According to the Payment Services Act, electronic money issuers like Wise have to ensure that Singaporean users’ e-wallets have holding and spending limits applied.
For personal accounts:
You can’t hold more than 5,000 SGD in your account by the end of the day.
This includes all the money you hold across all currencies on your Wise balances and Jars.
Money held in Assets doesn't count towards this allowance.
You can’t transfer more than 30,000 SGD from your Wise Balance in a fixed 12 month window, from April 1 to March 31 of the following year. This includes sending money outside Wise using your Balance and spending money using your Wise debit card.
Spending on your Wise Card, overseas bank transfers, payments to business accounts, and transfers to other Wise accounts count towards the 30,000 SGD limit.
Sending money from your Wise Account to any bank account in Singapore doesn’t count towards the 30,000 SGD limit.
If you have exceeded the 30,000 SGD limit, you will not be able to send or spend until April 1 of the next fixed period.
Money held in Assets doesn't count towards this limit.
For business accounts:
There are no limits to how much you can send, spend, or hold in your Wise account.
How do I know if I’m a Singapore user?
You are a Singapore user if you've registered with a Singaporean address in your Wise account.
How does Wise calculate my holding balance?
If you’re holding money in currencies other than SGD, we use the mid-market rate to convert all your non-SGD Balances to SGD to determine your total balance in SGD.
For example: You have 4,000 SGD and 1,000 USD, and the exchange rate is 1 USD = 1.35 SGD. This means your USD is 1,350 in SGD. So in total, you’re holding 4,000 + 1,350 = 5,350 SGD. As the holding limit is 5,000 SGD, you'll be 350 SGD over your limit.
How do I remain within the holding limit?
You'll need to set up an external account. This is a bank account, where Wise automatically sends your excess funds to, in case your balance exceeds 5,000 SGD. If we need to convert your money to send it out, we will apply our usual fees.
If you don't have an external account set up and you still have excess funds at the end of each day, we’ll have to restrict your account to remain compliant. You won't be able to deposit and receive funds into your account.
How do I set up an external account?
Log in to the Wise website (this won’t work on the app)
Go to Recipients
Add or select the bank account you’d want to mark as your external account
This account can be in another currency besides SGD, as long as it's yours — but it cannot be your own Wise Account.
My account is restricted.
If you weren't able to withdraw your excess funds on time, we'll restrict your Wise account and you won't be able to deposit and receive funds into your account.
If this has happened, please set up your external account so that your excess funds will be automatically transferred out. Alternatively, you may manually transfer the excess funds out by sending out the money from your balance.
Once your excess funds are transferred out, your account restrictions will be lifted.
If you've received any funds from third parties during the period of account restriction, don't worry, you will receive these funds after your account restrictions have been lifted.