How to use Wise in the Philippines

Wise launched in the Philippines in May 2024, offering the Wise account and prepaid debit card, as well as easy ways to receive money from others in PHP and other currencies.

Wise is an established financial technology company, with expertise in making it easier, quicker and cheaper to receive remittances from overseas, spend and withdraw at home and abroad, and convert currencies.

If you’re new to the services on offer, this guide on how to use Wise in the Philippines is for you.

Table of contents
What is Wise? Overview of the main benefits How to receive money with Wise How to withdraw funds from Wise to a bank or wallet How to use the Wise card How to set up your Wise account Wise Philippines fees Conclusion Frequently asked questions

What is Wise? An Overview

Wise launched in London back in 2011, and has since grown to serve millions of individual and business customers around the world. Wise offers international account services, options to receive remittances with low or no fees, ways to send money in 40+ currencies, and low cost debit cards for international spending.

Here in the Philippines you can use Wise to:

• Receive payments from others in 8+ currencies with local account details - usually for free
• Hold and exchange 40+ currencies with the mid-market exchange rate and low fees
• Withdraw a Wise balance to a Philippine bank or a wallet like GCash, Maya or GrabPay
• Get a Wise card to make ATM withdrawals, spend online or to tap and pay in stores overseas

No matter what services you use, Wise always offers low, transparent fees, and mid-market exchange rates if currency conversion is needed.

Is Wise safe?

Yes. Wise is trusted globally by over 16 million people and businesses, and offers services in many countries and regions around the world.

In the Philippines, Wise is licensed and regulated by the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas and complies with all local regulations. As an international business, Wise is overseen by many other similar bodies, and must also comply with regulations and requirements globally.

Hold and exchange currencies with Wise

Wise accounts support 40+ currencies for holding and exchange. This means you can receive payments in different currencies and either hold the money in your account or exchange it to the currency you need to spend or withdraw to your bank. Wise currency exchange uses the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Instead, you'll just pay a low conversion fee from 0.33%, which is split out for transparency - making it easy to see what you’re paying in the end.

Receive payments with Wise

Wise accounts offer local and SWIFT account details to get paid from others in a selection of foreign currencies, with low or no fees.

We’ll dig into how to receive money from Wise in more details later - but the good news is that your account will come with everything you need to receive payments in currencies including AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HUF, NZD, SGD, TRY - ideal if you're receiving remittances from loved ones overseas, or getting paid by an overseas employer.

Simply receive the payment in the sender’s currency - SGD for example - and convert it to PHP when you’re ready, to withdraw to your bank or preferred wallet in the Philippines.

Withdraw to your bank or e-wallet

Once you have a balance in Wise you can withdraw to your local bank or preferred e-wallet if you’d like to. Wise supports withdrawals to 8+ popular e-wallets, including GCash, Maya and GrabPay. Just log into your account and select the option to send a payment, and enter your bank or wallet information to start the transaction. If you need to convert currencies to withdraw in PHP you’ll also be able to see the exchange rate and any relevant fee before you confirm.

Get a Wise card to spend and get cash

Use your Wise balance for payments and ATM withdrawals with a Wise card. There’s a one time fee for your card, with no ongoing costs, and some free ATM use monthly before any charges begin. Tap and pay in stores overseas, pay online here and abroad, and make the most of your money no matter what currency you hold in your account.

Learn more about Wise in the Philippines here

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How to receive money with Wise

When you open your Wise account you can also get local account details to receive money from overseas right to your Wise Account. Account details are available in 8+ major currencies, allowing people overseas to pay you easily. There’s no fee to receive most incoming payments, with some exceptions.

Just share these account details with your employers, friends and anyone else sending you money, and they’ll be able to arrange a payment using their preferred local transfer method.

As an alternative you can also share your Wisetag link or email address if you’re being sent money by another Wise user. That means you don’t even need to worry about finding your Wise account details. Just ask the sender to transfer using Wise and your money could be with you in no time.

Example: how to create a currency account in Wise

If you’re wondering how to receive money with Wise, the first step is to open a currency balance. The process is the same for all currencies Wise offers bank details for - if you need to receive GBP, EUR, SGD or AUD for example.

Open a Balance and get your local account details in just a few taps:

1. Go to Home
2. Scroll to the far right and choose Open
3. Select Balance
4. Choose one of the currencies that has account details
5. Once you have the balance opened, click on Receive on the website, or More on the app
6. Select Get account details

Give these account details to the sender to receive your money with no hassle.

How to withdraw funds from Wise to a bank or wallet

So - how to withdraw money from Wise once you have a balance? You can move funds from your Wise account easily to a local bank account or e-wallet including GCash, Maya, GrabPay, Starpay, Bayad Wallet, TayoCash, ShopeePay, and JuanCash.

Here’s how to withdraw funds from Wise to a PHP bank account or e-wallet:

1. Select the Balance you want to move funds from
2. Click Send (look for the arrow icon)
3. Enter the amount and currency you want to withdraw
4. If you’re converting your balance to another currency in order to withdraw it, you’ll instantly see the exchange rate and fee that’ll apply to the withdrawal, and how much you’ll get in the end
5. Add the details of the account or e-wallet you want to move your money to.

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How to use the Wise card: Payments and Withdrawals

You can get a Wise card for a one time charge, with no ongoing costs. You’ll be able to use your Wise card to spend online in the Philippines and abroad, or to pay in stores when you travel. You can also use your Wise card to make ATM withdrawals in the Philippines in local ATM machines including:

• BDO Unibank
• Bank of the Philippine Islands
• Euronet
• EastWest Bank
• Metrobank

There's a maximum limit of 490,000 PHP per card transaction.

How to set up your Wise account in the Philippines

Set up your Wise account easily in just a few steps:

1. Download the Wise app or open the desktop site and tap Register
2. Enter your email address and phone number
3. Verify your phone number using the one time code you’re sent
4. Confirm you want a personal Wise account
5. Add your personal information following the prompts
6. Open the currency balance you want to receive - PHP or USD for example
7. Top up 700 PHP - you can spend this later
8. Complete the verification step when prompted

How to verify a Wise account Philippines

To get verified you’ll simply need to upload photos of your ID and a selfie.

If your nationality is Filipino, you might choose to use:

• Philippines National ID (PhilID)
• Passport
• Driving licence
• Postal ID
• UMID

If your nationality is not Filipino, you can apply with your foreign passport. You may also be prompted to add a proof of address or source of wealth document.

If you have any questions you can check out Wise’s help centre or open an in app chat to get help from the Wise support team.

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Wise Philippines fees

Let’s walk through the key fees you should know about before you use Wise in the Philippines.

Service	Wise Philippines fee
Open a Wise account	Free
Hold 40+ currencies	Free
Convert between currencies	From 0.33%
Receive payments	Free to receive 8+ currencies with local account details, except international and domestic USD wire transfers (if you have an existing USD account) 10 CAD to receive CAD by SWIFT
Order a Wise debit card	369.6 PHP
Withdraw at an ATM	2 withdrawals per month, the the value of 12,000 PHP free After that, fees of 30 PHP + 1% apply

Conclusion

Wise offers customers in the Philippines ways to get paid by others conveniently - and usually free. You can also hold and exchange currencies in your account, spend overseas or online with a Wise card, and get cash from ATMs when you need it. Finally if you have a Wise balance you could choose to withdraw it to your bank account or your favourite e-wallet to spend easily here.

Wise accounts are flexible, easy to use - and cheap, even when receiving payments or spending in several different currencies.

Check out the Wise account today and see if you can make it easier than ever to manage your money across currencies.

Sign up for Wise today

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Frequently asked questions

Wise Customer Service

If you ever need help with your Wise account you can always reach out for help. The easiest way to connect with the Wise customer service team is to log into your account and open an in app chat. This will allow a member of the team to give you individual advice about your issue.

You can also get loads of helpful hints and answers to the most frequently asked questions, in the Wise help centre which are available online and in app.

How to know if a Wise account is verified

You won’t be able to use your Wise account until it has been verified. Usually the process is quick and you’ll see an on screen notification after you’ve uploaded your documents and your selfie. If you have any issues or questions, reach out to the Wise support team by opening an in app chat.