Wise Business Review | Full 2026 review for Australian SMBs

Key takeaways

• Wise Business is a multi-currency account platform that lets you make international payments, with local account details in major currencies.

• You'll pay variable currency transfer fees starting at 0.63%. There are no monthly account fees.

• If you're handling higher transaction volumes or need integrated expense management and more comprehensive financial tools, modern fintech platforms like Airwallex might offer you a more scalable solution.

What is Wise?

Wise launched in 2011 as a consumer-focused international money transfer service and has since expanded into business financial services. If you're a business, Wise offers multi-currency accounts with local bank details in 24 currencies, so you can hold and convert funds while making transfers to 70+ countries at competitive exchange rates.

How does Wise Business work?

Wise Business gives you a fully online multi-currency account where you can receive, hold, convert, and send money across borders through their website or mobile app. Here's how the process works:

1. Register and verify: Sign up online and submit your business details for verification, which takes up to 10 working days.

2. Receive payments: Open local account details in major currencies like AUD, USD, GBP, and EUR to receive payments without SWIFT fees.

3. Hold and convert funds: Hold balances in 50+ currencies and convert between them at the mid-market exchange rate plus a variable fee.

4. Send money: Pay suppliers, contractors, and staff in 70+ countries using your held balances.

This set-up lets you manage multiple currencies from a single platform, making cross-border transactions simpler.

Wise Business Account key features and products

Let's look at the features and products that are key to the Wise Business platform.

Eligibility

You can use Wise if you're an Australian sole trader, freelancer, limited or public company, partnership, charity, or trust.

Sending and receiving money

You can convert between currencies, transfer funds to 70+ countries, or receive payments through local account details in 24 currencies.

Supported countries and currencies

• Hold money: 50+ currencies

• Receive money: Local account details for 24 currencies, including AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, and SGD

• Send money: 70+ countries

Expense management

Wise offers a virtual card with its Business account, and you can use it wherever Mastercard is accepted. As an account owner, you can issue cards to team members, set spending limits, and track spending.

Earn returns

'Interest' is a feature from Wise that lets you earn a return on your AUD, GBP, and USD balances if you're eligible. Note that access to Wise Interest comes with a 0.72% annual fee.

Accounting integrations

Wise syncs your transaction data with popular accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks, and ZohoBooks to make reconciliation easier.

Wise Business Account pricing and fees

How much does the Wise Business Account cost? Here are the main fees and charges you should know about.

Wise pros and cons

Pros

• Simple interface for individuals and businesses

• Offers virtual debit cards

• Integrates with accounting software

Cons

• Relatively high fees per international transaction

• May not be cost-effective for a larger number of transactions

• Does not offer advanced analytics or expense management tools

Wise Business Account User Reviews

At the time of writing (February 2026), Wise has a 4.3/5 star rating across 280,000 reviews on TrustPilot. Positive reviews call out ease of use and fee transparency. Negative reviews typically mention account lockouts with little notice and poor customer support from Business Account users.

Users suggest Wise offers a fast, intuitive money transfer service that's best if you're primarily making domestic transfers or transfers to major currencies. However, their global reach isn't as extensive as some other fintech platforms, and they don’t offer a complete financial solution with integrated expense management and advanced tools.

How to open a Wise Business Account

To open a Wise Business Account, you'll go through an online verification process with these steps:

1. Register: Create your Wise Business Account online

2. Provide business information: Submit your business address, industry, stakeholder details, and ownership documentation

3. Share account owner details: Provide personal information for account administrators

4. Complete set-up: Make an initial transfer or pay the one-time set-up fee to activate your account details

Once you've completed these steps, the Wise team will take up to 10 working days to verify your account. Then you can make a transfer.

Why businesses choose Airwallex over Wise

For businesses that want an all-in-one financial platform to help you scale, Airwallex is the platform for you, with more tools and features designed for growth. An Airwallex Business Account built it specifically for businesses with global operations and stakeholders. You'll get more comprehensive financial tools for international operations.

If you're serious about cutting costs and making more money, Airwallex can offer you free domestic transactions and like-for-like settlement options.

Here's what you'll get with Airwallex compared to Wise:

• More currencies and countries: Airwallex lets you receive payments from 70+ currencies into your Global Account compared to 40+ with Wise. We also let you pay out to over 200 countries compared to only 50+ with Wise.

• Earn return on funds (without the cost): Both Wise and Airwallex let businesses earn returns on funds, but you won't need to pay any additional fees to access Airwallex Yield.

• More support: When something goes wrong, you want someone in your corner. Eligible businesses receive a dedicated account manager with Airwallex, while this is not available with Wise.

• Payments and checkout. Airwallex offers payment links, plugins, and fully customisable checkouts to process customer payments, with a physical POS coming soon. Wise Business does not offer Payments in Australia.

• Advanced features and tools. Airwallex lets businesses do more, with multi-entity management, platform APIs and embedded finance, subscription management, and more.

Frequently asked questions

Is Airwallex or Wise better for business in Australia?

While both platforms offer multi-currency accounts, Airwallex is designed for scaling businesses with features like integrated expense management and 0% international transaction fees on corporate cards. Unlike Wise, Airwallex Australia also offers a high-yield product (Airwallex Yield), allowing you to earn competitive returns on your AUD and USD balances.

Does Airwallex charge a monthly account fee in Australia?

Airwallex offers an Explore plan with a $0 monthly fee, provided you deposit at least $5,000 AUD per month or maintain a minimum balance of $10,000 AUD. For businesses that do not meet these criteria, the monthly fee is $29 AUD, which includes local bank details in 20+ currencies and 10 free company cards.

What are the fees for Wise Business Interest in Australia?

While Wise Business has no monthly subscription fees and now offers local account details for free, using the Wise Interest feature involves an annual service fee (typically around 0.72%).This fee is deducted from the daily returns earned on your AUD, USD, or GBP balances, with the remaining profit added to your account monthly.

Sources 

1. https://wise.com/help/articles/2977974/can-my-business-use-wise

2. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business 

3. https://wise.com/help/articles/2769792/how-can-i-verify-my-business

4. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business/send-money 

5. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business/card-fees

6. https://wise.com/au/interest/

Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on our own online research. Airwallex was not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed annually. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]].

This information doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. If you are a customer of Airwallex Pty Ltd (ACN 609 653 312, AFSL No. 487221), it is important for you to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the Direct Services, available here. If you are a customer of Airwallex Capital Pty Ltd (ACN 661 618 819, AFSL No. 549026), it is important for you to read the PDS for Airwallex Yield, available at www.airwallex.com/au/terms and issued by K2 Asset Management Ltd (ABN 95 085 445 094, AFSL No. 244 393), a wholly-owned subsidiary of K2 Asset Management Holdings Ltd. All investments carry risk.