days to deliver your funds.
When sending money abroad, you have a variety of options available. Online money transfer services such as Wise and Remitly are on hand to give you great exchange rates and fast, secure transfers. With so many options around, however, it can be hard to pick between your options. This Remitly vs Wise comparison runs through the features of both platforms to determine which offers the best service to its users.
At a Glance
- About Remitly and Wise
- Which brand has lower fees?
- Which brand offers better exchange rates?
- Which brand covers more locations?
- Which is faster?
- Which brand offers more transfer & payment options?
- What do users have to say about each brand?
- What brand offers the best ease of use, accessibility & security?
- Additional features
- Case study: Sending a variety of amounts
- Bottom line – who is better?
About Remitly and Wise
Remitly is a cross-border remittance provider founded in 2011 and headquartered in the Greater Seattle Area in the United States. So far, the company has over 3 million customers, and facilitates transfers from 17 countries to over 50 other nations around the world. Depending on the destination, Remitly recipients can have their funds deposited directly into their bank accounts, sent to a cash pickup location, deposited into a mobile wallet, or delivered to their homes.
Wise, formerly Transferwise, is an FCA-approved money transfer service launched in 2011 to help make international transfers affordable, quick, and simple. So far, Wise has served over 8 million customers and processes more than £4 billion in transfers monthly. It is one of the most well-known companies in the money transfers space.
Keep reading, and we’ll look at the details of the services offered by these companies, including the fees charged, exchange rate competitiveness, speed, locations served, and reputation with their customers.
Which brand has lower fees?
Remitly’s transfer fees depend on how much you send and the delivery speed you opt for. For instance, when sending money to the Philippines, you’ll be charged $3.99 for Express instant delivery and no fees for Economy (delivery in 3 to 5 working days). If you send more than $500 and pay using your bank account, you won’t be charged any fees.
Wise has a varied fee structure comprising a fixed fee component and a variable fee component. For instance, sending $200 to the Philippines costs $7.93 – of which $6.80 is a fixed fee and $1.13 is the variable fee.
Remitly wins this round, as it charges low fees across the board and doesn’t apply any variable charges.
Which brand offers better exchange rates?
Remitly adds a margin of between 0.5% to 3.0% above the mid-market exchange rate depending on the currency pair. This means that the amount your transfer ends up costing will depend a lot on which currencies are involved.
Wise converts currencies at the mid-market rate. This means what you see on Google or Reuters is what you get, and is one of the most attractive features of the company’s platform.
Wise is the outright winner thanks to the wholesale exchange rates it offers.
Which brand covers more locations?
With Remitly, users can transfer money from 17 countries. From these locations they can send money to over 50 other countries around the world.
In terms of their reach across the world, Wise comes out on top of Remitly.
Which is faster?
Remitly has two transfer options: Economy and Express. The Economy option is slower, taking 3-5 days to deliver a transfer. Express transfers usually take minutes to arrive.
Wise takes 2-3 working days to deliver your funds. The timing is affected by the recipient’s bank processing speed as well as how you pay for your transfer. Paying for your transfer through the bank takes longer than using a debit or credit card.
Based on the fact that they offer an Express option, Remitly wins this one. However, if you don’t want to pay extra, then Wise will be faster.
Which brand offers more transfer & payment options?
Remitly accepts both bank transfers and card payments. Compared to Wise, it has several extra payout options including cash pickup, bank deposit, mobile wallet, and home delivery.
Customers using the Wise platform can pay for their transfers using their bank accounts, card payments, Android Pay or Apple Pay. Transfer payout is mainly through the bank, but in some countries, it offers direct deposits to mobile wallets.
Remitly outnumbers Wise in terms of payout options, so wins this one.
What do users have to say about each brand?
Positive
Transfers are delivered in minutes
Reliable mobile application
Affordable transfer fees
Negative
Occasional transfer delays of even up to 4 or 5 days
Delays in customer support and ticket resolutions
Positive
Excellent exchange rates
Transparent pricing
Easy to use platform
Negative
Account closure without notice
Occasionally, the provider conducts lengthy checks that may delay delivery times
Wise has many high-quality reviews on Trustpilot (close to 90,000 4 and 5 stars). Also, their review response rate is impressively high, meaning they win this one.
What brand offers the best ease of use, accessibility & security?
Languages
The provider is available in 11 languages: English, French, Spanish, Vietnamese, German, Polish, Romanian, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, and Korean.
Support
Remitly is available 24/7 on chat and phone from 5:00am to 11:00pm Pacific Time (PT).
Mobile Application
The company app is available as a free download on the App Store and Play Store.
Payment options
Remitly transfers can be paid for using bank transfers and card payments.
Security options
The company uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) complete with 256-bit encryption to protect its servers. Also, it has a two-factor authentication system that safeguards access to customer accounts.
Languages
The company platform is available in 12 languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Turkish, Romanian, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, Polish, and Hungarian.
Support
Wise customers can get support through email and telephone.
Mobile Application
The provider app is available as a free download on the App Store and Play Store.
Payment options
The company accepts bank transfers, card payments, Android Pay and Apple Pay.
Security options
Wise uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) and runs regular security scans including External Penetration Tests. Much like Remitly, it also has a 2 Factor Authentication system for enhanced safety.
Wise and Remitly offer excellent security and accessibility, and there is not a way to pick a definitive winner between the two.
Additional features
Wise offers a range of extra features to its customers, including:
Multi-currency account: This account supports over 50 currency wallets which you can easily swap based on your needs.
Debit Mastercard: This card functions like your normal ATM card for making payments and withdrawals.
Regular transfers: To minimise errors every time you make a payment, you can set up a regular transfer on Wise and it will keep on recurring.
Wise is undoubtedly the winner in this category.
Case study: Sending a variety of amounts
Sending $200
If you choose Remitly Express, you’ll be charged an exchange rate margin of 0.42% above the mid-market rate but with Remitly Economy, the margin drops to 0.28% above the mid-market rate. On either of the options, you will be charged a $3.99 fee.
Sending $1,000
Remitly will convert your funds at the same exchange rate-marked up by 0.28% or 0.42% – like the $200 transfer above on both Express and Economy. This will bring the total transfer cost of your transfer inclusive of the $3.99 fee to between $6.79 and $8.19.
Sending $20,000
Remitly doesn’t offer users the ability to make transfers of this size. The maximum available amount is $10,000 a day.
Sending $200
Wise will convert the amount at the mid-market rate, with no margin applied. Depending on the payment method you choose (card payment or bank transfer) you’ll pay between $0.70 and $7.49 and a Wise commission of about $2.30.
Sending $1,000
Wise will again carry out the currency conversion at the mid-market rate but its payment method fees will range between $3.49 and $37.44. The provider commission will increase to $12.40.
Sending $20,000
Customers sending such large amounts will still enjoy Wise’s mid-market rates, however. But it is worth noting that the only transfer payment method allowed is a wire transfer at a fee of $5.34. There is also a commission of $120.38 charged by the provider.
Wise has the best rates and as the amount transferred increases, the fees charged are spread out and gradually become insignificant. Therefore, it emerges the winner.
Bottom line – who is better?
Domestic payments: Remitly doesn’t support domestic payments
Overseas payments: The company supports sending to about 50 countries
Business payments: Remitly only supports personal payments.
Daily spending: The provider doesn’t offer any services like this.
Large transactions: The company cannot support large transfers because of the maximum limits of $10,000 per day and $30,000 per month.
Smaller transactions: Remitly is much more appropriate for small transfers, as it is designed as a remittance provider.
Domestic payments: Wise supports both international and domestic payments within the US.
Overseas payments: The provider has 65 receive countries listed on its website.
Business payments: The company has a special service dedicated to business payments.
Daily spending: Using the Wise debit card, you can withdraw funds from ATMs, spend at local and online stores, and transfer funds from one wallet to another.
Large transactions: Wise is best for these transfers because of its upper limit that stretches up to $1 million.
Smaller transactions: While the provider can be used for smaller transactions, it works best for large transfers.
Wise is our overall winner, taking all of the above into account. It has well-established transfer routes, high transfer limit, and processes all payments at mid-market rates. This ensures you save more when making transfers abroad and gives it an edge over Remitly, which charges low fees but ends up being pricier due to the margins applied.
