Why a Bank Wire Costs More Than It Looks Like
When you transfer money abroad through a bank, the fee on the receipt is rarely the whole cost. Banks typically apply their own exchange rate to the conversion instead of the real, mid-market rate — the one you’d see if you searched “USD to EUR” on Google. That markup can run 2-5% on top of any flat wire fee, and it’s easy to miss because it’s baked into the rate rather than itemized. On a $2,000 transfer, that’s $40-$100 quietly gone before the money even lands.
Wise built its entire business around closing that gap: it converts your money at the real mid-market rate and charges a small, transparent fee on top instead of hiding a markup inside the exchange rate. As a new customer using a referral link like ours, that fee is waived entirely on your first transfer.
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How to Send Your First Transfer Abroad for Free
Click through our Wise link first — not wise.com directly — so the fee waiver attaches to your new account.
Create your account as a first-time Wise (or TransferWise) customer. This only works if you’ve never had an account before.
Applied automatically through our link — no code needed.
Enter the amount and currencies you’re sending abroad. Wise shows you the real mid-market rate before you confirm anything.
Confirm the transfer. The fee is waived automatically on the confirmation screen for transfers up to $600 (or the equivalent) — there’s no code field.
Use it within 6 months of opening your account, or the free-transfer offer expires.
Other Ways to Send Money Abroad
Wise is our top pick for currency-to-currency transfers, but depending on what you’re sending and where, one of these might fit better:
- Remitly: better suited to sending cash directly to family in specific countries (Mexico, the Philippines, India, and more) rather than a general currency conversion — see our Remitly promo code page for the current bonus.
- Coinbase: an option if you’re comfortable moving value as Bitcoin instead of a traditional currency transfer — see our Coinbase referral page.
Note: we’ve dropped Azimo from this list — it shut down its consumer transfer service in 2022 after being acquired by Papaya Global, so it’s no longer a working option.
View the current offer ↗More Wise & Money Transfer Guides
Want to refer your own friends for a reward instead? See our Wise Referral Code page. For the no-code, new-customer angle on its own, see Wise Promo Code. And for the full TransferWise-to-Wise rebrand story, see TransferWise Promo Code.
Is Wise (formerly TransferWise) Safe?
Wise is a publicly traded company (listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2021) that’s regulated as a money transfer business in every country it operates in, including oversight from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. TransferWise rebranded to Wise back in 2021 as the company grew from a currency-transfer app into a fuller international account and card — same company, same underlying transfer system, just a new name. Millions of people move money abroad through it every year, for everything from paying rent to family overseas to funding a business account in another country.
Most transfers land in one to two business days depending on the currency corridor and payment method, and you can track the transfer’s progress from the app the whole way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the cheapest way to transfer money abroad?
For most currency-to-currency transfers, Wise is typically cheaper than a bank wire because it uses the real mid-market exchange rate plus a small transparent fee, instead of a bank’s marked-up rate. As a new customer through our link, that fee is waived entirely on your first transfer up to $600.
How long does an international transfer take with Wise?
Most transfers complete within one to two business days, though the exact time depends on the currency pair and how you fund the transfer (bank transfer, debit card, etc.).
Is there a Wise promo code to type in for the free transfer?
No — the fee waiver is tied to a referral link, not a text code. Click through a link like ours before you sign up and it applies automatically. See our dedicated Wise Promo Code page if you want more detail on that mechanic.
Is TransferWise the same company as Wise?
Yes. TransferWise rebranded to Wise in 2021 — same company, same low-fee transfer system, just a new name. See our TransferWise / Wise page for the full rebrand story.
No code to type.
The link is the deal at Transferwise.
Wise $600 Fee Waiver — applied automatically through our Transferwise link.
Claim the Transferwise offer