Wise debit card

[neils2004]

Hi,
Has anyone had experience using a Wise debit card internationally ?
Thinking of obtaining one for use in Europe and the UK.

 

[Pete98765432]

So au card in Google Wallet might work at UK petrol stations but not at US "gas" stations?

Assuming Google Wallet works like Apple Wallet, the authentication is done on the device so should work wherever available.

 

[kevrosmith]

How does it work with Virtual cards when a CVV is needed on a payment portal?

 

[DejaBrew]

How does it work with Virtual cards when a CVV is needed on a payment portal?

You can view the card details via the app to see the security code (CVV).

 

[kevrosmith]

Ah right. I was looking through the version on Wallet on iPhone.

 

[albatross710]

While I have an ING Everyday Orange and NAB Visa Debit (grandfathered from Citibank Debit)

ING have entered the maximising profit from those that don't realise how uncompetitive they have become stage. Citibank Visa Debit was good, then they introduced the fees and now with the move to NAB it also needs to go. My trip next week will be the first trip since 2010 when neither ING or Citi are a part of the travel kit.

My current coughnal:

Macquarie bank - cash withdrawals
Wise - card spends, card purchases and virtual cards.
ME Bank - no spend just hotel holding deposits

I do want to do a set of like for like cash withdrawals to fully understand the various fees, 3%, 1.75% etc between Macq and Wise.

 

[asterix]

ING have entered the maximising profit from those that don't realise how uncompetitive they have become stage. Citibank Visa Debit was good, then they introduced the fees and now with the move to NAB it also needs to go. My trip next week will be the first trip since 2010 when neither ING or Citi are a part of the travel kit.

My current coughnal:

Macquarie bank - cash withdrawals
Wise - card spends, card purchases and virtual cards.
ME Bank - no spend just hotel holding deposits

I do want to do a set of like for like cash withdrawals to fully understand the various fees, 3%, 1.75% etc between Macq and Wise.

Macquarie and Up both use the Mastercard rate for the day available at https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html.

 

[SYD]

ING have entered the maximising profit from those that don't realise how uncompetitive they have become stage. Citibank Visa Debit was good, then they introduced the fees and now with the move to NAB it also needs to go. My trip next week will be the first trip since 2010 when neither ING or Citi are a part of the travel kit.

My current coughnal:

Macquarie bank - cash withdrawals
Wise - card spends, card purchases and virtual cards.
ME Bank - no spend just hotel holding deposits

I do want to do a set of like for like cash withdrawals to fully understand the various fees, 3%, 1.75% etc between Macq and Wise.

I suspect there won’t be much in it between MacBank and Wise for purchases and cash withdrawals. But at least with MacBank, your money is earning interest for you. Park a chunk in Wise and they’re earning interest on your money, on top of their fees.

I’m also pondering the merit of maintaining ING. The hoops and jumps aren’t onerous but MacBank doesn’t have any. My other travel and high interest friend, UBank has increased their min monthly deposit to $500. Again, not onerous but used to $200 a month ago.

 

[anat0l]

I suspect there won’t be much in it between MacBank and Wise for purchases and cash withdrawals. But at least with MacBank, your money is earning interest for you. Park a chunk in Wise and they’re earning interest on your money, on top of their fees.

I’m also pondering the merit of maintaining ING. The hoops and jumps aren’t onerous but MacBank doesn’t have any. My other travel and high interest friend, UBank has increased their min monthly deposit to $500. Again, not onerous but used to $200 a month ago.

I'm actually contemplating UBank and trying to sell the idea to Mum, as she has quite some funds but in accounts that don't earn as much interest.

A mere $500 is no big deal; the current conditions don't seem to imply that the balance needs to increase (unlike ING). So you could transfer in $500 then immediately withdraw it (or more)?

Although it might be wiser to open another account, at least in UBank, the balance over $100k up to $250k earns some respectable interest, cf ING it's a bare minimum.

 

[SYD]

I'm actually contemplating UBank and trying to sell the idea to Mum, as she has quite some funds but in accounts that don't earn as much interest.

A mere $500 is no big deal; the current conditions don't seem to imply that the balance needs to increase (unlike ING). So you could transfer in $500 then immediately withdraw it (or more)?

Although it might be wiser to open another account, at least in UBank, the balance over $100k up to $250k earns some respectable interest, cf ING it's a bare minimum.

Yes, UBank is quite decent. Slightly less interest (0.25%) than ING but less hassle. If you have at least one regular monthly deposit, then $500 is easy. And yes, you can take that $500 straight out again.

SYD+1 has opened a MacBank bundle (we’re both existing customers via Super accounts). Mac has a good promo interest but drops below UBank and ING after that BUT you earn some interest on the cash in the transaction account.

 

[clifford]

Yes, UBank is quite decent. Slightly less interest (0.25%) than ING but less hassle. If you have at least one regular monthly deposit, then $500 is easy. And yes, you can take that $500 straight out again.

SYD+1 has opened a MacBank bundle (we’re both existing customers via Super accounts). Mac has a good promo interest but drops below UBank and ING after that BUT you earn some interest on the cash in the transaction account.

Yes, Ubank is pretty good in the overall scheme of things. My wife and I have had Ubank accounts for quite a while and have also had accounts with AMP Bank, which were quite competitive.

Now that AMP have completely screwed up their Savings accounts, we've moved more of our funds to Ubank. Let's hope they don't go rogue too.

 

[SYD]

Yes, Ubank is pretty good in the overall scheme of things. My wife and I have had Ubank accounts for quite a while and have also had accounts with AMP Bank, which were quite competitive.

Now that AMP have completely screwed up their Savings accounts, we've moved more of our funds to Ubank. Let's hope they don't go rogue too.

I think I’ve said it here or another thread, a UBank debit card and 28° MC (even with $9 pm fee - less $10 credit when the monthly spend is met) are a good combo for the regular OS traveller.

Wise for virtual cards is probably great for online shopping but I still can’t see how it would fit into my OS traveller spend.

 

[clifford]

I think I’ve said it here or another thread, a UBank debit card and 28° MC (even with $9 pm fee - less $10 credit when the monthly spend is met) are a good combo for the regular OS traveller.

Wise for virtual cards is probably great for online shopping but I still can’t see how it would fit into my OS traveller spend.

I'm also happy to have BankWest credit and debit cards. I can make them work well too.

 

[Pushka]

I'm topping up ING for Japan next month, have Wise with Yen and Lattutude for credit. Am I done?

 

[SYD]

I'm topping up ING for Japan next month, have Wise with Yen and Lattutude for credit. Am I done?

What do you mean “topping up ING”? Putting cash in and doing hoops and jumps?

 

[Pushka]

What do you mean “topping up ING”? Putting cash in and doing hoops and jumps?

Yep.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

ING have entered the maximising profit from those that don't realise how uncompetitive they have become stage. Citibank Visa Debit was good, then they introduced the fees and now with the move to NAB it also needs to go. My trip next week will be the first trip since 2010 when neither ING or Citi are a part of the travel kit.

My current coughnal:

Macquarie bank - cash withdrawals
Wise - card spends, card purchases and virtual cards.
ME Bank - no spend just hotel holding deposits

I do want to do a set of like for like cash withdrawals to fully understand the various fees, 3%, 1.75% etc between Macq and Wise.

I’m wondering what fee you are referring to with the NAB (ex-Citi).

Recently used NAB (ex Citi), uBank and Macq side-by-side and all came up with Visa (for the former 2) and Mastercard published rates.

So these would be my package of ATM withdrawals. Wise is poor for cash intensive countries but it’s great for receiving in foreign currency buckets and purchases

 

[anat0l]

I'm topping up ING for Japan next month, have Wise with Yen and Lattutude for credit. Am I done?

I'd say you'll be just fine. Do keep in mind though that you'll only get 5 international transactions / ATM withdrawals with ING for free per calendar month. Combined with the rather standard withdrawal fees charged by Japanese ATMs (including 7-Eleven), be sagacious with cash withdrawals. (That said, a surprising, increasing number of places in Japan accept credit card, even contactless)

 

[SYD]

I'd say you'll be just fine. Do keep in mind though that you'll only get 5 international transactions / ATM withdrawals with ING for free per calendar month. Combined with the rather standard withdrawal fees charged by Japanese ATMs (including 7-Eleven), be sagacious with cash withdrawals. (That said, a surprising, increasing number of places in Japan accept credit card, even contactless)

Just to clarify, it’s a max of five (5) ING imposed $5 ATM fees rebated per month.

There’s no cap on using ING as a debit card. ie all forex are rebated when using ING for every day spend (assuming you met the hoops and jumps in the previous month).

 

[albatross710]

Wise for virtual cards is probably great for online shopping but I still can’t see how it would fit into my OS traveller spend.

a) Wise will neatly list your spend in the currency you transacting. I find that convenient to walk out of a shop and see 390THB transacted rather than checking that against a displayed AUD conversion

b) Virtual cards are also useful for registering to all those overseas signups we do when traveling. Los Angeles Buses, Shinkansen tickets, Grab taxis. As soon as you delete that virtual card they are blocked.

c) I have some business income received in USD. I can convert that in the company Wise account and then pay myself in JPY for example. Saves fees bringing it into AUD to then spend more fees converting it for my LPY travels. Maybe that only appears to owner operators.

d) I have USD subscriptions. Having the USD Wise account means they are always the same amount each month. If they were coming straight through to an AUD account they vary each month. I can easily automate the USD20 transactions whereas $29.63 one month, $28.73 next month etc needs my intervention.

 

[clifford]

I had an interesting experience with cash withdrawals in Taipei recently with Wise.

Unfortunately, I made 2 cash withdrawals on 1 day (didn't withdraw quite enough the first time - it can happen, and I was departing TPE the same day, so wanted to minimise excess cash).

On the second withdrawal I was charged a couple of dollars more in fees than with the first. I'm not sure if this is a published feature, but in iny case it wasn't a major problem, just a bit of a surprise.