Personal Finance

Is Wise FDIC insured?

Alexis Konovodoff

26.11.24

Read time 3 minutes

Wise is a Money Services Business, not a bank. This means Wise is not an FDIC-insured bank and deposit insurance only covers the failure of an insured bank.

If you're considering using Wise or already have an account, you might be wondering if Wise is FDIC-insured and how your money is protected. Here are the most important things to know.

Are funds held at Wise FDIC Insured?

For our Wise interest feature — a feature of our Wise Account — we've established relationships with an FDIC-insured Program Bank* to offer FDIC pass-through insurance. This feature is available for eligible customers** that have opted in to receive the benefit and applicable only to Eligible Balances*.

Customers who do not opt in to receive the Wise interest feature on eligible balances* do not receive the pass-through FDIC insurance benefit for funds held at Wise.

Learn more about
Wise Interest

What is FDIC pass-through insurance?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a US government agency that protects customers' money at banks. When a bank is FDIC insured, your money is protected up to 250,000 USD per depositor if something happens to the bank.

This FDIC insurance works in two different ways.

Direct insurance applies when you have an account with a bank that's FDIC-insured. The protection comes straight from that bank's FDIC coverage.

Pass-through insurance applies when you have money with a non-bank financial service company (like Wise) that places those funds in FDIC-insured banks. The FDIC protection "passes through" from the bank to you, the customer.

Additional information on FDIC insurance can be found at https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance.

How does FDIC pass-through insurance work through Wise?

While Wise is not a bank, we've developed relationships with trusted FDIC-insured banks. Through these partnerships, Wise offers FDIC pass-through insurance on the funds held in interest-bearing accounts.

This means if you have opted in to earn interest with the Wise interest feature, your eligible balances are protected up to $250,000 in pass-through FDIC insurance from Wise’s Program Bank* — subject to change, certain limitations apply, see Program Agreement to learn more.

What is the Wise interest feature?

If you're an eligible** US customer with Wise (both personal and business accounts), you can earn interest on the US dollars in your account while still enjoying all the benefits of managing multiple currencies. The interest feature is available for USD balances specifically.

When you keep money with Wise, we place those funds with established FDIC-insured banks. These banks pay interest on those deposits.

For customers who opt into our interest feature, we take the interest earned from our partner banks, use a small portion to cover our costs and pass the rest to you.

The interest you earn each month is automatically added to your USD balance the following month. As of November 2024, you can earn 4.44% APY on your USD balance.***

Your funds also automatically receive FDIC pass-through insurance for up to 250,000 USD through our Program Bank.*

To be eligible for the interest feature, you need to:

Be a US-based customer

Have a US-based profile address

Have a verified SSN/EIN so Wise can report your taxes correctly

Live outside of New York or Alaska (where this feature isn't currently available)

** Feature not available to residents of New York or Alaska at this time. Please see the eligibility criteria.

How can you opt into the Wise interest feature?

Here's how to get started with Wise interest:

Log into your Wise account online or in-app

Tap your USD currency balance and select Balance information

Tap the option to earn interest

Follow the prompts to add any additional tax information required

Once approved, you can start to receive an annual percentage yield (APY) on your USD balance straight away, with monthly payouts on the previous month's held balance. Your earnings will be deposited into your USD balance at the beginning of each month.

It's natural to wonder, "Is Wise safe to keep money?"

With Wise, you can move your money where it matters with confidence and, if eligible, enjoy competitive interest rates on your USD balance.

Get started

*The current Program Bank is JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., see Appendix 1 of the Program Agreement for the most updated list of Program Bank(s). Eligible customers must opt in to the interest feature. Participants will have the balance of their USD funds held in their Wise Account “swept” into a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insured interest-bearing account at one or more participating banks (each, a “Program Bank”) that will hold and pay interest on the deposit funds. For more information on FDIC insurance coverage, please visit www.FDIC.gov. Customers are responsible for monitoring their total assets at each of the Program Bank(s) to determine the extent of available FDIC insurance coverage in accordance with FDIC rules. The Program is not intended to be a long-term investment option, checking or savings account, investment contract or security.

For customers opted in to receive interest on EUR and GBP balances, the FDIC passthrough insurance provided by our program bank is for up to the equivalent of $250,000 in total for your USD, EUR and GBP combined balance amounts (collectively, the “Eligible Balances”).

***Annual Percentage Yield (APY) - rates shown are true as of 10/28/2024. See Program Agreement for details.

*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.