Wise Business

Wise Business is the commercial tier of Wise's platform, purpose-built for freelancers, contractors, and small businesses that receive international payments. The underlying product — local receiving accounts, mid-market rate conversion, and transparent fee billing — is the same as the personal product, but the Business tier adds multi-user access, batch payouts, accounting integrations, and the ability to hold and manage money across multiple currencies in a business context.

The local receiving account infrastructure is the core value proposition. A Wise Business account holder in the UK gets a sort code and account number for receiving GBP, an IBAN for receiving EUR, an ACH routing number and account number for receiving USD, and equivalent local account details in AUD (BSB), SGD, CAD, NZD, HUF, RON, and TRY. For a UK-based freelancer invoicing US clients, these account details look indistinguishable from a real US bank account to the client — they make a domestic ACH transfer, and it arrives in the Wise USD balance with zero receiving fee and zero currency conversion until the holder chooses to convert.

The conversion model is transparent and cheaper than alternatives: 0.45% above the mid-market rate (the exact margin varies slightly by currency pair, but 0.45% is the standard for major pairs). On USD 1,000 received and converted to GBP, the cost is approximately USD 4.50. Payoneer charges 2–3.5% for the same conversion. PayPal charges 3–4%. Stripe charges 0.5% but charges a 0.8% receiving fee on top. Wise's combination of zero receiving fee plus 0.45% conversion is typically the best all-in deal for freelancers who invoice international clients.

Withdrawing to a UK bank account costs a small flat fee (typically £0.30 per withdrawal for GBP within the UK via Faster Payments, free if kept in the Wise balance and spent via card). Withdrawals in other currencies to matching currency bank accounts typically cost USD 0-3 per withdrawal via local rails. This makes Wise Business among the cheapest platforms for the final step of getting money to a local bank.

The Wise Business debit card (Mastercard or Visa depending on the market) allows spending directly from the multi-currency wallet at the mid-market rate, adding an international spending capability on top of the receiving/conversion function. For freelancers who also travel or have international expenses, the combination of receiving, holding, converting, and spending in one account is genuinely useful.

Accounting integrations include Xero and QuickBooks, with direct transaction syncing and automatic category tagging. For freelancers who use these tools to track income and expenses, the integration reduces manual reconciliation significantly. Multi-user access allows an accountant or bookkeeper to view and export transaction history without needing account access to sensitive transfer functions.

Wise Business is regulated by the FCA in the UK and equivalent regulators in all its operating jurisdictions. Business accounts undergo a somewhat more thorough KYC process than personal accounts (including company registration documents where applicable), but sole traders can open accounts with simpler individual verification. The process typically takes a day or two for new businesses.

One important limitation: Wise does not hold large balances for speculation or investment. It is a payment and conversion tool, not a savings product. Balances earn no interest (unlike Wise's personal interest-bearing accounts) except through the separately-enrolled interest programme on qualifying accounts. For businesses that need to park significant liquidity, a separate interest-bearing business account alongside Wise for the FX and international payment function is the common approach.