You might have seen our video towards the end of last year about the
TransferWise Borderless Account. Since we
made it, they officially launched their
Debit Card in the UK and Europe which
means those customers can now easily
access whatever is in their account.
In this video we're going to look at what
the Debit Card is, how it works and whether it's a good product.
The debit card is essentially like having a local
card to access your Borderless Account funds when you're overseas.
So you can use it to withdraw cash from ATMs or
simply make purchases in shops,
restaurants and any place that accepts
MasterCard.
Now this topic can get a
little bit complicated so let's use an
example. Let's say we have a person who
is a UK resident who works as a graphic
designer in Berlin and has some clients
in Japan and Singapore. We'll come back
to this throughout the video.
The card is unique for a couple of reasons.
Generally when you have a foreign
currency account you can't easily access
the funds with a card. And when you look
at prepaid travel cards it can be
time-consuming and expensive to add
money, convert between currencies and withdraw cash.
The TransferWise Debit Card makes all of this easier because it
gives you access to what's in your
account and makes it easy to convert
between currencies.
Going back to our example, our
TransferWise customer can have local
account details in Germany which lets
his German clients pay him directly to
his Borderless Account. He can then use
his Debit Card wherever he is whether
that be the UK, Germany, Japan or
Singapore. And anywhere else he might travel!
The card is really clever. If he
is using it in Berlin and he has Euros
in his account, his purchases will be
automatically deducted from that balance.
And if he's somewhere else without the
currency he needs, say Singapore,
TransferWise will efficiently convert
another currency into the one he needs.
Which means the card really can be used
anywhere. You can either log into your
account and convert a certain amount of
currency or TransferWise will do it automatically and convert what's needed
to cover the withdrawal or the
transaction.
Now there are some things
you need to look out for when it comes
to the TransferWise Debit Card. You can
withdraw up to £200 or the
equivalent in another currency per month
for free. And after that you'll be
charged a 2% fee on all additional
withdrawals. There are also limitations
for different payment methods; online
payments, contactless payments and normal eftpos
payments all have monthly limits
which you can find on the TransferWise
website. Unlike having a normal bank
account the Borderless Account and Debit
Card don't let you deposit cash, so you
have to transfer it electronically to
your account.
Finally, there are conversion fees. You'll
get the best possible rate with TransferWise but the percentage fee you're
charged will depend on the currencies
you're converting between. So just make
sure you're aware of those fees as well.
Basically the Debit Card is good for
anyone who travels a lot. So if you need
to easily access money overseas, and send
or receive local payments it could be a
really good option.
This means it's great for expats,
businesses or anyone who travels
regularly.
Like most things with
TransferWise we like their transparency
and competitive rates and fees. The
Borderless Account and its Debit Card
make it much easier to have a multi-
currency account and access your funds
when you're overseas. Remember that at
the moment you can only get it if you're
a UK or European customer. But we'll be
sure to update you when that changes. As
with any product, it's important to make
yourself aware of all of the terms
conditions and fees before you sign up
but if you stay within its limits, it's a
pretty helpful way to access money when
you're overseas.