Wise Transfer Fees: How They're Actually Calculated

There's no single "Wise fee percentage"

Wise's Australian pricing page doesn't lead with a flat rate — its own tagline is "Low fees, getting lower" (wise.com/au/pricing/, fetched 11 September 2026), and the actual fee for any transfer only appears once you enter an amount, a currency pair and a payment method into its calculator. The fee changes with all three of those inputs, plus the day you check it, since currency markets move continuously.

How you fund the transfer also matters. Wise's Australian send-money page describes several ways to pay in AUD, including a regular bank transfer, a card, PayID, and "Osko by BPAY" — described on the same page as "an online bank payment method available in Australia" that you can select as a payment option in the app (wise.com/au/send-money/, fetched 11 September 2026). Each method can carry a different fee, which is another reason a single headline percentage would be misleading.

What Wise actually charged on the day this was checked

On 11 September 2026, Wise's own live comparison tool at wise.com/au/send-money/ (which server-renders a dated quote alongside a small set of comparison providers) showed the following for transfers starting in AUD:

1. AUD 1,000 to USD — Wise's fee was $5.06, at a rate of 1 AUD = 0.71715 USD, delivering USD 713.52.

2. AUD 20,000 to USD — Wise's fee was $69.43, at a rate of roughly 1 AUD = 0.7173 USD, delivering USD 14,296.20.

3. AUD 1,000 to GBP — Wise's fee was $4.34, at a rate of 1 AUD = 0.530253 GBP, delivering GBP 527.95.

4. AUD 20,000 to INR — Wise's fee was $88.53, at a rate of 1 AUD = 68.5203 INR, delivering INR 1,364,339.90, with a 96-hour delivery estimate shown on that particular quote.

These are Wise's own published, timestamped figures, republished here with their source and date — not an independent collection — and they will not be the fee or rate you're quoted on a different day, since both move constantly. Treat these as an illustration of how the fee scales with amount and currency, not as a current price.

The mid-market exchange rate

Wise's own explanation of its rate, published on the same Australian send-money page, reads: "The mid-market exchange rate is the midpoint between the buy and sell rates on global currency markets. Some providers add a markup on top of this rate. Wise does not." (wise.com/au/send-money/, fetched 11 September 2026).

In practice this means the rate you're shown is the same reference rate used in wholesale currency trading, rather than a retail rate with a hidden margin folded in — and the fee is charged as a separate, visible line item instead. The mid-market rate itself still moves throughout the day like any exchange rate; Wise isn't setting it, it's quoting it at the moment you ask.

How long a quoted rate is actually locked in for

Wise's marketing headline on the same page states: "Lock in exactly what your recipient will get for up to 24 hours. If the rate drops, you won't lose out." A tooltip on the same page immediately qualifies this: "Duration varies by route. Use the calculator for your personalised lock-in time." (both wise.com/au/send-money/, fetched 11 September 2026).

A live, personalised example rendered on the same page for an AUD to PHP quote read: "We've locked this rate for 83 hours", with the rate 1 AUD = 44.8702 PHP valid "as long as we receive your money by" a stated date and time. That's well past the 24-hour headline. In this same session, AUD to USD and AUD to GBP quotes both showed a 24-hour window, so the marketing figure isn't wrong for every route — it just isn't universal. The practical takeaway: read the lock-in time shown on your own quote rather than assuming it will be 24 hours.

Fees for larger transfers

Wise's send-money page carries a separate note for bigger amounts: "Larger transfers. Lower fees. Premium support. Pay less when you send over 40,000 AUD or equivalent — fees from 0.09%. Plus get dedicated support from our expert team." (wise.com/au/send-money/, fetched 11 September 2026).

That lower banding applies once a single transfer (or its equivalent in another currency) passes AUD 40,000 — it isn't the rate that applies to an everyday transfer, and "from 0.09%" is a starting figure rather than a fixed one. The actual fee for any specific large transfer still only appears once you enter it into the calculator.

Fees to receive money into a Wise account

Wise's Australian account page states: "Receive money internationally too, with account details for 20 currencies. Use them to get money from overseas fee-free." (wise.com/au/account/, fetched 11 September 2026).

That covers money paid to the account details Wise gives you for a supported currency — it's a different action from sending a new transfer out, which carries the fee structure described above, and different again from converting a balance you're already holding from one currency to another, which has its own rate at the moment you convert. The full detail on the account and its card is covered on the linked page below.

Card and ATM fees, briefly

The Wise card's Australian page states: "You pay only a super-low fee on withdrawals after the first $400," with a footnote clarifying that "Wise will not charge you for these withdrawals, but some additional charges may occur from independent ATM networks" (wise.com/au/card/, fetched 11 September 2026). The page doesn't state how often that $400 allowance resets on the page fetched — that's worth checking directly if it matters to how you plan to use the card. The fuller card breakdown, including which network issues it, is on the linked account and card page below.

How to check the actual fee before you send

1. Go to Wise's own site and enter the amount, AUD as the source currency, and the currency you're sending to.

2. Read the fee and the exchange rate shown for that specific quote — neither is a standing number, and both are timestamped.

3. Check the lock-in time displayed on your own quote instead of assuming a fixed 24 hours.

4. If you're sending an amount near or over AUD 40,000, check whether the large-transfer information changes the fee shown.

5. If you're being paid into your Wise account rather than sending a new transfer, remember that's covered separately as a fee-free receiving feature, not the send fee described above.

Does Wise charge a fixed percentage fee?

No single flat percentage is published. Wise's Australian pricing page (wise.com/au/pricing/, as at September 2026) advertises "Low fees, getting lower" rather than one rate, and the exact fee for a transfer is shown only once you enter the amount, currency pair and payment method.

Is Wise's exchange rate really the mid-market rate?

Wise states on its send-money page that it quotes "the midpoint between the buy and sell rates on global currency markets" and charges its fee separately rather than adding a markup to the rate (wise.com/au/send-money/, as at September 2026). The mid-market rate itself still moves constantly, like any exchange rate.

Is Wise's exchange rate locked in for 24 hours?

Wise's marketing states rates can be locked for "up to 24 hours", but the same page notes the duration "varies by route". A live example checked in September 2026 showed an 83-hour lock on an AUD to PHP quote. Check the lock-in time shown on your own quote rather than assuming a fixed figure.

Are there fees to receive money into a Wise account?

Wise's Australian account page states that receiving money using the account details it provides, across 20 supported currencies, is "fee-free" (as at September 2026). Sending a new transfer out, or converting a balance between currencies, are separate actions with their own costs.

Does sending a large amount reduce the Wise fee?

Wise advertises a lower-fee banding described as "fees from 0.09%" for transfers over AUD 40,000 or the equivalent in another currency, along with dedicated support (wise.com/au/send-money/, as at September 2026). The exact fee for any specific large transfer is still only shown at the time of the quote.