The Fintech company Wise, which was known as Transferwise before, offers a way to send money from the United States to over 70 countries.
The exchange rates are the best.
Wise is best for the people who want low costs and a very strong web experience when sending money internationally.
It is not only that people give them the responsibility of their money, until recently when the company was known as Transferwise and low cost cross border became its forefront business.
In 2021 there was an increase of services in transferwise, they not only did international transfers but also started multi currency accounts and debit cards.
There has been confusion for years about whether the transferwise scam is for real or not.
Is transferwise legit?
Today wise is a trusted platform, it has about 12 million customers who have set payments of around 8 billion dollars over a month.
One may think it’s an amazing opportunity but upon looking closely it is understood that there are more red flags than blue flags.
Wise Transfer measures and options
Spending channels:
Through the website and mobile app of wise, the spending happens.
Payment options:
Bank accounts, credit cards, Debit cards, and apple pay are the few payment methods.
Delivery options:
Only bank accounts, there are cash pickup locations for others who do not have a bank account.
Money Transfer rates:
There are three rates that would determine how much the money transfer will cost and how much would be received by the recipient.
- Exchange rates:
An exchange rate is the price of one currency with respect to another currency.
For example to convert a dollar to euros you need to check the price of a dollar in euros.
- Mid Market rate:
The mid market rate is the exchange rate that big banks use to swap currencies among each other.
- Exchange rate markup:
When pricing your transfer most providers use this exchange rate markup.
The customers are given an exchange rate that’s the mid market rate and an additional percentage or markup to make a profit on the transfer.
What is a transferwise scam?
Transferwise is a company that provides a money transfer service that claims to exchange currency eight to ten times less than the global price, their system is very sophisticated and straightforward. This is something different from what PayPal and western union do and charge when people started online cross border currency exchange initially during the early days. Initially, there were only western union and Paypal, later many other platforms came up, but none of them could go as low as transferwise did.
This has never been seen before, international transfer is usually a very expensive field, because of which different people have different opinions, some say it is legit and some say that it is a very structured scam.
Transferwise offers a low cost method and funds transfers across more than 80 countries, their rates of exchange are very less in comparison with other mediums.
Transferwise is surely disrupting the way the world transfers money
Pros:
The delivery happens within minutes.
The fees are very low
There is no exchange rate markup charged on its transfer.
Cons:
The delivery of money can only happen to the bank account.
The customer care phone support is limited.
General advice for international money transfer:
Know how the exchange rates work, many sites give fake rates, so it is better to check the genuine sites.
It is better to compare total transfer costs across multiple providers. Find the providers with the lowest fee and the best exchange rates. Usually, nonbank providers are cheaper.
It is better to avoid paying with a credit card. There might be a higher fee if you pay through a credit card. A transfer paid by a bank account would be way cheaper. Using a debit card is also a better option than using a credit card.
Reasons why transferwise accounts are blocked and frozen?
- Due to inadequate details and documentation the accounts have been blocked and frozen.
- While a considerable amount was being transferred.
- If your actions are beyond their acceptable policy they block and freeze your account.
This has been seen and noticed recently.
Tips to prevent transferwise scams:
- It is not recommended to use transferwise or any other similar platform to transfer money.
- Verified international banks are better to be used such as PayPal and Western Union.
- If the fee is less the chance of it being a scam increases.
- It is not a good idea to share your credit card, debit card, or visa card details on such platforms.
- The customer service of transferwise is very low in response, if it is urgent, it better go to the local authorities.
- It is good to check your bank details regularly.
- Change your password regularly. It prevents any foreign access to your account.
- Verify the license, registrations, and documents to understand their authenticity
How to stay safe?
It is good to follow some cybersecurity rules to avoid the trap and protect yourself
- When you receive an email from an unknown company, think it through thoroughly before sending your personal information. It is possibly a scam.
- When something seems too good to be true, it probably is. It may be a scam.
- Stay in touch with the government and the higher authority. Rush to them if you are scammed or cheated on.
- It is a good idea to choose genuine recovery sites that would help you recover your lost funds if you faced any fraud.
Conclusion:
It is always better to avoid anything fishy even though they look comfortable and easy. Lately, scams and frauds have been skyrocketing, so it is suggested to keep yourself and your wealth safe and secure. Seek help if you have faced a transferwise scam either from government officials or genuine sites and companies.
