Business Bank accounts

Worldfirst vs Wise: Complete Comparison of Features and Fees

Saim Jalees

18.12.25

Read time 6 minutes

With 93% of customers preferring to shop in their local currency¹, it’s increasingly important for small business owners to be able to adapt and offer multiple currencies.

Unfortunately, some traditional banks can add hidden fees to currency exchanges in the form of an exchange rate markup.

That makes a multi-currency account with a provider like Wise or Worldfirst an option worth considering. But which one could be the better option for you?

Read on to find out more in our ultimate comparison of Worldfirst vs Wise Business.

Quick overview

Feature	Worldfirst	Wise Business
Business debit cards 💳	Virtual card you can allowing you to pay in +150 currencies, across +210 countries and territories²	Virtual and physical card allowing you to pay in 40+ currencies in store or online and in 160+ countries
Bulk payment capability 💰	Limited 200 payments at a time³	1,000 payouts in one go via batch transfers
Multi-currency accounts 🌍	Hold 20+ currencies and send payments in 100+ currencies⁴	Hold 40+ currencies in your account and send money to 140+ countries
Marketplace & payment gateway integration 🔗	Payments from 130+ marketplaces⁵	Wise will launch its own payment gateway for ecommerce soon
Accounting software integration 🔢	Integrates with Xero and Netsuite⁶	Integrates with 12 accounting software - Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, FreeAgent, Odoo, QuickFile, Ember, FreshBooks, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 360, ClearBooks, and Bonsai
Customer service 🗣️	Monday to Friday during working hours⁷	24/7 support in English from thousands of business specialists over email, phone or chat
Reputation 🛡️	3.7 Trustpilot score⁸	4.3 Trustpilot score⁹ Wise is strictly regulated and uses the latest security and anti-fraud measures to keep your money safe.
Opening fee 🪙	Free¹⁰	One-time fee of £50 (Advanced plan) or for free (Essentials plan)
Cross-currency payments discounts 💷	Free when over £5000¹¹	Discounted fees for transfers over £20,000
Sending money to other countries 💶	Up to 0.50%¹²	From 0.33% (varies by currency)

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

The Wise account is not a bank account but offers some similar features and your money is safeguarded.

Worldfirst vs Wise Business features

Feature	Worldfirst	Wise
Business debit cards	Worldfirst offers the virtual-only World Card¹³, which enables you to: Pay in +150 currencies Pay across +210 countries and territories Up to 1.2% cashback on business expenses Zero exchange rate fees when spending in 15 major currencies from your Worldfirst account balance .	Wise offers the Wise Business card in both virtual and physical forms. If you are on an Advanced plan*, the card enables you to: Pay in 40+ currencies in store or online Pay in 160+ countries Earn 0.5% cashback on business expenses Expense cards for your team You’ll get the mid-market exchange rate (close to the rate you see on Google) for cross-currency payments
Expense management	Worldfirst offers expense management through virtual currency cards which you can set in line with your company’s structure.	Wise offers employee business debit cards for £3. You can set daily or monthly spending limits for each team member. You can also set different approval rules and manage permissions for each user.
Multi-user access	Worldfirst has a multi-user function which lets you assign roles and permissions based on your needs. This includes: Easily add team members to your account and manage their access Set roles, permissions and approval rules Track every payment with full oversight Use pre-set roles or create your own¹⁴	Wise Business gives you Multi-user Access (MUA) so you can add team members to your account. This lets you share the financial load while giving you peace of mind. With this feature you can: Set card spending limits Create your own approval process Customise access for different team members
Bulk payment capability	200 payments at a time.¹⁵	1,000 payouts in one go via batch transfers. Payments can be processed by uploading a single CSV file and without the need for integrations.
Multi-currency accounts	Worldfirst lets you hold 20+ currencies and send payments in 100+ currencies¹⁶	Wise lets you hold 40+ currencies in your account
Local account details	You can receive payments in 20+ currencies¹⁷	You can receive payments in 40+ currencies and get local account details for 8+ currencies*.
Marketplace & payment gateway integration	Payments from 130+ marketplaces including Amazon, Ebay, Shopify, Etsy, and TikTok shop¹⁸	Wise will launch its own payment gateway for ecommerce soon
Accounting software integration	Worldfirst integrates with Xero and Netsuite. It offers custom APIs for other tools but this is only available for larger businesses¹⁹	Wise integrates with most major accounting software via its App Marketplace. This includes Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, FreeAgent, Odoo, QuickFile, Ember, FreshBooks, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 360, ClearBooks, and Bonsai.
Transfer times	80% of Worldfirst payments arrive on the same day²⁰	74% of transfers now arrive in under 20 seconds*
Customer service	Worldfirst offer customer support, Monday to Friday, via live chat, phone and email²¹	24/7 customer support in English by phone, email or live chat
Reputation	Worldfirst has a Trustpilot score of 3.7 from +3000 reviews²²	Wise has a Trustpilot score of 4.3 from +275,000 reviews²³

*As of Q3, 2025. For further details, read the Wise Q3 2025 Mission Update: Speed

Worldfirst vs Wise Business fees

	World First	Wise Business
Opening fee	Free²⁴	One-time fee of £50 (Advanced plan) or for free (Essentials plan)
International payments	£4 per transaction²⁵	From 0.33% (varies by currency)
Cross-currency payments discounts	Free when over £5000²⁶	Volume discount for over £20,000
Payment to other World/Wise accounts	Free²⁷	Free

***Disclaimer**: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are **not** available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest [pricing information](https://wise.com/gb/pricing/business).

Which one’s better for UK businesses?

As a small business owner looking to expand globally, you want an easy, straight-forward and transparent way to receive and send money internationally.

With mid-market exchange rates and no ongoing fees, Wise Business could be the perfect choice for you if:

You’re a small to medium business or freelancer with some international payment requirements. In contrast, WorldFirst targets bigger businesses.

You want to avoid hidden exchange fees. While WorldFirst doesn’t charge monthly fees, there are more fees per transaction, often at a fixed rate rather than a percentage of the transaction²⁸. In addition, Wise Business allows you to convert currencies from 0.33%, depending on the currency, while WorldFirst can charge up 0.5%²⁹.

Your cross-border activity is relatively light and you mostly need a simple, flexible account to send invoices, pay suppliers, or receive international payments occasionally. In contrast, if you’re taking a lot of international payments, particularly through online marketplaces, WorldFirst could be right for you. However, it’s also worth noting that Wise are developing their own payment gateway.

You value convenience: easy online account setup, integration with accounting tools, and a debit card that works internationally. On the other hand, WorldFirst only integrates seamlessly with two accounting tools³⁰ and only offers virtual debit cards³¹.

You want access to support 24/7 as WorldFirst only offers this during working hours, Monday to Friday³².

The Wise account is not a bank account but offers some similar features and your money is safeguarded.

Scale globally the smarter way with Wise Business

Wise Business allows you to hold balances in 40+ currencies and pay invoices to 140+ countries.

You can also receive payments with account details in currencies.

Whether you are traveling for a project or managing an international team, you can order a Wise Business card for a one-time fee of £7. And Wise also allows you to create professional invoices for free and sync with accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks to automate your bookkeeping.

Be Smart, Get Wise.

Sources:

32 global payment processing industry statistics and trends for 2025 - Airwallex
A business virtual card with global savings - Worldfirst
How do I make multiple payments at once? - Worldfirst
Home - Worldfirst
Marketplaces - Worldfirst
Accounting software - Worldfirst
Contact us - Worldfirst
Worldfirst Reviews - Trustpilot
Wise Reviews - Trustpilot
Pricing - Worldfirst
Pricing - Worldfirst
Pricing - Worldfirst
A business virtual card with global savings - Worldfirst
Manage team accounts - Worldfirst
How do I make multiple payments at once? - Worldfirst
Home - Worldfirst
Collect - Worldfirst
Marketplaces - Worldfirst
Accounting software - Worldfirst
How long do international transfers take to go through – and why? - Worldfirst
Contact us - Worldfirst
Worldfirst Reviews - Trustpilot
Wise Reviews - Trustpilot
Pricing - Worldfirst
Pricing - Worldfirst
Pricing - Worldfirst
Pricing - Worldfirst
Pricing - Worldfirst
Pricing - Worldfirst
Accounting software - Worldfirst
A business virtual card with global savings - Worldfirst
Contact us - Worldfirst

Sources last checked on 18th December 2025

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.