Top 5 Wise alternatives in the US: compare fees, features, and benefits

If you run a growing business, you’ll need a global payment platform that lets you open local accounts in multiple currencies, seamlessly accept payments from international customers, and send money across borders without excessive fees. Some platforms even enable instant payments using just an email address, highlighting the simplicity and speed modern businesses expect.

Accepting payments in various currencies is essential for global growth. The right provider can help you manage complex payment structures and facilitate smooth international transfers for both businesses and individuals.

While Wise is one option to consider, exploring other alternatives can help you find the solution best aligned with your growth goals and financial needs. Some platforms offer faster settlement times, broader support for local payment methods, and more advanced tools for managing multi-currency transactions at scale, with competitive fees.

Introduction to Wise alternatives

Businesses and individuals alike seek reliable, efficient, and cost-effective financial solutions. The rise of fintech has introduced a range of alternatives to traditional banks, making it easier to send and receive money across borders with affordable money transfers.

Wise is a popular choice, known for its low fees and mid-market exchange rates. However, depending on your specific needs – such as access to multi-currency accounts, instant payments, or support for different ways to pay like credit cards, bank transfers, or mobile wallets – other providers may be a better fit.

We’ll explore top alternatives to Wise and compare their features, pricing, and services to help you find the right platform for your international payment needs.

What is Wise?

Wise is a UK-based financial technology company focused on simplifying global money transfers through its international account services. Its platform is designed to help consumers and businesses send funds overseas at a relatively low cost, supporting both personal and business transfers.

Wise offers foreign exchange rates based on the mid-market rate, which can result in cost savings compared to providers that apply additional markups. The transfer speed and costs associated with moving funds between platforms like PayPal are often compared to Wise's, reflecting differences in convenience and fees.

Unlike platforms emphasizing broad payment acceptance capabilities, Wise primarily focuses on efficient and affordable international money transfers, rather than serving as a full-scale payment acceptance solution for businesses. This makes Wise a suitable option for users looking for low-cost money transfers over more comprehensive payment processing features.

For businesses, Wise’s products include:

• Virtual debit cards

• Multi-currency debit cards

• Mass payment and batch transfer capabilities for businesses that need to send funds to multiple recipients across different countries and currencies

While Wise is best known for serving consumers and small businesses, it also offers a simple and affordable solution for business payments. However, its limited set of business-focused features – such as the absence of volume-based discounts, advanced expense management, and deeper accounting or ERP integrations – may make it less suitable for growing businesses that require scalable, enterprise-grade solutions.

Wise helps businesses streamline outbound payments by supporting transfers to bank accounts and local payout methods, depending on the recipient’s country. That said, it primarily focuses on efficient international transfers rather than serving as a full-scale financial operation or payment acceptance platform.

The top alternatives to Wise in the US

Are you based in the US and looking for alternatives to Wise to send money abroad? These alternatives facilitate cross-border transfers and help businesses optimize their cash flow by providing flexible payment options with lower fees. Some alternatives are designed to enable fast and low-cost international transfers for financial institutions.

Payment gateways are also crucial for businesses, offering security, compliance, and multi-currency support, enhancing the overall transaction experience. Here are five standout Wise alternatives and their competitive benefits.

• Airwallex: A global financial platform founded in 2015 to collect, hold, convert, and send multi-currency payments

• Stripe: A point-of-sale (POS) system for brick-and-mortar retailers to accept in-person payments, as well as an online payment gateway for eCommerce businesses to accept credit and debit card payments

• Payoneer: A payments platform designed for marketplace sellers and freelancers to collect, hold, and send payments

• PayPal: A well-established payment gateway that’s been processing credit, debit, and bank transfer payments for over 20 years

• Revolut: A UK-based financial technology company established in 2015, offering digital financial services to consumers and businesses

Compare the top 5 alternatives to Wise in the US

Why choose Airwallex over Wise?

When comparing providers for international money transfers, it’s essential to look beyond fees and payout speeds. Airwallex is a strong alternative to Wise for businesses that need more than just transfers. It offers tools to manage overseas payments across multiple currencies, access local account details in 23+ currencies, and streamline transactions through integrations with platforms like Apple Pay and Google Pay for faster, more flexible checkouts.

Airwallex also supports ACH Direct Debit as a cost-effective payment method for US businesses. With no transaction fees for standard use cases, it is an attractive option for collecting recurring or large domestic payments compared to card payments or international wire transfers.

Embedded finance capabilities

While Wise offers multi-currency business accounts and transparent international transfer options, it does not provide a complete embedded finance infrastructure. Airwallex, by contrast, enables platforms to embed multi-currency accounts, cross-border transfers, FX, and financial workflows directly into their own products. This distinction is critical for SaaS platforms, marketplaces, and global businesses looking to deliver financial services to their customers at scale.

Airwallex vs. Wise: embedded finance capabilities

What questions should I ask when choosing alternative providers to Wise?

Here are the most important questions to consider when choosing an alternative to Wise. Use these as a handy guide when doing your research.

1. What are the transaction fees?

2. What is the currency exchange markup?

3. Are there any account setup or management fees?

4. How extensive is the global coverage?

5. Which currencies can you hold in your business account?

6. What funds management services do you provide?

7. What security measures do you have in place?

8. What integration capabilities do you offer?

9. Do you provide dedicated account management support?

10. Do you offer corporate and employee cards?

11. Is there a monthly fee for the account?

12. Does the service support mobile money accounts?

13. Do you offer multi-currency business accounts, and what are the associated benefits?

14. Can you send money overseas, and what are the associated costs and features?

15. What options are available to transfer money internationally, and how do they compare regarding fees and speed?

16. How does the destination country impact fees and service quality?

17. What are the benefits and features of international accounts?

18. How important is the ability to transfer funds quickly for your business needs?

Final thoughts on alternatives to Wise

Airwallex and Wise are both known for offering businesses competitive cross-border payment solutions. 

For global reach, Airwallex is hard to beat. With a multi-currency business account, businesses can accept and hold 23 currencies and handle transactions in 150+ countries. With Airwallex, customers enjoy 0% international transaction fees to 120+ countries using our local payment rails. Wise supports holding 22 currencies and global payout coverage to 70 countries with international payment fees. 

Airwallex includes account management services, payment links and plugins, and expense management capabilities. For accounts payable solutions, Wise offers a basic offering, integrating with a few software providers.

Our verdict? Wise offers low-cost global money transfers for consumers and smaller businesses, but larger enterprises may struggle.

Airwallex provides a fast, cost-effective international money transfer service. It supports more currencies and software integrations and offers important services like account management, online payments, and expense management.

Consider Airwallex for an end-to-end financial solution built to solve all kinds of cross-border payment challenges. 

Sources & references

1. https://www.airwallex.com/us/pricing

2. https://stripe.com/pricing 

3. https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

4. https://www.payoneer.com/business/ 

5. https://www.revolut.com/business/business-account-plans/

6. https://wise.com/us/business/ 

7. https://wise.com/us/business/receive-money

8. https://wise.com/us/business/invoices  

9. https://wise.com/gb/pricing/business/receive 

10. https://wise.com/us/pricing/business/send-money

Disclaimer:  

We wrote this article in Q2 2025. The information was based on our own online research, and we were not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only, and readers should consider their business's specific requirements when evaluating providers. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].