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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
The verdict on

Wise

60
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

Wise is praised for its fast and reliable international money transfers and favorable exchange rates, but recent reviews highlight significant issues with slow transfer times, difficulties adding funds, and a confusing user interface.

4.6★ lifetime (106,306) Free to download since 2013 by Wise Payments Ltd updated 0.0 mo ago recent negative 32% 120 reviews across 4 regions
Transfer Speed Adding Funds/Connectivity Fees & Exchange Rates User Interface & Experience Customer Service Account Issues
5★619
4★32
3★34
2★32
1★283
recent reviews across 4 regions, vs the 4.6★ lifetime average

Wise facilitates international money transfers, often praised for speed and good exchange rates, but a recent uptick in negative reviews points to persistent problems with slow transfers, difficulties connecting bank accounts, and a confusing user experience. While many users still find it valuable for cross-border transactions, others report significant frustration with its reliability and support.

What users like

  • Fast and reliable international money transfersR1R5R10R15
  • Offers good exchange rates and lower fees compared to traditional banksR19R21R32R50
  • User-friendly and easy to use for many transactionsR4R10R11R17
  • Customer service is helpful for some usersR3R62R65
  • Useful for travelers and those making payments in local currenciesR17R32R81R87

What users complain about

  • Transfers are frequently slow or delayed, contradicting claims of instant deliveryR12R14R18R29
  • Difficulty adding money to accounts, especially with Apple Pay or bank connectionsR2R8R24R38
  • High or unclear fees and unfavorable exchange rates compared to alternativesR6R9R12R34
  • User interface is confusing, complicated, or buggy for someR22R26R33R35
  • Poor or unresponsive customer service, often chat-basedR2R24R28R35
  • Accounts can be unexpectedly closed or banned without clear reasonR30R63R64R86
  • Issues with identity verification and biometric data requestsR48R82R96
  • International card not always reliable abroadR8R578

Latest update · v9.65

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

We fixed bugs and made minor improvements. Happy sending, spending, and saving!

Recurring themes

Transfer Speed mixed
Many users praise Wise for fast and instant transfers, highlighting it as a key benefit. However, a significant number of recent reviews report transfers taking much longer than expected, sometimes days or even weeks, contradicting the app's claims and previous performance. This directly contradicts the developer's vague 'minor improvements' note.R5R14R18R20
Adding Funds/Connectivity negative
A recurring issue is the difficulty in adding money to the Wise account, with users reporting errors when trying to use Apple Pay, Venmo, or connect bank accounts. The process of connecting and validating bank accounts, often through Plaid, is described as frustrating, glitchy, and prone to disconnections, requiring repeated attempts or leading to failure.R2R8R24R38
Fees & Exchange Rates mixed
While many users praise Wise for its favorable exchange rates and low fees compared to traditional banks, a notable number of recent reviews express disappointment over high commissions, hidden intermediary bank fees, or exchange rates that are not always the best. Some feel the costs are extortionate, especially for out-of-GB transfers.R6R9R12R19
User Interface & Experience negative
Many users find the app easy and intuitive, but a significant portion of recent feedback describes the app as confusing, complicated, or buggy. Issues include difficulty navigating, unclear transaction descriptions, and problems with scrolling or progressing through steps. Some long-time users feel the app has changed and is no longer intuitive.R4R10R11R22
Customer Service negative
Customer service is a point of contention. While some users report helpful support, a larger number of recent reviews describe it as poor, unresponsive, difficult to understand, or completely useless. Users mention being stuck in loops, receiving generic responses, or experiencing long delays in resolving disputes.R2R3R24R28
Account Issues negative
Several users report severe issues with their accounts, including unexpected closures or bans without justification, and difficulties in closing accounts. There are also concerns about identity verification processes, including requests for biometric data like facial scans, which some find intrusive.R30R36R48R63

Who it's for

Wise is for individuals and businesses who frequently make international money transfers and prioritize competitive exchange rates R19R81. It's particularly useful for travelers needing to pay in local currencies abroad R17R32 and those who value a generally fast and reliable service for cross-border transactions R5.

Evidence note: The recent reviews show a strong negative skew compared to the lifetime rating, particularly concerning transfer speed, adding funds, and customer service. While many positive reviews exist, the recurring nature of these negative points across multiple users and regions suggests a decline in recent user experience. The developer's notes are too vague to address specific issues raised.

Frequently asked

Are Wise transfers always fast?
While many users report Wise transfers as fast and instant, a significant number of recent reviews indicate that transfers can be slow, taking several days or even up to two weeks to reach the recipient R14.
Is it easy to add money to a Wise account?
Many users report significant difficulties adding money to their Wise accounts, with issues connecting bank accounts via Plaid, errors when using Apple Pay or Venmo, and general frustration with the process R2R24.
What are the fees and exchange rates like with Wise?
Wise is often praised for offering competitive exchange rates and lower fees compared to traditional banks R19R81, but some users find the commissions high, report hidden intermediary bank fees, and note that exchange rates are not always the best available R9R34.
Is Wise customer service helpful?
Customer service experiences with Wise are mixed; while some users find it helpful R3R62, many recent reviews describe it as poor, unresponsive, difficult to understand, and ineffective in resolving issues R2R24R28R35.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] 5/5 · US Useful: Very good · translated
  2. [R5] 5/5 · US Dot: Fast and reliable
  3. [R10] 5/5 · US JC Account: It’s very easy once you get it!
  4. [R15] 5/5 · US The BEST: What a treasure is this app! Love it so much! Thanks so much for it! 👍🏻
  5. [R19] 5/5 · US Great Value: Wise has been great for transferring money between my accounts, both foreign and domestic. The fees are fair and the exchange rates have been the best I can find.
  6. [R21] 5/5 · US Excellent: Highly recommend, ultra fast, great exchange and cost
  7. [R32] 5/5 · US The best international app: It's great to be able to exchange at convenient rates and be able to pay with local currency. The integration with the Philippines payment systems like gcash is invaluable. All done with simplicity like qr codes. Way ahead than any other international bank I know.
  8. [R50] 5/5 · US Best bank in transfer and foreign X: Better than PayPal x transfer and even cheaper. Fees are low to ok! Great service and great apping
  9. [R4] 5/5 · US Perfecto: Muy amigable y rápido
  10. [R11] 5/5 · US Useful: Very detailed.
  11. [R17] 5/5 · US Great app for traveling abroad: Very safe and convenient way to pay in local currency around Europe
  12. [R3] 5/5 · US Best Financial App Ever!: This is the best financial app I have ever used in my life so far! It definitely beats PayPal when it comes to customer service!
  13. [R62] 5/5 · US Very good app: Fast, secure, & reliable app to send money. Helpful customer service, as well.
  14. [R65] 5/5 · US Great service: Super fast, each step is clearly outlined, and the support is excellent
  15. [R81] 5/5 · US Great App: This is the best way to convert American money into pesos that I’ve found since moving to Mexico five years ago. Wise gives the best exchange rate always, it’s quick efficient and they’re never any problems. I highly recommend it for anyone either living here while still maintaining an American bank account or for people traveling.
  16. [R87] 5/5 · US Safe: I love how wise always had my back and verified aby and all of the transactions made in my account they are the best
  17. [R12] 3/5 · US Not happy: Worked really well with one exception. You enter the specific amount that you want to other party to receive, which I the case of paying an invoice is important. But then in the process of sending intermediary banks withhold an unknown fee so your payment going to the payee ends up short. There needs to be a way to calculate and include any bank fees in the transaction so your payment t
  18. [R14] 1/5 · US Slow!!!: Terribly slow to actually pay the recipient.
  19. [R18] 1/5 · US Adding to my account: They totally forgot how well they work before. It appears that they now change it from instant to whenever they feel like it. Really disappointed
  20. [R29] 3/5 · US Multiple weekly transactions result in delayed transfers: The algo for checking transactions clearance MUST be corrected. The bank has cleared the transactions and confirmed that communication sent but Wise still shows that additional checks required resulting in delay transfers thus no transfers can occur instanteously (a key feature for keeping my account open).
  21. [R2] 1/5 · US Pésima aplicación: Tiene habilitada la opción de añadir dinero con Apple Pay y cuando se intenta realizar da error llame a servicio al cliente y me dijeron que solo por cuanta bancaria se puede y Venmo para que tienen esas opciones habilitadas si no se pueden usar la verdad que es una pésima herramienta no soluciona si no que da molestia al intentar añadir dinero
  22. [R8] 1/5 · US NO LA RECOMIENDO: Pésima, viaje fuera del país confiando en su promesa de “tarjeta internacional” y NO sirve, no me deja recargar, no me deja hacer nada. Definitivamente NO SE CONFÍEN y no la usen. Terrible. I traveled abroad relying on their promise of an "international card," and it DOES NOT work; it won't let me top up or do anything at all. Definitely DO NOT TRUST it and do not use it.
  23. [R24] 1/5 · US Can’t connect Cards or Bank: Very Disappointed as I travel a lot and hoped that this would be a way to avoid many of the International Banking fees. Unfortunately, I am not able to transfer funds on the fly as I am not able to connect my Apple Card or any of my other 7 major US credit cards, all of which are in good standing. The Customer Service team is of course located somewhere in India or Ban
  24. [R38] 1/5 · US Very confusing to use this app: Not very user friendly on trying to add funds to my account.
  25. [R6] 1/5 · US Rate is absurdly bad: title
  26. [R9] 1/5 · US Low exchange rates: Thy slash around %1 of the money you send internationally , even for bank transfers, in addition to the transfer fee. I’m only using it cause my company forced me to use it.
  27. [R34] 1/5 · US Comisiones altas: Las comisiones que cobran entre intermediarios y bancos son exageradas, creí que sería mejor que Remitly pero no
  28. [R22] 1/5 · US Buggy: Buggy
  29. [R26] 1/5 · US Decepción: Muy complicada
  30. [R33] 1/5 · US Unclear description of transactions: Very confusing app
  31. [R35] 1/5 · US Horrible: Confusing app. And I’m a pretty tech savvy user. Customer service is hurrendous.
  32. [R28] 1/5 · US I would give no stars if I could.: For context, I had an issue with a merchant where I was scammed. I contacted wise and it took them a whole MONTH to formally submit my dispute. I was constantly lead on with bs, and it was obvious support was just wasting my time for the fun of it. Fast forward a few weeks after, I still get no result from the dispute. I contact the merchant and they admit in wri
  33. [R30] 1/5 · US Sooner or later they will ban you for no reason: Literally I and everyone I know has gotten banned by Wise at some point, with no justification. Their algorithms are far too sensitive and their appeal process is a joke.
  34. [R63] 1/5 · US Worst company ever: After 5 years of loyal service, Wise suddenly closed my account with absolutely no explanation! Do not trust this service. Save yourself the headache and boycott Wise at all costs! ❌ #Wise #BoycottWise
  35. [R64] 1/5 · US Bad: It's been a month, and my money is gone. It wasn't sent, nor was it refunded, and customer service was unhelpful. · translated
  36. [R86] 1/5 · US Account closure unresponsive: Account closure unresponsive · translated
  37. [R48] 1/5 · US Great Idea / Bad Execution: The Identity Verification Process would be merely COMICAL if only the purpose of this app weren’t FINANCIAL
  38. [R82] 3/5 · US App speed: Slow app , next step not forward easily. Stuck and repeat photo id , selfie not verified yet/ not prompt , can not trust
  39. [R96] 3/5 · US Biometric data: UPDATE I believe the "Developer Response" entirely missed my point. My review was not about the fact you require ID for account creation, verification, background checks, etc. My comment was about you want to gather and harvest people's biometric information, such as facial scan. --- In the latest update, now they are asking for your consent to use face scans and other biometric d
  40. [R578] 3/5 · CA Had trouble with abroad: This app in theory is great in theory however when I had already connected to my bank account in Canada, I had to turn on data roaming overseas (expensive and unnecessary When everyone has an email!) because the only way to re-verify my account was with a phone number. Email was not an option. After that didn’t work because I had “attempted too many times”, I had to etrans
  41. [R20] 5/5 · US I love this app it easy and faster: Best money app ever
  42. [R36] 1/5 · US Scam: This app is only used for scams. Do not download

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store