Wise or Paysend? which service to choose for money transfers to India

International remittance is an important topic for any Indian expat living in Europe. There are dozens of providers on the market, but which one offers the best way to send money to India? In this review we look at two popular services, Paysend vs Wise, and compare their features, fees, and ratings. How to send money with Paysend? Is Wise safe? Are there alternatives? Read on to learn more.

What is Wise?

Founded in 2011 in the UK, Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a fintech provider serving individual and corporate customers. Wise is available in over 160 countries, and its service package varies depending on the country. With Wise money transfers as its main offering, an account with the provider allows users to also exchange 50+ currencies and even make investments (which are in no way protected by Wise, however).

Wise transfers are available through a web interface and as an app. The acceptable payment methods include bank cards, wire transfers, direct debits, and Google/Apple Pay, but their availability might be limited in some locations.

Thanks to its network of local bank accounts, Wise does not always need intermediary services and as such claims to be able to offer faster and cheaper service. While Wise fees are indeed lower than traditional competitors’ such as banks and remittance companies, that is not always the case when compared to other fintechs as this review by Forbes shows.

What is Paysend?

A much younger UK company, Paysend has been on the market since 2017 and managed to expand to over 170 countries worldwide.

Like Wise, it offers individual, business, and enterprise accounts to its customers. The payment methods employed for Paysend global transfers are also similar and include bank cards and accounts as well as Google/Apple Pay. However, in the Paysend vs Wise comparison the former wins by offering cash pickup in some destinations like Vietnam or Lebanon whereas the latter does not have this feature.

How to send money

How to send money with Wise

To sign up with Wise, one has to provide their email address, Apple or Google ID, or Facebook credentials together with personal details like full name, date of birth, and mailing address. Importantly, access to Wise transfers and other services is only granted after the user’s identity has been verified. This is done by providing scans/photos of respective documents and taking a selfie. Larger transfers require additional documentation as proof of address and income. Keep in mind that the verification procedure may take up to two working days.

How to send money with Paysend

Paysend allows registration on its website or in the Android/iOS/Huawei app through a procedure similar to Wise’s. Sending Paysend global transfers is also straightforward: select the destination country and payment and delivery methods, provide the recipient’s details, and confirm the transaction.

Depending on the destination, delivery can be arranged in the following ways:

• To a bank account
• To a card
• To a mobile wallet
• For cash pickup.

For those looking for the best way to send money to India the available delivery options of a Paysend online money transfer include directly to card, into a bank account, or through UPI.

Fees

Wise fees

Wise offers some of its features with no charge. These include opening an account, sending internal Wise transfers in the same currency, and limited ATM withdrawals among others. Also, Wise proudly claims it puts no markup on currency conversion in multicurrency transfers meaning that it uses mid-market rates and makes no money on currency exchange.

Elsewhere, such as with Wise money transfers across borders, the charges vary depending on the transfer amount, currency, destination and some other factors. The fees for sending money start from 0.35%. Note the ‘start’, however. If you are considering Wise as the best way to send money to India from the UK, for example, for a £1,000 transfer the fees are £5.68 or 0.57%, which is almost twice as high as the initial number, and a £100 transfer costs £1.21, or 1.21%!

Paysend fees

Paysend global transfers are charged with a flat fee which depends on the location of the sender, for example:

• €1.50 from the Eurozone
• £1.00 from the UK
• $2 from the USA

However, for some countries and/or payment methods the fees may differ. In the Paysend vs Wise fee comparison, markup plays an important role. While, as stated above, Wise does not charge it, Paysend adds between 0.5-1.5% on currency conversion.

To use the same examples, when figuring out what is the best way to send money to India from the UK, Paysend charges £1.00 on both £1,000 and £100 transfers, but the conversion rate would differ: ₹107.3285 vs ₹107.0065 for £1.00 respectively. Clearly, the cost of smaller Paysend online money transfers is much higher.

Security

When it comes to security and safety of customers’ transactions and data, there is hardly a winner in Paysend vs Wise. Both companies follow regulatory and industry requirements and implement the latest security protocols such as PCI DSS or 3DS for card payments among others. Both are regulated entities. In Europe, Wise is supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and the National Bank of Belgium in the European Economic Area (EEA). It is also approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In turn, Paysend holds money transfer licenses in dozens of jurisdictions including the UK and the EU.

Ratings and reviews

Lower fees are the advantage Wise cannot stop emphasising. There is a price comparison section on its own website to show off Wise transfer fees against those of its competitors, including by currency (select rupees when looking for the best way to send money to India). Those competitors, however, mostly include more expensive providers such as banks and traditional remittance services like Western Union; for example, there is no Paysend vs Wise analysis. Also, Wise money transfers are often featured on various comparison websites but beware as some of those have been, in fact, reported to be run by Wise itself.

Customer reviews tend to provide a more objective evaluation. Let us compare Paysend vs Wise ratings on Trustpilot, a platform popular among European users. Paysend vs Wise on Trustpilot

As can be seen, Wise transfers have a higher overall rating, but customer support is much more effective with Paysend online money transfers. Among the 81% who have assigned Wise five stars, the most common praise is for its speed and easy-to-use app. On the other end of the scale, the 10% of reviewers are dissatisfied with its customer support and mention cases where funds sent via Wise transfer would be irretrievably lost.

In turn, those who have given the highest rating to Paysend online money transfers note the excellent communication with customers (although there are few upset voices, too) and ‘good rates’. Among the drawbacks of Paysend global transfers unexpectedly longer delivery times are quoted most often, and some users have reported having difficulties with signup or authorisation.

Alternatives

As can be seen, both Wise and Paysend online money transfers have their pros and cons. It makes sense, therefore, to look at alternative solutions, some of which, by the way, enjoy a higher customer rating! One such solution is Profee, a licensed fintech provider offering fast, cheap, and secure international remittance services to more than 90 destinations globally.

• It is easy to use. For example, unlike Wise, Profee only asks customers to verify their identity when a certain transfer limit is reached, not upfront.
• It is cost-effective. Contrary to Paysend, Profee offers money transfers to many popular destinations including India, with no fees at all.
• It offers unmatched rates. Thanks to its in-house, AI-driven monitoring system, Profee applies the best currency conversion rates on the market at any time. Moreover, there are always special promo rates and great offers to loyal customers.
• It is appreciated. All these are reflected in the Profee’s ‘Excellent’ 4.4 rating on Trustpilot where 81% of reviewers have given it the highest score of five stars.

Visit Profee website or get the Profee iOS/Android app to have your first transfer delivered within minutes and at the lowest cost possible!