TransferWise Borderless for Expats and Nomads

Marc LaFountain -

Having been an expat (and avid traveler) for many years now, I've been searching for financial solutions that make my financial life easier. I'm currently experimenting with a TransferWise Borderless account and associated debit card. Thus far, I'm very pleased.

A Bit About TransferWise

If you haven't used TransferWise before, a little background. Since 2011, TransferWise has generally been the cheapest way to transfer money between currencies.

Banks often charge unfavorable currency conversion rates and hefty, opaque transaction fees to wire money in different currencies between them. TransferWise charges market currency conversion rates and reasonable, transparent fees for the same service. You wire money in Currency A to TranferWise from one of your bank accounts and TransferWise wires money in Currency B to another of your bank accounts.

If you would like to try TransferWise, you can use this link to get your first transfer free. (Full disclosure, I get a referral bonus if you sign up and transfer money using that link.)

TransferWise Borderless

In May 2017, TransferWise launched the multi-currency Borderless account, It's now available in most places. The key details:

  • There aren't any sign-up or subscription fees.
  • You get your own bank details for the US, UK, Eurozone, Australia, and New Zealand. You can use those details to receive money from people and businesses around the world for free.
  • You can also wire money from your bank(s) in many currencies to your Borderless account. And you can also add funds via debit or credit cards.
  • You can convert your Borderless funds to over 40 currencies.
  • You can hold your funds in your Borderless account or send them on to banks as you wish.
  • Account management is done using well-designed mobile apps or the web.
  • Fee details for currency conversions, for funding via wire or debit/credit card, and for bank transfers are here. Again, the fees are reasonable and transparent compared to other options.

Borderless Debit Card

In January 2018, TransferWise launched a debit Mastercard that works with the Borderless account. The card is available in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and most of the European Economic Area. The key details:

  • There aren't any sign-up or subscription fees.
  • The card supports ATM withdrawals, chip and PIN transactions, contactless transactions, magnetic stripe transactions, and online payments.
  • You can enable or disable each of those transaction types and set limits on each of them as you wish.
  • Cards issued in the US support Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. (I'm guessing more countries will be supported soon.)
  • ATM withdrawals are free up 200 GBP/250 USD (or your currency's equivalent) in total per 30 days. After that, a 2% withdrawal fee is charged. (Not at all bad when you consider what ATM fees and currrency conversions are usually like when using cards abroad.)
  • If you have a currency in your Borderless account, spending it using the card is free. If you don't have a currency in your account, there's a conversion fee for using a currency you do have in your account, typically between 0.35 –1%. (Again, not at all bad when you consider what foreign transaction fees and currency conversions are usually like when using cards abroad.)
  • There are a few countries where the card cannot be used. Fairly standard stuff.
  • Card management is done using well-designed mobile apps or the web.
  • Full card fee details are here.

Possible Downsides

Borderless and the card have no sign-up or subscription fees, low usage fees, and reasonable currency conversion rates. So there's a lot to like. But there may be downsides for some people:

  • As best I can tell, there can only be one card per Borderless account. That could limit the usefulness for couples and families. (I suspect this would be hard to change. I believe a TransferWise account is traditionally given to one specific person.)
  • Borderless doesn't pay interest, and the card doesn't offer cashback or any sort of points. (Given the low costs and the benefits, I think that's reasonable.)
  • This is a debit card, not a credit card. It won't let you carry debt. It won't help you build or maintain your credit history. It won't let you benefit from credit card float between billing cycles. (Again, given the low costs and the benefits, I think this is reasonable.)

I'm extremely impressed with what TransferWise has done here. And I bet many expats, contractors or businesses who bill across borders, and frequent travelers could find this quite helpful.