| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Issues with Wise (Personal/Business Account) Thread poster: Baran Keki
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Tom in London wrote:
Did you close down your personal account at the same time as opening your business account?
No, I kept my personal account, just in case I needed it for personal transactions, since it doesn't cost anything, but when I switched from freelancing in my own name to operating through a limited company, I opened a new business account for my company and closed my freelance business account, since the company was a new legal entity.
I access all my personal and business accounts under the same login credentials, by the way.
Philippe Etienne wrote:
And I realise that those 23 euros are not credited to my EUR account, perhaps because I'm still not fully vetted...
Philippe
Because it's an account opening fee. I had to ask them for an invoice for that, since the account statement fails to mention that fee.
Baran Keki wrote:
Are you using the same IBAN, SWIFT numbers as your Personal Account with the Business Account? Or they completely different EUR accounts with different IBAN/SWIFT numbers? If so, it'll be a pain to get the new details to every existing client...
They IBANs are different, so you will need to tell your clients that your account number has changed. I did it little by little as needed and kept track of which clients I had already informed in my invoicing checklist file.
| | | | | Wise don't actually transfer the money | Mar 8, 2022 |
Mihai Badea wrote:
Wise and similar services use the costly banking infrastructure to offer cheap transfers. This could not last.
A good proportion of banks' income was the interest difference. But with a negative interest ...
Maintaing brick-and-mortar offices costs money, ATMs are expensive, loading money is a specialised operation and so on.
Wise don't actually transfer the money to another country. They explain briefly at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLKKzRvOsLQ that when A in country 1 wants to pay B in country 2, A pays Wise in country 1 and Wise pays B in country 2. They don't transfer the money from country A to B but simply use their local bank accounts in each country instead of using 'the costly banking infrastructure'. So it can last because they are not 'similar services'.
https://seoaves.com/wise-business-model-how-does-wise-make-money/
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| I'm being vetted | Mar 9, 2022 |
My Wise account (personal, not business) has just received payment from an agency. But they say they are "vetting" it.
I was required to enter details of the agency (name and address).
Wise then said they are checking this and that I should receive payment in the next few days.
| | | | Mihai Badea (X) 
Luxembourg
Local time: 20:16
English to Romanian
+ ...
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| No, it doesn't | Mar 9, 2022 |
Mihai Badea wrote:
One way or another the money goes from one country to another country.
Currently, there is no law against this trick, but the banks don't like it because they lose money.
Er, no, the money doesn't go from one country to another. That's the whole point in Wise's business model. The payer gives Wise money in country A, and Wise pays the payee out of their own funds in country B. The money stays in each country. And it isn't a 'trick'.
What does anybody care if banks like it or not? Many of them have been charging abusive, hidden and opaque fees for decades and lying about them too, and now they are doing it again with SEPA transfer fees between the UK and the EU even though the UK remained in the SEPA system.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| This needs to be fixed | Mar 9, 2022 |
Thomas T. Frost wrote:
.......they are doing it again with SEPA transfer fees between the UK and the EU even though the UK remained in the SEPA system.
This needs to be fixed. There is no justification for it. I wonder if I should write to my MP, or someone else.
| | | | Mihai Badea (X)
Luxembourg
Local time: 20:16
English to Romanian
+ ...
| Banks have been bad | Mar 9, 2022 |
Thomas T. Frost wrote:
Er, no, the money doesn't go from one country to another. That's the whole point in Wise's business model. The payer gives Wise money in country A, and Wise pays the payee out of their own funds in country B. The money stays in each country. And it isn't a 'trick'.
What does anybody care if banks like it or not? Many of them have been charging abusive, hidden and opaque fees for decades and lying about them too, and now they are doing it again with SEPA transfer fees between the UK and the EU even though the UK remained in the SEPA system.
Sometimes, very bad. You have a point here.
| | | | | Good luck with that | Mar 9, 2022 |
Tom in London wrote: Thomas T. Frost wrote:
.......they are doing it again with SEPA transfer fees between the UK and the EU even though the UK remained in the SEPA system. This needs to be fixed. There is no justification for it. I wonder if I should write to my MP, or someone else.
No, there is no justification, but if there is no law or bilateral agreement against it, it will be an uphill battle. Because of the low, or even negative, interest rates, banks are scrambling to find other income streams, slapping fees on anything that moves – or even just sits still in an account.
I think the most effective weapon is to avoid using such bank services and use Wise or similar services instead, undermining the banks. With Wise, you don't need SEPA transfers anyway.
UK banks also typically take 3% of the amount when you change to another currency, whereas Wise take 0.5% and Danish banks took 0.1% when I last used them. Over 20 years ago, I needed to transfer my IT consultancy income from the UK to France every month and ended up sending it to Denmark in GBP first, and then to France in FRF, letting the Danish bank change the currencies (my UK bank would/could not send it to France in GBP). It took longer time but saved me close to €100 a month. I had a protracted debate with then Alliance & Leicester about why this was so much more expensive than elsewhere but, not surprisingly, never got any justification out of them.
Portuguese banks are greedy too, typically charging close to €10 a month in account maintenance fees, so instead of opening a personal Portuguese bank account, I just kept my accounts and credit cards in Germany and Luxembourg when moving last year. I haven't had any need for a Portuguese account yet, and SEPA direct debit works fine across borders.
So I think it is up to the client to be wise and vote with their feet.
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Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 13:16
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
| Does Wise work with Russia? | Mar 10, 2022 |
I would like to know if Wise is something that works to receive payments from Russia. I usually received bank transfers or PayPal (which are now blocked).
| | | | Elena Ivanova
Russian Federation
Local time: 21:16
Member (2013)
English to Russian
+ ...
| Wise in Russia | Mar 11, 2022 |
Some days ago they sent me an email that they wouldn't work in Russia anymore and would close my account in May. So we have just a couple of months.
| | | | Nader Pourbagher
Türkiye
Local time: 21:16
Member (2020)
Azerbaijani to English
+ ...
| Business account in Wise | May 9, 2022 |
Hi, when operating as an individual, how is it possible to create a business account in Wise?
Baran Keki wrote: Daniel Frisano wrote:
I remember setting up a business account along with my personal account right away. No hassle, no extra fees, and it works exactly like the personal account. No different from having two separate accounts at the same bank.
The only extra requirement is a proof that the business is actually registered, and it's under your name.
Do you operate as a company or as an individual entrepreneur? I operate as an individual. Unfortunately I'm forced to use Payoneer with my US clients as Wise doesn't offer a USD account for Turkey, and they (Payoneer) take a cut from each incoming payment (2 or 3%) and a hefty chunk (about as high as Paypal) when you transfer the funds to your local bank from their USD account. I was worrying a similar thing might happen with the so-called Business Account, but you say no extra fees, so that's a relief.
| | | | | Business = professional | May 9, 2022 |
Business account = professional account
An individual can receive or send money for personal or for professional reasons.
If they have an individual company/independent activity,
and use Wise in a professional capacity, they should use a business account.
You can easily switch between these two.
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| Personal and Business Wise accounts | May 9, 2022 |
Baran Keki wrote:
I've been using Wise with European clients without any problems so far. But last Friday, my transfer (from my Wise EUR Account to my Turkish account) got paused and I was asked all kinds of questions as to who I am, what I do, why I use them etc. etc. They asked me to provide them with payslips, bank statements to verify my identity/account (and I'd been using them regularly for more than 3 years at that point). I thought all this was just a formality and uploaded one remittance note to get on with the transfer. It took more than 2 days for them to send me an email to ask for more proof (bank statements for the last 3 months), so I sent them every PO I could find to account for my 'wealth'.
Long story short, they told me that I wasn't supposed to use a Personal Account to make such transactions, but I should create and use a Business Account for receiving money from agencies.
Has anybody experienced anything like this with Wise? Do you all use Business Accounts? Is a Business Account any different than a Personal Account? Do they charge you extra fees if you use a Business Account?
I created a Wise account many months ago, although I have received payments through it few times.
When I opened the account, I had the same doubt as you. I contacted with the Wise Support Team and explained my situation (I am a freelance translator based in Spain who is going to use Wise to receive payments for my services to international clients). The support agent told me, explicitly, that I am a freelancer, not a company and that I do not need a Business account at all. I have received payments in GBP from the UK and payment from a Wise user from the US that have been converted automatically into EUR. The last payment took a little longer than the earlier ones to get to my account, but I have received all of them without any problem.
I do not know what country's policies Wise are based on but, at least in Spain, it is not the same to be registered as a freelancer for whatever profession as being registered as a business.
| | | | | Here is what they told me | May 9, 2022 |
Jorge Rodríguez Rodríguez wrote:
I contacted with the Wise Support Team and explained my situation (I am a freelance translator based in Spain who is going to use Wise to receive payments for my services to international clients). The support agent told me, explicitly, that I am a freelancer, not a company and that I do not need a Business account at all.
Here is what they told me in an email:
Sent: Friday, October 11, 2019 10:22 PM
'You are supposed to make business related transfers on your business account and personal transfers on your personal account. Thus, I would definitely advice you to use your business profile for business transfers. Please note that all the fees and processes are the same for both accounts but the differentiation is due to compliance reasons. If you do not comply with these differentiation, your account can be closed.'
Sent: Monday, October 14, 2019 8:30 AM
'Even if you are a sole trader and run a business under your name, then the payments need to be made under business account due to the fact that they are related with your business activities, not with your personal doings. Hence in the future please make sure to use your business account to receive and make business related payments. If we detect that you are doing business related payments under your personal account, your account will be to deactivate.'
It seems to be a matter or personal belief what they tell their account holders in this respect.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:16
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Meanwhile in the UK | May 9, 2022 |
Different rules seem to apply in different jurisdictions. This very well regarded UK website says
"You don't NEED a business bank account if...
-You're a sole trader or freelancer, or contracting (but not through a limited company), eg, hairdresser, research interviewer, journalist, TV producer, gardener, designer, developer.
-You're doing gig work, like Uber, TaskRabbit or Deliveroo.
You're not required to open a business account in these... See more Different rules seem to apply in different jurisdictions. This very well regarded UK website says
"You don't NEED a business bank account if...
-You're a sole trader or freelancer, or contracting (but not through a limited company), eg, hairdresser, research interviewer, journalist, TV producer, gardener, designer, developer.
-You're doing gig work, like Uber, TaskRabbit or Deliveroo.
You're not required to open a business account in these cases, as your business or your self-employment isn't legally separate from you. As a freelancer, sole trader or gig worker, you and your business are one and the same in the eyes of the law – and the taxman!"
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/business-bank-account/
[Edited at 2022-05-09 19:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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