£187 billion lost because banks were hiding fees.

Help us make a change

For decades, banks and financial institutions have gotten away with advertising zero fees whilst hiding them in inflated exchange rates. Help us to raise awareness, campaign for transparency, and create a fairer market.

Check how transparent your bank is

Hidden "fees" exposed.

Marked-up FX rates 0 cost transparency Rule-bending

Misleading advertising

How much a transfer really costs is made up of two things – the fees, and the exchange (FX) rate. Banks often intentionally mislead consumers and hide fees in inflated exchange rates. They often advertise “£0 fee” or “free”, while setting their own rates and pocketing the profit. Click the next tab to see where those hidden fees actually go.

Not sharing the facts

Banks have a lot of costs to cover (and they want to make a profit). So they have to charge high fees or inflate the exchange rate to cover those costs. Suppose it makes sense, that's just business. What doesn't make sense is the lack of transparency around what you're actually paying for.

Ignoring guidance

It’s no longer just us calling for change. The World Bank says the lack of transparency in the market is a big contributor to the high remittance prices we're experiencing, the US watchdog is looking into hidden fees and the European Commission introduced a “mark-up rule” for transfers to Ukraine. These attempts can help ban hidden fees, but so far, most banks have found ways to get around this with some small print.

Hidden "fees" exposed.

There's a lot of work to do.*

Moved across borders last year: £2 tln
Paid in hidden fees: £187 bn
Transfers that are transparent: 8%
People understand bank fees: 4%

Help us make a change in 3 easy steps.

Get informed.

Step one

In Europe, a 2020 landmark regulation called the Cross-Border Payments Regulation (CBPR2), should have forced banks to become transparent. But most banks are not playing ball and continue to hide fees in inflated exchange rates. They deliberately give you an exchange rate that’s much worse than the rate you see on Google or the European Central Bank. Does your bank do this too? Tell us.

Check my bank

Spread the word.

Step two

Odds are, someone you know is paying a hidden fee every single time they send money abroad - all because the bank they use isn't being upfront. But knowledge is power, so share this page and spread the message.

Share this link Tweet about it

Sign our petition.

Step three

Want a fairer financial world? Us too. Sign our 'Nothing to Hide' petition to ask businesses, government and civil society to demand an end to the lack of transparency that keeps remittance prices artificially high.

Sign today

Did your IBAN get rejected?

Report IBAN discrimination

IBAN discrimination is when a bank or company doesn’t accept your IBAN because it’s not from the same country in which the bank or company is based. For example, your Spanish gym doesn’t accept your Belgian IBAN on your Wise account. Your provider is breaking the law if they don’t accept your IBAN in Europe. Report your case anonymously so we can stop it from happening again.

Learn more

Invite your friends to try Wise.

Spread the word about transparent fees.

When your friends use Wise, they can be sure there are no hidden fees. In addition, when 3 of your friends make their first transfer of more than £200, you'll receive £50 on us.

Invite friends Learn more about invite programme

*£2 tln and transfers across borders and 4% of people understand bank fees, based on EDC study. £187bn lost and 8% of world payments are transparent, based on Wise analysis, 20th Jan 2023