What are the downsides of a Wise card

[Rampant Rabbit]

 (UK citizen) I know they arent protected like UK banks are  up to 85k but I dont plan on holding huge sums with them.

What are ATM withdrawal costs on the Thai side?

Anything else I should look out for?

Would I need a UK phone for 2FA, my credit card co. in the UK RBS does  "email "2FA which I prefer

I wont if  possible use a phone app prefer to use it  through a  laptop.

[Upnotover]

ATM withdrawals are 220 baht, same as any other non-Thai card.  You get 2 free withdrawals a month but only up to a total maximum of £200, thereafter a 1.75% charge is made.  So basically non-ideal for cash withdrawals.

 

I only use the app and any verification requests come through that.  You can also set up verification through an authentication app or also by text message but I never tried those.  I don't see any e-mail option.

 

 

[oldcpu]

Downsides?

 

You may have to maintain a postal mailing address outside of Thailand to obtain and keep your Wise card  (at least it used to be that way).

 

I've been living in Thailand since 2019 and just prior to COVID in early 2020 my Wise card expired.  Wise would not send a replacement to Thailand.  Instead they sent such to a German address I maintain (an address of a friend) who passed the card to another friend and hand delivered the replacement card to me in Feb 2020.

 

I've had to work around this (not deliver card to Thailand) one other time.

 

Wise transfer times can vary, dependent on the currencies involved and the amount being transferred.

 

Further for transfering large very sums of money I find Wise can be more expensive than a bank's swift transfer and currency exchange.

 

Also Wise can be used to transfer money into Thailand, but it can not be used to transfer money out of Thailand.

 

Also, one does not get 'frequent flyer' or other 'points' for using a Wise card.

 

Having typed all the above, I find the Wise card very useful for traveling in different countries in South East Asia, Europe, and in Canada.   I believe the amount I save using the Wise card (with its superior exchange rate) is better than trying to build up flyer points on a different card with horrible exchange rates.

Edited 22 hours ago by oldcpu

[BritManToo]

21 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

I've been living in Thailand since 2019 and just prior to COVID in early 2020 my Wise card expired.  Wise would not send a replacement to Thailand.  Instead they sent such to a German address I maintain (an address of a friend) who passed the card to another friend and hand delivered the replacement card to me in Feb 2020.

Why do you need a physical WISE card when the app allows you to make two virtual cards?

[oldcpu]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Why do you need a physical WISE card when the app allows you to make two virtual cards?

 

I prefer not to have everything on my phone. Thus far I have managed not to go do something stupid and forget my phone .. but making such a mistake is possible for me. 

 

I think each has to decide on their own choice here.

 

[BritManToo]

8 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

I prefer not to have everything on my phone. Thus far I have managed not to go do something stupid and forget my phone .. but making such a mistake is possible for me. 

 

I think each has to decide on their own choice here.

You can access WISE from more than one phone, and your PC, I currently have it on 3 mobiles.

Edited 21 hours ago by BritManToo

[Upnotover]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Why do you need a physical WISE card when the app allows you to make two virtual cards?

If you want to use an ATM or use your card where it is not possible to make a cardless transaction with your phone (many places)

[persimmon]

I`m thinking about getting a Wise card . Tried  to apply online but they want me to send a pic of my PP or drivers license . Is this really needed or am I being scammed ?

[Upnotover]

9 hours ago, persimmon said:

I`m thinking about getting a Wise card . Tried  to apply online but they want me to send a pic of my PP or drivers license . Is this really needed or am I being scammed ?

It's needed, as it would be for any bank account.

[HighPriority]

18 hours ago, oldcpu said:

 

I prefer not to have everything on my phone. Thus far I have managed not to go do something stupid and forget my phone .. but making such a mistake is possible for me. 

 

I think each has to decide on their own choice here.

 

I understand your choice, I assume you’re using a 10 yr old dumb phone, so it’s probably the best way for you.

If you move to a modern smartphone you will have enhanced security of the device which in turn allows you to utilise the features of the wise app and mobile banking etc.

[oldcpu]

21 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

I understand your choice, I assume you’re using a 10 yr old dumb phone,

 

About 3 years old? Galalaxy A53 5G. 

 

It's not about the age of the phone. And I still receive the latest security updates from Samsung.

 

So your assumption not correct. 

 

It's about not having all one's information on one single device. No amount of software security will prevent physical loss of one's phone. Multiple phones is also not a good solution as there are other considerations. 

 

And as already pointed out on this thread, one can make payments with a physical debit card that one can not make with a virtual card on one's phone.

 

I recommend any one who can  get such a physical debit card - do get one.  And don't be sidetracked by claims that a virtual card is equivalent in functionality for everything. A virtual card has limitations.

[HighPriority]

29 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

 

About 3 years old? Galalaxy A53 5G. 

 

It's not about the age of the phone. And I still receive the latest security updates from Samsung.

 

So your assumption not correct. 

 

It's about not having all one's information on one single device. No amount of software security will prevent physical loss of one's phone. Multiple phones is also not a good solution as there are other considerations. 

 

And as already pointed out on this thread, one can make payments with a physical debit card that one can not make with a virtual card on one's phone.

 

I recommend any one who can  get such a physical debit card - do get one.  And don't be sidetracked by claims that a virtual card is equivalent in functionality for everything. A virtual card has limitations.

My assumption also took into account phone backups... which it sounds like you dont utilise.

In the extreme event of loss of your device you obtain a new device, log into your account and the phone downloads everything, seamlessly but only if your phone is set to backup automatically.

I never claimed that a physical card was unnecessary, in fact, like you I prefer the physical card myself.

By using your smartphone and the wise app you can freeze/unfreeze the card in seconds if you are wary of unauthorised use.

My wise card was recently hacked (not skimmed) wise picked up the activity and froze the card themselves before notifying me. I confirmed the 1 charge and 2 authorisations were not mine and they cancelled the card and sent me a new one.

I now freeze the card until I want to use it.

The hack was no fault of wise, its just computers generating numbers from what I understand.

 

 

[oldcpu]

Yes .. I regularly  backup.

 

It's also about the inconvenience of having to not only change phones ( if phone lost)  but also be without a wise card while replacing a phone.

 

Good to read you also have a physical card.

 

Of course no approach is perfect.  

 

The physical cards can also be hacked in a crowded space by someone with a special electronic device moving the device close to where a physical card is located on one's person. 

 

To help protect against that, my wallet is lined with thin metal to block such scanners.

 

Sometimes it seems one can't be too careful. 

[oldcpu]

38 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

 

I now freeze the card until I want to use it.

 

 

Thanks for that tidbit. I knew of the freeze functionality but misunderstood the unfreeze. 

 

I had mistakenly thought after freezing,  one might be required to get a new card. And I had mistakenly thought the unfreeze only useful for new cards.

 

What you note could be highly useful.

 

Thanks for that suggestion. 

[HighPriority]

1 minute ago, oldcpu said:

Yes .. I regularly  backup.

 

It's also about the inconvenience of having to not only change phones ( if phone lost)  but also be without a wise card while replacing a phone.

 

Good to read you also have a physical card.

 

Of course no approach is perfect.  

 

The physical cards can also be hacked in a crowded space by someone with a special electronic device moving the device close to where a physical card is located on one's person. 

 

To help protect against that, my wallet is lined with thin metal to block such scanners.

 

Sometimes it seems one can't be too careful. 

Just on the virtual card, its not lost if you lose the phone, it still lives inside the wise app or wise www.

It is accessible by logging into your wise account via app or www.

 

I've never set up a virtual card myself but I imagine that if you lost your physical card it would give you some limited functionality until your replacement physical card arrived (if saved to your phones wallet) or if you only used the virtual card for online purchases.

As stated you can authorise multiple devices, I can't recall if there is the option to recieve 2FA via email or only as text though.