URL: https://exchangesteps.com/how-to-send-money-with-wise
Updated: 2026-10-23
Sources: https://wise.com/help/articles/2977959/how-do-i-send-money-with-wise , https://wise.com/help/articles/5Fwvk7KFzbTBohJiUu0Ryd/sending-with-swift , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932365/guide-to-egp-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932363/guide-to-mad-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932360/guide-to-aed-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932149/guide-to-eur-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932148/guide-to-gbp-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932338/guide-to-chf-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932150/guide-to-usd-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2932153/guide-to-cad-transfers , https://wise.com/help/articles/2556723/how-to-pay-by-card , https://wise.com/help/articles/2973523/paying-for-a-transfer-with-apple-or-google-pay , https://wise.com/help/articles/2559761/how-to-pay-by-bank-transfer , https://wise.com/help/articles/3xConsbhr7buWkQuqDEQ5V/how-do-i-verify-my-country-of-residence , https://wise.com/help/articles/2571907/what-currencies-can-i-send-to-and-from

# How to Send Money with Wise, Step by Step

> **Quick answer**
> In the app or on the website: **[Send]** → **[+ Add]** → pick the recipient's currency → **[Bank details]** → fill in the form → **Amount** → **Review** → **Pay**. You pay in the currency of the country you live in, **from a bank account in your own name**, and Wise shows the fee, the rate and the arrival estimate before you confirm. A bank transfer is usually the cheapest way to pay.
>
> **[Open your Wise account →]**

## Before your first transfer

1. **An account in your name:** [create a Wise account](https://exchangesteps.com/how-to-create-wise-account).
2. **Verification:** Wise checks your identity before or during the first transfer: [Wise verification](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-identity-verification).
3. **Your family's bank details:** which ones depends on the country, see the recipient forms below.

## Step by step

1. Tap **[Send]**. A bar at the top shows the four stages: **Recipient · Amount · Review · Pay**. The first screen asks "WHO ARE YOU SENDING TO?", with a search box and your recent recipients.
2. For a new recipient, tap **[+ Add]**. Don't start from an existing contact: Wise then only shows the currencies you've already used with that contact.
3. Under "Select their currency", type the currency your family should receive, for example **EGP**, **MAD**, **AED** or **SAR**.
4. On "Add a recipient", choose **[Bank details]** ("You'll need their account information"). **[Upload screenshot or invoice]** lets Wise fill in the details from a screenshot, photo or PDF; check every field afterwards. **[Search on Wise]** is for people who already have Wise, and isn't offered for every currency (for SAR it shows "You can't currently send SAR to a Wise account").
5. Fill in the recipient form (next section) with the details exactly as the bank has them.
6. **Amount:** type what you send (**From**) or what your family should get (**To**). Wise shows the rate, the fee and the expected arrival.
7. **Review:** check the name, the IBAN or account number and, for Swift, the SWIFT code, character by character.
8. **Pay:** choose how to pay. By bank transfer, send the exact amount to the details Wise shows, from your own account: Wise can't accept money from someone else's account, even with a power of attorney.
9. Follow the status in the app or on the website.

## The recipient form: what Wise asks for

**Local transfers (Egypt, Morocco, UAE):**

| Country | Fields | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt (EGP) | Recipient type, IBAN (29 characters), BIC optional | [Send money to Egypt](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-egypt) |
| Morocco (MAD) | Recipient type, bank name from a list, 24-digit RIB (not an IBAN) | [Send money to Morocco](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-morocco) |
| UAE (AED) | Recipient type, IBAN starting with AE (23 characters), name in English up to 35 characters | [Send money to the UAE](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-uae) |

**Swift transfers (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Mauritania, and USD or EUR outside their home regions):** Wise says all these fields are required:

| Field in Wise | What to enter |
|---|---|
| **Recipient type** | Person or Business |
| **IBAN / Account number** | The IBAN if the bank has one, otherwise the account number (4 to 34 letters or digits), no spaces |
| **SWIFT / BIC** | The bank's code, 8 or 11 characters |
| **Country**, **City** | Where the recipient lives |
| **Recipient address**, **Post code** | The recipient's address as the bank has it |

Wise's advice for Swift: "always use an IBAN when possible", no spaces or separators in the number, and only the account number in the account-number field. Each country page has the IBAN format and the SWIFT codes of the main banks: [Saudi Arabia](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-saudi-arabia), [Kuwait](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-kuwait), [Qatar](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-qatar), [Bahrain](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-bahrain), [Oman](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-oman), [Tunisia](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-tunisia), [Algeria](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-algeria), [Lebanon](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-lebanon), [Mauritania](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-send-money-to-mauritania).

For the Swift currencies, Wise doesn't publish a per-transfer limit or the receiving bank's fees, and intermediary banks on the route may take a fee (for EUR sent outside Europe, Wise says these are "usually between 10-25 EUR").

## How you pay, by the country you live in

You pay in the currency of the country you live in. What Wise accepts, from its own help pages:

| You live in | You pay in | Ways to pay | Time to reach Wise | Limits Wise lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **United Kingdom** | GBP | Bank transfer (Faster Payments), debit or credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay | Usually seconds | Apple Pay and Google Pay 10,000 GBP per payment |
| **Euro area (Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium and others)** | EUR | SEPA bank transfer, card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Trustly, iDEAL (Netherlands) | SEPA: minutes to 1 working day | Card 10,000 EUR per transfer; Apple Pay 10,000 EUR; Google Pay 2,000 EUR per payment |
| **Switzerland** | CHF | Bank transfer (regular or instant), card, QR bill | 1-3 working days; instant 15-30 minutes | Card 3,500 CHF; Apple Pay 3,500 CHF; Google Pay 2,500 CHF |
| **United States** | USD | ACH bank debit, wire, debit or credit card | ACH 0-4 working days; wire same or next day; card 0-30 minutes | Card 2,000 USD per 24 hours and 8,000 USD per 7 days; ACH 50,000 USD per 24 hours |
| **Canada** | CAD | Interac e-Transfer, direct debit (EFT), online bill payment, card, wire | 1-3 working days | Interac 25,000 CAD; card 3,000 CAD; direct debit 9,500 CAD per day |

**From the UK:** Wise says a GBP bank transfer usually reaches it in seconds, and rarely takes up to 1 working day.

**From Germany:** pay by SEPA from your German bank; Wise doesn't support SOFORT. A card issued in the EEA paying in EUR has no international card fee.

**From France:** pay by SEPA, or by Apple Pay (up to 10,000 EUR) or Google Pay (up to 2,000 EUR per payment). A card issued in the EEA paying in EUR has no international card fee.

**From Switzerland:** CHF must come from a bank in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, and Wise doesn't accept CHF by Swift. An instant bank transfer reaches Wise in 15 to 30 minutes.

**From the US:** if your address is in the US you can't pay by Swift. Wise says most banks charge 15-30 USD for a domestic wire, so ACH is the usual choice when you aren't in a hurry.

**From Canada:** CAD must come from a Canadian bank, and Wise asks Canadian residents to choose their occupation from a list.

**Card fees:** Wise says cards cost more than a bank transfer, and a card issued in a different country from the currency you pay in costs more again. A card issued in the EEA paying in EUR has no international card fee. Apple Pay and Google Pay need a card from the same region as the currency.

**If your passport is from another country:** Wise may ask for a document issued by the country you live in (a residence permit, or a visa valid for more than 90 days). For an address in a Gulf country, a residence document from any GCC country is accepted.

## How long it takes

1. **Your money reaches Wise:** from seconds (UK bank transfer) to 4 working days (US ACH), see the table.
2. **Conversion:** up to 2 working days.
3. **Payout:** usually the same working day to Egypt, 1-3 working days to Morocco, 0-2 to the UAE, and 1-6 working days by Swift, according to Wise.

The app shows the expected arrival for your transfer before you pay. On the first transfer, verification can add time.

## If you live in the Gulf

You can sign up, but Wise doesn't accept SAR, AED, KWD, QAR, BHD or OMR as a currency to pay with (AED payments are currently suspended). Wise allows USD by card or Swift for people outside the US; a Gulf card paying USD counts as an international card, which costs more, and the card limit is 2,000 USD per 24 hours and 8,000 USD per 7 days. More: [Wise in the Arab world](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-supported-countries).

## Two rules that protect your account

- **Pay only from your own account.** Wise returns money from someone else's account.
- **No crypto.** Wise doesn't allow sending money to crypto exchanges or to people selling crypto, and may close the account: [Wise and Binance](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-to-binance).

## FAQ

**Does my family need a Wise account to receive the money?**
No. The money goes to their bank account; they only give you their bank details.

**Can I send to Vodafone Cash or InstaPay?**
No. Wise pays out to bank accounts only.

**Why don't I see the currency I want?**
Start from **[+ Add]**, not from an existing contact: a saved contact only shows the currencies you used with them before.

**Which way of paying is the cheapest?**
Wise says a bank transfer is usually the cheapest. The calculator shows the fee for each way of paying before you choose: [Wise fees](https://exchangesteps.com/wise-fees).

## Get started

**[Open your Wise account →]**

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*Last updated: 23 October 2026 · All facts from the official Wise pages listed above.*