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Free Visa Debit Card @ Wise (formerly TransferWise)

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This is for those who have Wise accounts (wise.com).

Ordering a Wise debit card is usually $14. I was looking at rates today on the mobile app, and it did not indicate any price. Instead, it just said 'Order your card'.

Successfully requested for a debit card without having to pay for ordering it. Shipping is free by standard NZ Post delivery.

I am not sure if this is a Black Friday promotion, and when it returns to the $14 ordering fee (https://wise.com/nz/multi-currency-account/pricing).

Might be helpful for those who missed this in the past such as this one: https://www.cheapies.nz/node/20750

Referral Links

Referral: random (261)

Referrer receives $130 for every 3 signups, who must all spend $175 each. Referee receives either one free transfer (Up to $900), or they receive a free physical card. (Keep clicking the referral randomiser until you receive the offer you want)

Related Stores

Wise (Formerly Transferwise)
Wise (Formerly Transferwise)

closed Comments

  • +1

    Its been free for a while. When they sent me my Visa card, it came free without any charges.

    • +1

      It wasn't when I sent funds recently. I wonder if it's targeted or restricted to certain accounts. The pricing webpage still indicates the $14 ordering fee.

      • Might be targeted, I ordered one yesterday, and it cost $14.

  • Wow just ordered mine for free , cheers

  • +2

    Just checked, still showing $14 for me. So most likely targeted.

  • Grabbed one for free, thanks OP

  • +1

    Free for me too. I made a transfer in the last month, so maybe that's why I was eligible?

    Anyway, what are the advantages of a Wise debit card, compared with an NZ bank debit card? Thanks.

    • You can use it worldwide when you have deposited money in another currency without a hassle. normal nz debit card will have some money conversion charges when used overseas.

      • If I deposited some, say, AUD in there but didn't use it, could I then convert it back to NZD to use?

        • +3

          Yes but with a fee - still much lower than the conversion fee charged by a bank

    • Other than providing good rates for currency conversion, it also provides overseas ATM withdrawal, multi currency account which you will have a local bank account number for each currency, easy to use card 'block' feature against fraud, virtual Visa card, etc.

      • With the local currency bank account number, is it a feature of Wise or of Wise debit card? Can I use it to send and receive AUD just as I would with a Commonwealth bank account?

        • As far as I know, the debit card is linked to your wise account. All currency accounts (balances as per wise) can use the debit card in the designated country. It will pick the balance first from the country you are trying to use, if balance is not enough it will use from any other currency with available balance (with conversion fee). Lastly it will withdraw from your bank account for remaining balance(I think, not sure about this)

          For eg. I received cashback in uk wise bank account in pound. I had $5 nzd value in nz wise balance. Used $10 nzd yesterday with wise debit card, it used $5 balance and remaining from uk account after converting it to nzd.

        • You can open balances of different currencies in your Wise account. Most balances will have local bank account information, e.g. 02-XXXX-<account number> for NZD balance, BSB code and account number for AUD balance, Routing number and swift code for USD balance, IBAN for GBP balance, etc. You can transfer funds into or out of these balances like local banks.
          Those balances will be the current account for your payment using the debit card. so if you are paying in a certain currency and have sufficient balance in the account, the exact amount is charged from your balance - no fee will incur.

          • +1

            @LYuen: Thanks, but can I use it as a bank transfer instead of a card payment? For example I already transferred NZD to AUD (already paid the conversion fees) and now having $1,000 AUD on my Wise AUD balance. Can I use it to transfer to person A $50 this time person B $200 next time etc (to their AUD bank accounts) without incurring further fees?

  • Can I use this to buy stuff that requires a US Credit card like on a US steam account?

    • Yes you can do it.I use it when buying stuff from overseas and paying with the local currency to save on forex.

    • +2

      I don't think it counts as a US-issued card.

  • Definitely targeted, my incomplete order from a while ago shows $14 to pay.

  • Comes up as free but you still have to have at least $30 in your account to get it.

    • I just got one for free and I have $0 in my account

      • I just got one for free but they made me deposit $30

  • got mine free but you usually only pay if you need to replace

  • This still costs $14 NZD for me, and I do have $30 NZD in the account.

    • I was looked on the Android Mobile app, still said $14. When I looked at the mobile website, there was no indication of the $14 charge.

  • At what point during the card ordering process can you tell if it's free? I'm up to choosing a pin which looks like the last step and there's been no fee mentioned yet

    • It should be free for you now. I used to see the $14 fee at the start instead of a plain “Order your card” button.

    • It mentioned things like "shipping included in the cost" to me along the way but ultimately it was free.

  • Free for me, too, thanks op

  • +1

    Don't mean to nitpick but the Wise card you order is actually a Mastercard, not VISA. You can get the virtual VISA once you've got it.

    • I have visa. Just received it last week and used it yesterday. How do you get virtual card?

      • Under cards on the site you can create one :)

      • +1

        That's interesting. Maybe they use both now. Usually once you have the card available in the app or the website, you have the ability to create virtual cards

        https://wise.com/nz/virtual-card/

    • I have both Mastercard and Visa cards.

      • How?

        • +1

          Their previous card issued during the TransferWise age were issued by Mastercard. These cards are valid until they expired or the owners cancels them.

          • @LYuen: It appears that they recently switched to Visa, which is unfortunate. The older cards (like the one I have now) is Mastercard.

  • +5

    I (profanity) love TransferWise/Wise. I joined before this card existed, you can also spin up virtual cards which are awesome for shopping on dodgy websites, as you can burn them afterwards.

    The reason there's confusion as to its free/paid status, is that when they first announced it, they had a free period. Then after that period expired they added a one-off fee for it.

    They're the type of company I aspire my businesses to be, one that
    A) introduces new features and just gives them to existing users for free to reward them, then charges new users for them
    B) If they want more money, they make new features, they don't just ramp up fees

    Most companies usually only reward new customers (sign up deals), and constantly ream existing customers (increase fees).

  • Thanks, just ordered one. Will be handy for travelling… eventually! Not sure I really have a use for it otherwise.

  • Is this similar to the OneSmart MC card that I currently use - are the exchange fees better? I do like the idea of a virtual CC

    • Much better. App is also better too.

  • I got mine for free when they launched, but even at $14, I still would've paid for one as I use it all the time. It's pointless having a multi currency account if you can't easily spend it without a debit card.

  • Yeah, I foresee this we’ll be helpful when we start traveling again. Receiving payments ‘like a local’ in 9 currencies would also be interesting when people do more remote work, potentially overseas, perhaps for Freelancers.

    One useful tip may be to ‘Freeze’ the card when it’s not being used regularly (https://wise.com/help/articles/2977977/how-do-i-freeze-or-un…).

  • Oh, I just remembered why I got an account in the first place. Was trying to work out why I had a huge lump of USD in my account on there.

    If you sell on eBay and get paid using PayPal, PayPal will only let you withdraw in your local currency (eg NZD) UNLESS you have a US bank account (not a USD bank account, I have one of those with ASB but PayPal still won't let you withdraw USD to it).

    PayPal charge extortionate forex rates for converting USD to NZD. Even NZ bank rates are better and they're pretty arse too.

    You can generate a US bank account on Wise, then connect it to PayPal. Withdraw in USD to Wise, use Wises excellent forex rates to convert to NZD then withdraw to your NZ account. Or even just send it as USD to your NZ account (but Wise forex rates are better than NZ bank rates).

    I had like 18k USD sitting in my PayPal and using Wise saved me over a grand in PayPal garbage forex rates.

    • It's for this same reason why you can't set "Charge me in the origin currency" as default when buying stuff using PayPal and have to manually click through for every transaction to say, "No, don't charge me in NZD, charge me in USD, you (profanity)" because PayPal cream so much on the forex rates.

    • I thought Ebay dont use Paypal anymore

      as an aside , I tried to get my money our of Paypal, added a bank account, they blocked it for 72 hrs, then after 72 hrs I was told to wait another 72 hrs

      Same with Rabo, get this, opened account now issues for a year, then they threw me all the requests of source of Funds etc, provided all of that but still waiting after 2 weeks

      How can these companies get away with this kind of service ?

      • Yeah, PayPal are a whopping bag of dicks in every way shape and form. I always hoped Wise would turn into a payment gateway, because past experience says they won't constantly try to screw me.

        Right now I'm using Stripe, they're fine.

        Payoneer on the other hand, also a whopping great bag of dicks.

      • No comment on PayPal, but for Rabo, the government carries a much bigger stick than customers do and the NZ government like most governments have fairly strict anti laundering regulations for bank which among other things requires them to be on the look out for anything suspicious. Banks which fail to do enough can get into deep shit when exposed. Actually government attention aside, it can be terribly bad publicity enough to have an effect on their share price i.e. far far worse than one customer annoyed when they are unfairly caught up in them. I'm not saying they're brilliant at stopping it. In fact I'm fairly sure one unfortunate fact is they're far less responsive to customers who are caught up but only have a relatively small amount of money which I suspect is probably you, than they are to customers who have a lot of money. Even though those with a lot of money are if they are doing something bad are likely to be doing something far worse. Stil they have to do enough that they can hopefully make a reasonable case that they are doing enough

    • With did you sell on ebay, a kidney?

  • +2

    Any annual Or establishment fee for maintaining the card ? planning to join after reading all the comments….

    • +1

      No, only one time fee of $14

  • Thanks! Got a free card!

  • OK, so I just got a free card. How do I use it? Is it necessary to link it via a direct debit or can I just top up the balance in advance somehow before I use it?

    • Click the balance you want to top up on the left hand side (NZD) then at the top click add - bank transfer is free to top up using but also options for credit/debit card etc

  • The rates seem pretty good. To top up AUD 200 by bank transfer there seems to be a 1 NZD fee which seems to equate to 0.5% commission. Much better than my credit card which charges 2.5% Seems like the ideal method to make purchases from Amazon Australia.

    • Aud transfer from AU bank account should be free,

      Are you converting NZD to AUD?

      • No there's always a fee to send to a bank account. It should be <$1 if no currency conversion is involved.

  • can we change the pin at nz atm?

    • Any answer for this?

      • No, there is no option at the machine

  • I think there's a bug on the web version, for me it said my card was on the way; but on the app it made me transfer $30. No biggie tho, it's on the way now.

    • I had to load up NZ$30 to get the card.

      No big deal - you can use the money to buy stuff, so no real cost for that $30.

      • Did you get it for free? Was
        It showing $14 before you had $30 in your account? My order was already in progress, address added and PIN setup few months ago. Now when I try it’s resuming the previous order and wants me to pay $14. If I add $30 will it help?

        • No - I paid $14, but that was some time ago. I am guessing the free card is a current promotion? The $30 funding was definitely a pre-requisite when I did it though.

  • btw Wise denies any knowledge of this promotion. How can they not know or the people I spoke to on the phone and by email have no idea or are not informed of these things. Looks like it’s not targeted but I can’t seem to avail it. Maybe because I already have an old unpaid card order.

    • It must be a system generated option on Wise accounts. Probably not exactly a ‘promotion’ in that sense. Which could explain why Wise customer support are unaware of it? And why not everyone can see it?

  • +1

    Thanks OP
    Mine is on its way. I was offered last year, clicked that link , bingo

    Also for those that are not aware, they also have Virtual card. Youi can delete and create a new one if compromised.
    The Wise virtual card lets you spend using the real exchange rate online, in-store and while you travel - but exists only in your Wise account, either on your phone or laptop.

    There’s no need to carry your wallet, and no risk of your card being compromised. Your virtual card has different details to your physical card, and can be frozen after each purchase. That means it’s a safe, smart and simple way to spend no matter where in the world you are.

    Hold 50+ currencies at once, convert them in real time using the free Wise app, then spend online, in-store and abroad with your virtual card.

    Currently to get the Wise virtual card you’ll first need to order a physical card. But don’t worry, you don’t need to wait for your physical card to arrive before you start spending on your virtual one.

  • Received the new Visa card today. In comparison with the old MasterCard, the Visa card feels cheap. The old one feels like a proper bank card with some level of design and raised numbers and letters for card information. However, the new one has a blank card front. Card information is printed at the back with default font and basically no design. To be honest, it feels more like a Prezzy card than a travel card.

    • Got mine this week. I actually like the minimalist design of this card. Not having the raised numbers means that it slips into (and out of) the pocket in my phone's wallet easier.

      • I am fine with flat cards that are properly designed and set, like Citi Rewards or Wirex cards. But the new Wise cards look like it is typewriting on dummy cards.

  • +1

    I've just signed up for one of these now.
    Still cost the $14 but I figure it will pay for itself with the access to the virtual card for the likes of Spotify trials etc.

    • +1

      More to the point, it will pay for itself in terms of the safety and peace-of-mind.

      Bit like insurance really - you can always tell the clueless people in your life, when they claim that they paid their insurance premiums 'for years' and 'never got anything for it' or similar :-)

    • Can you use it on Netflix, YouTube premium/music trial repeatedly?

      • That’s what I’m hoping!
        I’ve seen replies saying it works with Spotify so I’m going to give it a try.

      • You can use a different email address, and a new card number every time.

        The only possible issue I can see is that your name will never change.

        However, I am doubting that will matter since many people will have the same name (John Smith anyone?)

        Alan.

    • So once you have signed up for the debit visa card (which looks to cost me $14), will I then be able to create virtual cards? And is there a charge for setting up subsequent virtual cards?

      • Yes you can.
        The only charge is the one off $14 for the physical card.
        I did have to load $30 into the account as well but that is $30 you get to use for whatever you wish.

        I've only had the card a few weeks and I have nothing but praise for it.
        You can use your virtual card straight away once you have ordered the physical card - you don't need to wait for it to arrive.
        There is no charge for the virtual cards at any time.

        I've also used the account to receive $AUD which was fast and at a better rate/less fees than banks.

        • Cheers! Will give this a go ;)

        • So all signed up and used the nzd $30 to pay for the $14 card order and have set up a digital card. Do I need to transfer amounts from my NZD account to whichever card u want to use before using the card, or does the card (whichever one I want to use) just automatically take money centrally from the NZD account?

          • @L3tstaxth1s: It will just take the money from your account automatically.
            The NZD account is your main account and all the cards just link off that.

  • Is there any way to change (shorten) the name used on the cards to say just your initials?

    • +1

      I don’t recall it being an option.
      Pretty sure the name came from the Identification used to setup the account.

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