Currensea vs. Wise (UK): everything you need to know

If you travel a lot outside the UK, you’ll need a way to spend and withdraw cash in all the countries you visit - without paying hefty fees. Luckily, there are a few solutions out there for UK travellers, including specialist international debit cards and money transfer services.

In this guide, we’ll be pitting two popular UK-based solutions against each other - Currensea and Wise.

Travel debit card specialist Currensea is a relative newcomer to the fintech world, having launched in 2018. Global money transfer service Wise has been around since 2011, and offers personal and business accounts, travel cards and money transfer services.

But which is the best option for you? Read on for Currensea vs. Wise, a full comparison of fees, exchange rates, supported currencies, money transfers, travel cards and more.

In this article
Currensea vs. Wise: An overview Currensea vs. Wise - Accounts Does Currensea have subscription fees? Wise vs. Currensea - Money transfer Transfer fees Exchange rates Large transfers Quick comparison - fees Currencies Wise vs. Currensea: Transfer times Currensea vs. Wise - Cards ATM withdrawals and limits Currensea vs. Wise - Security So which is best for you - Wise or Currensea?

Currensea vs. Wise: An overview

Let’s start with a quick overview of Wise vs. Currensea, on all the main features, fees and comparison points that matter to you.

Feature	Currensea	Wise
Accounts	No accounts available - Currensea is linked to your bank account	Personal accounts Business accounts
Subscription fees	£0 to £120 a year1	None
Money transfer fees	0.5% flat fee2	From 0.33%*
Exchange rates	0.5% FX fee for free plan 0% for paid plans1	Mid-market exchange rate, with no mark-ups
Large transfers	Send up to £20,0002	Send unlimited sums with a dedicated secure large transfers service
Supported currencies	Spend in 180+ currencies1 Send in 4 currencies2	Manage money in 40+ currencies Spend in 150+ currencies with Wise card
Transfer times	Next working day2	Some transfers arrive in seconds, max. 2 working days
Debit card	Free delivery No subscription fees	One-time fee of £7 Free delivery Digital card available No subscription fees
ATM withdrawals	0.5% FX rate on withdrawals (on free plan) 2% rate applies over £500 per month1	Fee-free withdrawals up to £200 a month 1.75% + £0.50 above that
Security	Bank-level data security	24/7 anti-fraud team 2FA account protection

Currensea vs. Wise - Accounts

Currensea doesn’t offer an account, as it works by connecting to your bank account. In effect, it acts as a layer in front of your bank account, which is why you can use Currensea to send international transfers even though you don’t actually have a personal account with the company.

Your Currensea card will also be linked to your bank balance, so you don’t need to pre-load it with funds before spending.

Plus, there’s a Currensea app so you can track transactions and manage your card.

Wise, on the other hand, offers multi-currency online accounts for both personal and business customers.

With a personal Wise account, you can hold 40+ currencies all in one place, view and convert between different currency balances, send and track transfers, receive money from overseas and manage your Wise card. You can do all of this online, or on the move with the Wise app.

There’s also a relatively new feature called Wise Interest, which lets you earn returns on balances held in GBP, EUR or USD currencies. Your money is invested in a fund that holds government-guaranteed assets, but you can access it at any time. Capital at risk.

Capital at risk. Growth not guaranteed. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with registration number 839689. When facilitating access to Wise investment products, Wise Payments Ltd acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Wise Assets UK Ltd. Please be aware that we do not offer investment advice, and you may be liable for taxes on any earnings. If you’re uncertain, we urge you to seek professional advice. To find out more about the Funds, visit our website.

Does Currensea have subscription fees?

While Wise has no account opening or ongoing subscription fees, Currensea does have some paid plans.

There’s a free Essential plan, but if you want more features and limits (and fewer per-transaction and FX fees), you can upgrade to one of the following plans:¹

• Premium - £25 a year
• Elite - £120 a year.

These paid plans also come with various travel perks, offering cashback and discounts on things like hotel bookings and car hire.

Wise vs. Currensea - Money transfer

Both Wise and Currensea offer money transfer services.

With Wise, you can send money worldwide using your online account. You can tap in the details of your transfer to see fees, exchange rates and transfer times upfront, and confirm the transaction in just a few clicks. All transfers are trackable, both online and in the Wise app.

Currensea works a little differently. You won’t be sending from your Currensea account (as the provider doesn’t offer accounts) but from your bank account, via Currensea.² The main benefit of this is that you don’t need to pay bank fees, although of course Currensea has its own fees.

Using the Currensea app, you can set up and send your transfer. At the moment, you can only send transfers in four major currencies - euros, US dollars, Polish zloty and Hungarian forints.²

Transfer fees

Now, how much do both providers charge for international transfers?

With Wise, fees vary by currency and the payment method you choose (i.e. bank transfer, debit or credit card). They start from 0.33%* and you’ll always see the fee upfront, before you send.

In comparison, Currensea charges a flat fee of 0.5% for all transfers.²

Read our review about money transfers with Currensea.

Exchange rates

Alongside the upfront transfer fee, it’s always sensible to check what exchange rate you’ll get when sending money overseas. A poor rate can really eat into your funds, making the transfer more expensive for you.

Wise keeps it pretty simple when it comes to the exchange rates used for converting currency. It’s always the mid-market rate, with no margin or mark-up on top.

The Currensea exchange rate varies depending on what plan you have. For free Essential plan holders, there’s a FX fee of 0.5% on the mid-market exchange rate. For paid plans, it’s 0%.¹

Large transfers

If you need to send a large sum overseas for a large purchase (for example, buying property or a car in another country), you’ll need to know you can do it securely - and what limits are involved.

Currensea has a transfer limit of £20,000 per transfer,² while Wise offers virtually unlimited secure transfers with the help of a dedicated large transfer team.

Make your large transfer

Quick comparison - fees

To help you get an idea of how fees and exchange rates contribute to the cost of your transfer, let’s do a quick example.

Imagine you want to send £2,000 from the UK to France, to cover your first month’s rent and deposit on an apartment there. Here’s how much it’ll cost with both Currensea and Wise:

Provider	Transfer fee	Exchange rate	Recipient receives
Currensea (free Essential plan)	£10 (0.5% of send amount)	1.20583	€2,411.6 EUR
Wise4	£7.17	1.21209 - mid-market rate	€2,415.49 EUR

Rates correct at time of writing 11-Dec-2024

An important thing to note here is that Wise takes its fee from the money you send, while Currensea may add it on afterwards. This may mean that the ‘recipient receives’ total shown above may be less, as you need to factor in the fee you have to pay at the end.

Currencies

Currensea supports an impressive 180+ currencies for spending on its card,¹ but only 4 major currencies (EUR, USD, HUF and PLN) for money transfers.²

With Wise, you can do everything - send, spend, receive and convert - with 40+ currencies.

Wise vs. Currensea: Transfer times

Need to send money in a hurry? You’ll need to know about transfer times with each provider.

Currensea says that its money transfers should arrive in the recipient’s account the next working day, as long as you send by 9pm UK time.² This only applies on weekdays. If you miss the cut-off time, it’ll take another working day for your money to arrive.

If you send at the weekend, your recipient will get the money the following Tuesday.²

With Wise, the transfer time varies depending on where you’re sending to, as well as your payment method. Some transfers take seconds or a few hours, while others can take up to 2 working days.

Currensea vs. Wise - Cards

One of Currensea’s main selling points is its travel card. It’s free to get, with free delivery and no subscription fees (although there are paid plans available, as we looked at earlier).

You can use your Currensea Mastercard debit card to spend and withdraw cash in 180 currencies worldwide.¹ It’s a physical card, linked to your UK bank account balance.

The Wise card is available with Wise accounts for a one-time fee of just £7, with no delivery or subscription fees.

It lets you spend worldwide, and has the benefit of always giving you the mid-market exchange rate. There are also digital Wise cards available too.

Your Wise card awaits 💳

ATM withdrawals and limits

Currensea cards can be used to withdraw a maximum of £1,500 a month from international ATMs⁵, but they can’t be used at UK ATMs.

Here are the fees, based on what plan you have:¹

• Essential (free) plan - 0.5% FX rate, goes up to 2% on withdrawals over £500 per month
• Premium plan - Free up to £500 per month, 1% on withdrawals over this
• Elite plan - Free up to £750 per month, 1% on withdrawals over this.

Wise cards have a maximum withdrawal limit of £4,000 a month. They’re fee-free on a maximum of 2 withdrawals up to £200 a month (although you’ll need to watch out for ATM operator fees). Above this, you’ll pay 1.75% + £0.50 per transaction. And, they can be used in the UK and abroad.

Currensea vs. Wise - Security

Last but by no means least, we come to security.

Currensea doesn’t offer a lot of information about its security measures, but it does say that it:⁶

“…offers the same level of security that your bank does when it comes to protecting your information.”

Wise also takes security seriously, offering features such as a dedicated anti-fraud team, 24/7 monitoring for suspicious transactions and two-factor authentication (2FA) to safeguard account access. It also verifies the identity of everyone who signs up for an account.

So which is best for you - Wise or Currensea?

The right solution for you all depends on what you’re looking for.

If you just want a travel card, Currensea is a great option as it can be used all over the world. However, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan to get the best exchange rates and lower fees.

You can of course send money with Currensea, but you can’t receive international payments or exchange between currencies as the provider doesn’t offer any accounts.

So if you want the best of both worlds, Wise could be a good alternative. It not only offers an international debit card which guarantees you the mid-market exchange rate and low fees*, but you can also open an account to send worldwide transfers for less.

Crucially, you can also use your account to receive money from overseas - and for free in a number of major currencies.

There are no subscription fees or paid plans to worry about with Wise, and all other fees are completely transparent.

So if you like the idea of having a multi-currency account - Wise could be perfect for you.

Join Wise now 🌍

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Sources used:

1. Currensea - Currensea pricing
2. Currensea - How money transfer with Currensea works
3. Currensea - Currensea's live exchange rates
4. Wise - Wise live exchange rates
5. Currensea - Currensea cash withdrawal limits
6. Currensea - Currensea security

Sources last checked on date: 10-Dec-2024