About Wise

Wise (formerly TransWise) is a financial technology company based in London and founded in January 2011 by Estonian entrepreneurs Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus. Its main business focuses on international money transfers. One of Wise’s biggest strengths is that it supports both personal and business accounts. You can open virtual bank accounts in multiple countries, and it can provide an account number, routing number, and SWIFT code for local collections. This is extremely convenient for people doing cross-border trade, especially those selling digital products, because it offers both receiving and remittance services in one platform. They also offer a Mastercard that can be used worldwide and settled at real exchange rates, so it can be used directly for spending.

Transfers from the U.S. to China support payouts to Alipay and UnionPay cards, and you can pay by Debit, ACH, Wire, and other methods. In terms of exchange rates, theirs is very close to the real market rate. When I made a transfer, Wise quoted 6.38905, while Google’s rate at the time was 6.39, which is especially cost-effective for larger transfers. That said, transfers do come with certain fees. ACH charges a fixed fee of $1.27 + 1.22% per transfer, while Wire charges $5 + 1.06 in fees.

Sign-up and Sign-up Bonus

Sign up for Wise through a referral link and get fee-free transfers up to $600 before your first remittance. Considering that their exchange rate basically has no spread, it is still a platform worth considering.

Steps to Remit USD to China

Here we’ll explain how to use Wise to send U.S. dollars to China and convert them into RMB.

  • After registering an account, choose Send Money and you’ll see the transfer interface. Entering an amount shows the exchange rate and the corresponding fee. The current Google rate is 6.39, and theirs is 6.38905, which is very close.
  • Next, you can choose the recipient. What’s interesting is that Wise supports sending money to yourself, and it also supports transfers to business users. Most transfer platforms do not support domestic corporate transfers in China.
  • After selecting the recipient, just fill in the relevant information. If you want the money received by Alipay, you need to enter the account holder’s name and the email address or phone number linked to the Alipay account. Be sure to double-check everything carefully.
  • For payment, it supports Debit cards, ACH, Wire, and account balance payments, and the settlement time varies by method. Do not use a credit card to pay: not only are the fees high, but it can also trigger cash advance charges.
  • On the final step, you can see the transfer summary. The estimated arrival time is 2 hours. You can also see that the fee for the $100 transfer has been waived.
  • After confirming all the information, you’ll see that the transfer has been sent. However, their risk controls are relatively strict, so it’s easy to run into an ID verification request. Transfers are also not instant like Remitly or Western Union and take some time.
  • To receive money via Alipay, you need to enable the Flash Receive feature. For details, see: the Alipay receipt section
  • For the first transfer, Alipay received the funds in about 1 hour.

Transfer to a Domestic Bank Card

If you want to transfer to a domestic bank card, you only need to enter the card number, name, and address. The other steps are similar to using Alipay for receiving funds, so I won’t repeat them here. Since transfers to a bank card arrive in RMB, there is no need to use a dual-currency card to receive the funds.

Debit Card

For $9, you can get a multi-currency card with real-time exchange rates and withdraw cash for free from local ATMs. Not bad at all.

Virtual Bank Accounts

After registering with Wise, you can freely add virtual accounts for the countries you need and deposit the corresponding funds into them.

Clicking on an account lets you get the corresponding virtual bank account’s routing number, Account Number, and SWIFT code for that country. However, you’ll need to verify your identity (SSN, ID) and deposit a certain amount in the corresponding currency before it can be activated for use.

Other Notes on Transfers

Exchange Rate

I made a transfer on November 16, and the RMB exchange rate quoted at the time was 6.38905, while Google’s rate was 6.39. In terms of exchange rate, theirs is the best. Also, this exchange rate is not affected by your payment method or receiving method, so there is no room for hidden manipulation.

Fees

Their fees are explained very clearly. Other transfer platforms often hide fees in the exchange rate spread, which isn’t very transparent. Fees differ by payment method only.

  • Debit card: fixed fee of $1.27 + 2.20%
  • Bank ACH: fixed fee of $1.27 + 1.22%
  • Wire: fixed fee of $5.41 + 1.06%
  • Credit card: extremely high, so don’t bother

Limits

The maximum single transfer to a UnionPay card is RMB 31,000, and the maximum to Alipay is RMB 50,000. The daily limit is US$10,000. For Alipay, each account can receive up to 5 Wise transfers.

Also note that the recipient must comply with China’s annual foreign exchange limit of US$50,000. All transfers count toward this limit, including funds sent through services other than Wise.

Identity Verification

Their risk controls are relatively strict, and the first transfer may require you to upload an ID before it can proceed. If you used a U.S. address when filling in your address, then you won’t be able to use a Chinese ID for verification; you’ll only be able to use a passport, and there is also a chance you’ll need to provide proof of address (utility bills, credit card statements, etc.). If you register using a Chinese address, you can submit a Chinese ID for verification.

Conclusion

Their biggest advantage is that, in addition to remittances, they also offer international virtual banking features, support balances in the account, and support business accounts. The exchange rate spread is very small, and the fees are clearly stated. If you use it long term, the experience should be very good.

For a comparison of remittance platforms, see the table below:

Comparison of International Money Transfer Platforms

Platform Delivery Time Fees Receiving Method Limits Quick Take Sign-Up Bonus
LemFi Real-time $5.98 for transfers above 100, $6.98 below Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay card Up to $4,000 per transfer

Up to $8,000 per day

 High security, Chinese-language customer service, generous sign-up bonus Get $20
Remitly Real-time to 4 business days None (under $1,000, $2.99 per transfer) Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay card $2,999/day, $10,000/month, can be increased Fast delivery, no ID verification required, exchange rate is average Get $10
Panda Remit Real-time to 3 business days ACH $2.99-$6.99, Debit 0.8% Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay card $3,000/transfer, $9,000/day Good exchange rates, very low overall fees, user-friendly interface, smooth experience, solid Chinese-language support First transfer fee waived + better exchange rate
Western Union Real-time to 4 business days $0-$2.99 per transfer Alipay, UnionPay card $2,500 or $7,000/transfer Fast delivery, currently no fee for Alipay transfers, exchange rate is average Get a $20 Amazon gift card
Wise 1 hour to 2 business days Debit ($1.27+2.20%), ACH ($1.27+1.22%), Wire ($5.41+1.06%) Alipay, UnionPay card ￥3.1W or ￥5W/transfer, $10,000/day Comprehensive features, supports many currencies, transparent fees Get $600 in fee-free transfers

Sign-up Link

  • Wise sign-up link (get $600 in fee-free transfer allowance when you open an account)