Wise vs Key Currency: Fees & Reviews Compared

Both Wise and Key Currency are popular international money transfer services. But which one is better?

Below we compare them on their fees and reviews.

Fees

	Wise	Key Currency
Homepage
Transfer Fee	Variable fee – 0.4% – 0.6% of total amount (on average) Fixed fee – £0.2 – £0.3 on average.	No fee
Average Exchange Rate Markup	No markup	0.2% – 1%
Minimum Transfer Amount	$1	$1
Maximum Transfer Amount	$6,000,000 USD $1.8 million AUD $1.5 million CAD €6,000,000 EUR £5,000,000 GBP	No limit

Reviews

	Wise	Key Currency
Trustpilot Rating	4.3	4.9
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	193,700	1,600
iOS App Rating	4.6	N/A
Number of iOS App Reviews	29,500	N/A
Android App Rating	4.7	N/A
Number of Android App Reviews	503,000	N/A

Features

	Wise	Key Currency
App Transfers	Yes	No
Online Transfers	Yes	Yes
Phone Transfers	No	Yes
In-person Transfers	No	No
Available Countries	170	N/A
Number of Currencies	50	37
Payment Methods	Bank account Debit card Credit card Direct debit Apple Pay Google Pay iDeal Trustly SOFORT POLi PayPal	Bank account
Receiving Methods	Online wallet Bank account	Bank account
Cash Pickup Option	No	No
Payments Flexibility	Web platform Mobile app	Web platform Phone
Supported Languages	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, and Russian	English
Transfer Speed	0-2 days (within minutes for over 50% of transfers).	1-2 days
Dedicated Dealer	No	Yes
Instant Custom Quote	Yes	No
Business Features	Recurring transfers Batch payments Invoicing Multi-user access Digital multi-currency wallet Rate alerts API integration	Spot contracts Forwards contracts Limit orders Market analysis Recurring transfers Rate alerts
Debit Card	Wise multi-currency debit card	None
Cancellation Policy	Users can cancel a transfer as long as they’re able to see the “cancel transfer” option on their transfer	Customers must get in touch with the company to cancel transfers once they’ve been confirmed. Refunds are subject to Key Currency’s approval and granted on a case-by-case basis.
Suitability	Small money transfers	Large money transfers

Company Comparison

	Wise	Key Currency
Year Founded	2011	2016
Headquarters	London, UK	Truro, Cornwall, the UK
Other Office Locations	London (UK), Austin, Dallas, Tampa, and New York (USA), Bangkok (Thailand), Dubai (UAE), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Shanghai (China), Singapore (Singapore), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Manila (the Philippines), Mumbai (India), Brussels (Belgium), Budapest (Hungary), Cherkasy (Ukraine), Tallinn and Tartu (Estonia), Zürich (Switzerland), São Paulo (Brazil), Mexico City (Mexico), Cape Town (South Africa), Sydney and Melbourne (Australia)	The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain
Annual Trading Volume	£76.4 billion	£2 billion
Number of Employees	4500	42
Number of Clients	16 million	50000
Regulatory Institutions	FinCEN in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia National Bank of Belgium in the EU	FinCEN in the USA FCA in the UK Bank of Spain in Spain
Awards	Best European Startup Under 3 Years Old (Europas, 2013) One of The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Finance (Fast Company Magazine, 2014) Boldest Smaller Company (FT’s Boldness in Business Awards, 2014) Ernst and Young UK Entrepreneurs (2015) Top 20 out of 50 on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work in the UK (2022) Made it in the FinTech50 list (in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021)	Best Currency Exchange Service (ADVFN – each year from 2016 to 2023) Best Currency Provider (Online Personal Wealth Awards – 2016 and 2017)

Wise Pros & Cons

Wise Pros

• No markups on exchange rates
• Comprehensive global service reach
• Impressive currency support
• Widespread local presence with branches in more than 28 countries
• Custom quotes are available without signup
• Diverse payment methods encompassing bank accounts, debit and credit cards, PayPal, and more
• Highly rated on Trustpilot
• In-depth knowledge repository
• Ideal for small transactions
• Fast money transfers, with half of all transactions completed in minutes and the rest within 0-2 days
• Outstanding web platform and mobile app experience

Wise Cons

• Some Challenges with customer service
• Cash pickup isn’t an option
• Lack of dedicated currency dealers
• Less-frequented countries and currencies might incur high transfer fees
• Inadequate for large monetary transfers
• No support for lesser-traded currencies

Key Currency Pros & Cons

Key Currency Pros

• Great customer service
• Impressive Trustpilot score
• Zero transfer fees
• Attractive exchange rates
• Personalized support from dedicated account managers
• No limits on transfer amounts
• Flexible currency hedging options
• Wide-reaching service coverage
• Extensive industry experience
• Quick money transfers

Key Currency Cons

• Not optimal for smaller transfers
• Limited funding methods
• Lack of support for less-common currencies
• No option for instant personalized quotes
• Services not accessible for residents in the US
• Absence of a mobile app

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