Wise Business vs Personal: What’s the difference?

Wise is a Money Services Business (MSB) provider that offers two online money accounts. One for personal and one for business use.

Both accounts offer the ability to send, spend, and receive payments and hold balances in multiple currencies. A major advantage of these accounts is their low, transparent fees for international transfers.

So what’s the difference between Wise Business vs personal?

The Wise Business account adds useful features for managing and organizing business finances. It’s one stress-free account that gives you control and visibility while cutting the cost of doing business overseas.

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What’s the Difference Between Wise Business vs Personal?

Wise has two types of accounts: The Wise account for personal use, and Wise Business.

Both accounts offer an easy, low-cost way to send international transfers and receive payments.

However, there are key differences between them.

The personal Wise account is for people living, working, and traveling abroad. It’s perfect for anyone who needs to send, spend, or receive money internationally. The account can hold over 40+ different currencies, with conversions made at the mid-market exchange rate. Account holders can also get a debit card which can be used to spend in different currencies and 160+ countries.

The Wise Business account is a cost-effective way to send business payments and get paid from abroad in multiple currencies. Conversions also take place at the mid-market exchange rate. This account adds features and tools that are helpful for business use. These make it easier to run your business, organize finances, cut costs, and get paid on time.

Wise Personal vs Business: Quick Comparison

If you’d like to earn 3.92% annual percentage yield (APY)¹ on your USD balance while you expand your business, you can opt-in to our interest feature for Wise Business. When you opt-in to earn interest in your USD balance account, you get the security of up to $250,000 in passthrough FDIC insurance on your USD balance from our Program Bank² (subject to change, certain limitations apply, see Program Agreement to learn more).

Your USD balance will be held with our Program Bank where Wise earns interest. We use a small portion of the interest we earn on these funds to cover our operating expenses and we pass the rest along to you.

The rate we can offer is dependent upon our Program Bank, and we’ll always let you know if there are any rate changes. See our website for more details.

Wise Personal vs Business Fees

Both the Wise and the Wise Business account are free to open in the US. There is no monthly fee for either account.

With the Wise personal account, it’s free to hold 40+ currencies and to receive payments in 8+ currencies. USD wire payments and CAD SWIFT payments cost a fixed fee per payment.

There is a one-off fee to receive a Wise debit card. Two withdrawals per month of up to $100 each are free with this card. Additional withdrawals are charged at a low fee of $1.50 plus 2%.

You can visit the Wise account fees page to see a full breakdown.

The Wise Business account also enables you to hold 40+ currencies in one account for free. However, the benefit of this account is that you also get access to a host of business tools and connections at no extra cost. Most business account providers charge extra subscription fees for these additional tools, but the Wise Business account comes with no monthly fees. You can simply use the business tools you need with no extra costs.

Its also possible to get your own UK, Eurozone, Australian, New Zealand, US account details and more for a small, one-time setup fee. This allows you to have local account numbers in areas where you don't have a local address. Use them to get paid or withdraw international payments from platforms like Amazon for free.

There is a small fixed fee of $4.14 for receiving USD wire payments and a fixed fee for receiving CAD SWIFT payments. This is a big saving compared to the wire transfer fees charged by banks.

You can check the Wise Business fees page for a full breakdown.

Can Wise Be Used for Business?

The Wise Business account is designed for business use. 300,000 business customers already use Wise Business each quarter. Most types of businesses can use Wise Business. This includes:

• Freelancers and sole traders.
• Limited and public companies large or small.
• Partnerships.
• Charities and trusts in certain countries. (Including the UK, EEA countries, Switzerland, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).

Wise Business caters to business needs, with many additional features over the personal account. It’s easier to manage and control money, conduct reconciliations and audits, and produce and manage invoices and payments.

A crucial point for businesses is that you can also receive payments from international customers with ease. You get access to local account details for a simple one-time fee. This means your customers can pay in their local currency - without having to worry about bad exchange rates.

The business account can also cut the costs of doing business overseas, leaving more of your hard-earned profit intact.

You can also read the full article to find out if you can use Wise as a business account.

Can I Change My Wise Account From Business to Personal?

You don’t need to change your Wise Business account to a personal one. You can simply open a personal account alongside your business account.

It is good practice to have separate accounts for personal and business use. Doing so will make business receipts and expenses easier to track, and aid reconciliations and audits.

To open a personal account from your business profile, click on your name in the top right corner of the account screen. In the dropdown, choose “Get a personal account” and follow the instructions to open the account.

If you only want to use the personal account, you can withdraw money from the business account and then close the account. You'll then be left with the Wise personal account.

Try Wise Business: The No-Stress International Business Account

When choosing between Wise Business vs personal, the main question is which one will suit your needs.

If you have a business, then opening a business account to keep your finances separate is good practice. The Wise Business account offers this, and much more.

Whether you need to sync bill payments with QuickBooks, pay several employees at once, or receive payments from overseas. Wise Business is here to make business banking easier.

You won’t find all these features with the Wise personal account.

You can open a Wise Business account easily online - no need to wait in line or book appointments.

Discover Wise Business:
Easy to set up, easy to use 🚀

About the author:
	Panna is an expert in business finance topics for the US, covering topics from invoicing to international expansion. She creates high-quality reviews on business finance tools and products with the aim to help businesses save time and make informed decisions. You can read more useful business articles on her author profile.

1. 3.92% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on USD balances is current as of 12/20/2024 and is subject to change see Program Agreement for details

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

3. 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 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.