[Essential for overseas travel/business trips] Wise debit cards are incredibly convenient

Hello, this is TK from the Canada office

Well, this time I would like to introduce you to the debit card of the international money transfer service "Wise," which I used on a trip this year and was amazed at how convenient it was

This is one of the items I most regret, wishing I had known about it when I moved to Canada. I recently heard a story about a Japanese business traveller visiting our Canadian office having trouble with currency exchange and fees when making local payments using a Japanese credit card, so I thought, "This is it!" and decided to write this article

With the yen's depreciation this year (as of April 2024), expenses abroad are particularly likely to increase, so this is a card we highly recommend to anyone planning a short stay overseas, such as a business trip or vacation

What is Wise?

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a company that provides P2P money transfer services and was founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in January 2011. The service itself is also called Wise

Unlike traditional international remittances, it matches users and allows them to send money with a small commission

(Source: Wikipedia )

Anyone who has stayed abroad has probably heard of Wise. It is a service/company that has become famous for its low fees and good exchange rates compared to banks and other international remittance services

Official Website

I myself often use this service to transfer money between Japan and Canada, but when I found out that they also issue debit cards, I decided to try it out on an international trip I was planning this year

What is the Wise debit card?

With a debit card issued by Wise, you can make payments by directly withdrawing funds from the currency accounts in your Wise account

Official page

This card is so convenient that it's almost like using a local card. It feels as smooth as using a local card, and I feel like this is all I need for overseas payments

It's easy to use: just open an account, order a card, and use it to make payments just like a regular credit card. If you charge your account in the currency you want to use for payments in advance, you can start making online payments right away with your card information without having to wait for the physical card to arrive

How to use a Wise debit card

 

Useful points

Now, here are some points that I found useful

Convenience point 1: Multi-currency account

You can have up to 10 currency accounts per account. For example, if you are traveling or on a business trip across multiple countries, you can open an account in the currency of the country you are staying in and deposit money into it beforehand, and then use your card in the same way in each country to make payments in the appropriate currency without having to worry about anything. It's very convenient

Convenient point 2: ATM withdrawals possible

Most payments are cashless, but if you need cash, you can use a debit card to withdraw local currency from an ATM at your destination. Click here . It's super convenient.

Convenient point 3: Automatic exchange from other currencies

If you run out of local currency during your stay, the money will be automatically converted from your other currency accounts with balances and used to settle your bill

This is something that I was particularly impressed with. In my case, I ran out of the small amount of pesos I had saved up while I was in Mexico, but I was able to continue using my debit card by automatically converting it into Canadian dollars without having to do anything myself

The exchange rate was already pretty low, so it was much cheaper to keep using my debit card than to use the Canadian credit card I brought with me just in case

summary

In addition to the above points, the Wise debit card has many other useful features, such as the ability to instantly freeze or unfreeze your card from the app in the event that it is lost or stolen, and instant notifications of details such as rates for each transaction

This card is perfect for those who are traveling overseas for short to medium periods, such as on a business trip or vacation, and will need to spend a certain amount of money, but are worried about carrying a lot of cash. Using credit cards also comes with fees and exchange rates. It's also perfect for those staying long-term, and can be used for payments until you can open a local bank account. It's a must-have card for travel, and we recommend it to everyone!