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Wise is a licensed money transmitter and electronic money institution, regulated in the countries it operates in, and it safeguards customer money rather than lending it out. A Wise Business account in the company's name can hold balances in dozens of currencies, with local account details in several: US account and routing numbers for ACH and wires, a UK sort code and account number, a euro IBAN and more. A US client pays the company's US details by ACH, and the money arrives as dollars in the Wise balance.
Wise supports businesses registered in the US, and it checks the company, with its formation document and EIN, and its owners, with passports and proof of address. Where you live decides the rest. It gives USD account details only to people who live where it lets them hold money, and a company run from another country gets only what it offers in both.
- Yes: the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Georgia, and in Latin America Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay.
- None, by name: Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Türkiye, the UAE, Serbia and Iraq, and China for business accounts.
- None, off the list: Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam, Nepal and most other countries not named above. Bahrain, Israel and Malaysia hold money in personal accounts only, and Wise has paused account details in Thailand.
- India: people living there can hold money only while travelling overseas.
Without USD details, US clients can't pay the company by ACH, so if you live where it's a no, start with another provider. Wise can't serve anyone in a sanctioned country.
Wise charges once to open and then for what you use. These are its published US business prices.
| What you do | What Wise charges |
|---|---|
| Open the account and get account details in 22 currencies | $31, once |
| Hold money in any currency | Free |
| Receive US dollars by ACH | Free |
| Receive a US dollar wire | $6.11 a payment |
| Convert, or send money home in another currency | From 0.23%, at the mid-market rate |
The conversion fee depends on the currency pair, and Wise shows the exact amount before you confirm. Ask US clients to pay by ACH rather than wire, and the money arrives free. Cards come only where Wise issues them for business accounts.
- Receiving payments from US clients, platforms and marketplaces that pay by ACH.
- Paying contractors and suppliers in other countries in their own currency.
- Moving the company's profit to your account at home, recorded as a distribution.
- Having a second set of US account details if your main account is slow.
- Not a bank: there's no deposit insurance in the US sense, though money is safeguarded under the regulator's rules.
- Not a cheque account: it doesn't issue or accept paper cheques.
- Not a lender: no credit and no overdraft.
- Not for cash, or for holding large balances long term, which is what a bank and its treasury products are for.
Every transfer from the company's Wise balance to your personal account is a distribution, and it belongs on Form 5472, so label it that way. Keep the company's Wise account separate from any personal Wise account, and never move other people's money through either.
Sources
Checked by Saais Patel against these official pages.
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