also called Wise account · TransferWise
A widely used multi-currency money service offering local account details in several countries.
A widely used money service that gives you local account details in several countries plus cheap currency conversion, popular for getting paid like a local and moving money between currencies. In practice it is a multi-currency account, but in most places it is not a full bank, so it does not do everything a bank does. Handy, but not a total replacement for a local account.
Someone invoicing clients in different currencies uses it to receive euros, dollars and pounds into local-looking account details and convert cheaply. Then a landlord asks for a proper local bank account for the lease, and they hit the limit of what the service can stand in for.
It's a common nomad tool for cheap conversions and getting paid locally, though it isn't a full bank in most places.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
The distinction is what kind of account actually holds your money.
A multi-currency account keeps several currencies at once, a foreign currency account holds just one that is not your home one, and a local bank account is a real account with a bank in the country you live in, not a fintech wallet that only gives you an account number there.
A neobank is a branchless app-only bank, Wise borderless is a widely used multi-currency service, and nomad-friendly banking means providers that tolerate customers with no fixed address.
A new term lands on this site every day, and the email is how you get it the day it lands. No digest, no roundup, no pitch. One term, what it means, and what it costs you to get it wrong.
Unsubscribe in one click, any time. We do not sell or share your address.