Alternatives To Wise For Moving Money

[Tardis]

I have been happily using Wise for Money transfers for the last 10 years.

At the end of November I received an email from Wise asking me to verify my identity by 6 December or my account would be suspended. After 12 failed attempts to verify it on my smartphone and also uploading various documents I am locked out of my account. I’ve had several emails and phone calls with Wise that contradict one another. They said they would “escalate” my problem and I would hear back from them within 48 hours. Eight days on and I’m still waiting to hear from them!

Their customer support has been pathetic. The staff are poorly trained or incompetent.

I dread to think what customer support would be like if a Money transfer went astray.

Any recommendations for an alternative Money transfer company would be appreciated.

[Ducks]

I don't know if it would be helpful to your situation, so it will depend on what you want to do, but I've used Revolut to great effect over the years across multiple currencies.

[Johnrgby]

Odd, we have been using Wise for 11 years come February, and have never been asked to verify our identities, since the first time we used them, Sabadel, however, has asked us twice in 8 years of use, I will await some contact from them.

[Tardis]

Odd, we have been using Wise for  11 years come February, and have never been asked to verify our identities, since the first time we used them, Sabadel, however, has asked us twice in 8 years of use, I will await some contact from them.

I think it might depend on if your Wise account is registered in the EU.  

The latest email from Wise mentions liveness verification.  I think it's some form of AI verification.  

Here is the latest email that contradicts previous emails I've had from them.

"I appreciate your prompt response. I would like to inform you that while they did accept your ID with selfie documents, that was just one of the documents we require. What we actually need from you is a selfie with liveness verification.

These photos must be taken in real time — we can't accept previously taken and uploaded photos. Learn more about confirming your identity with a photo of your selfie and ID.

We accept valid passports and national ID cards. Learn what documents we accept.

To send us your document, you have to set up a transfer first and we'll ask you to upload your documents through a link.

Once you've uploaded the documents, our team will check and verify the documents within 2 working days. If it’s blurry or low quality, we’ll ask for a better version.

We can't accept these documents by email. If you send them to us by email, our team won’t be able to receive and review them."

I've tried at least 12 times using their AI liveness verification on my smartphone without success.  I'm at the end of my tether.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

probably has no bearing, but who knows?
I had to do a Live Verification to INSS here the other day. Couldn't get it to work on phone but went thru first time using laptop!

[Johnrgby]

I will wait with interest.

[windermeregolfer]

I have used Wise now for four or five years and apart from using finger print sign in on my phone or tablet I have not been asked for any other form of identification to sign in

[GMT]

A couple of months ago Wise requested me to provide a photo of me holding my passport (Italian). I took it using my little Panasonic camera and then I uploaded it on their website. I didn't use a mobile phone, I did everything on my desktop.

[gattaca66]

It’s really disappointing to hear of poor service from Wise. I’ve used them with increasing confidence for about ten years now, and have never failed to be impressed. They have, though, grown more ‘corporate’ during this period. When I needed to move quite large sums a decade ago to buy two new cars, I was dealing with a named person both on the phone and by email, same person throughout, based in the UK. More recently my card details were stolen and fraudulently used following a purchase in a large hardware store on the island (see * below). Within two hours I was apparently making ‘Only Fans’ purchases in the USA for $100 a go. One call to Wise and the card was frozen, my Money refunded, security strengthened, card back in use within 48 hours. We do, though, rely on things working as they should, and I’m praying I don’t share the experience of the OP.

* Just for info/interest. Having not used my physical Wise card for a few weeks, I used it for a small purchase in maybe the best-known hardware store on the island. Tap-and-go did not work, so the cashier took my card, carefully examined both sides, then tapped it. It now worked. I later received alerts from Wise, checked my account, and found online payments going out, following what looked like a small test transaction.

Speaking to the guy at Wise, he suggested that the cashier may have had a mobile phone lying on the counter set to video, and in examining my card both sides were recorded including CVV. This is all they need. He advised keeping a piece of masking tape over the CVV and other details, and never letting my card out of my hand unless using a machine.

[Will]

A couple of days ago HSBC announced something called Zing. I think that's the name. At the moment it's only for UK residents but it might be an option.

The claim is you don't need to be a HSBC client to use the app.

All I know