9 Key Things to Know Before Opening a Wise Business Account [2025]

HSBC offers business accounts to various types of businesses, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited companies, societies, clubs or associations, trade unions, schools, and religious groups. However, only eligible applicants can apply and open a business account online.

H3: Eligibility Requirement for Remote Account Opening

HSBC offers remote account opening to business that meets all the requirements:

• Your business must be a limited company, partnership, or sole proprietorship
• Your business must be incorporated or registered in Hong Kong
• Your business must operate in Hong Kong or Mainland China
• Your business must not have any corporate directors or shareholders.
• Your business must not have more than 2 individual directors, shareholders, or authorised signatories.

In addition, HSBC Hong Kong may request directors or authorised signatories without a Hong Kong Identity Card to verify their identity via a video call or in-person meeting.

If you are considering opening a Wise Business account for your company, it’s essential to grasp the key aspects of Wise services that could affect your financial management before you proceed. 

This article will walk you through the key details you need to know to ensure you make the most of what Wise has to offer in 2025. We’ll cover what Wise is, how their business account works, key features, eligibility requirements, regional services, associated costs and timeframes, and their customer support channels.

So, let’s dive in.

Wise – formerly known as TransferWise – is a fintech company launched in 2011, offering payment solutions to individuals and businesses across the globe. Their main services are a multi-currency account, cross-border money transfer capability, and payment cards. [1]

Wise was founded by Estonian friends Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann. Hinrikus was formerly Skype’s Director of Strategy, and Kristo was previously a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Wise has headquarters in London and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since July 2021. Over the company’s lifetime, Wise has raised USD 1.7B in funding from 37 investors in over 13 funding rounds, with Silicon Valley Bank UK being a recent investor.[2]

No, Wise is not a bank.

Wise is not a bank but a Money Service Business that offers financial services, such as holding, converting foreign currencies, facilitating cross-border payments, and international money transfers.

Wise operates as a payment service provider regulated under relevant authorities, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the United States. [3]

To protect your funds and account, Wise keeps your money with reputable financial institutions and employs security measures such as two-step authentication.

Wise provides 2 types of accounts: personal and business accounts. While it is best known for its personal accounts, which are ideal for individuals needing international transfers and multi-currency spending in over 40 currencies, Wise also provides “Wise Business” accounts.

A Wise Business account is a virtual multi-currency account that allows you to receive and make payments worldwide.

Here are some highlighted features of the Wise Business account:

• Access to up to over 9 local account details in GBP, EUR, USD, AUD, NZD, SGD, RON, CAD, and HUF. The currencies available vary based on your location.
• Receive international payments in almost any currency within 4-5 days on average. Note that conversion may apply based on the currencies you can hold.
• Hold and convert money into 40+ currencies and send money to over 70 countries. 
• Support transfers to Alipay and WeChat, hence a good option for businesses that send money to China often.
• Upon acquiring the business account, you may be eligible for virtual and physical debit cards to pay for expenses in over 40 different currencies and over 160 countries. These cards also support ATM withdrawals, and you can earn 0.5% cashback on all eligible transactions.
• Connect your Wise Business account to Xero, QuickBooks, or FreeAgent accounting software.
• Configure multi-user access. Add an accountant as a viewer, your finance team as payers, and your co-founder as an admin to work together as a team.
• Set up integration with popular online marketplaces and ecommerce platforms such as Amazon, Shopify, BigCommerce, and Wix.
• Make batch payments to up to 1,000 people in one click by uploading a spreadsheet with details for each transfer.
• A payment API for automating invoices, orders, and payroll processes.
• Make local and international transfers based on mid-market exchange rates.

Here are some current conditions to keep in mind about the Wise Business account:

• If you live outside the US or are using Wise Business, USD accounts are not available at the moment, but you can join the waitlist when signing up.
• Service availability varies by country, with Wise Business cards being available in fewer regions, mainly in the EEA, UK, and US.
• The number of currencies you can hold may differ from those you can send, receive, and convert.

Difference Between a Wise Business and Personal Account

The difference between a Wise personal account and a Wise Business account is that the personal account is more limited, as it is intended only for personal use.

A Wise personal account lacks features such as accounting software integration, batch payments, multiple payment cards for your team members, multi-user access and control, Stripe and Amazon payouts, open API access, invoice creation, and quick pay links.

Although Wise provides business accounts in most countries, the features differ depending on your location. The details below outline the 3 major services available based on your business's registration country. 

Please note that countries marked with an asterisk (*) have specific limitations, which you can review further below the table.[4] [5]

Limitation:

• France: The Wise card for businesses in France is only available for use within Metropolitan France.
• Brazil: A BRL balance is exclusively available to Brazilian residents.
• United States: Some services are not available to businesses in Nevada. Additionally, the issuance of new Wise cards for businesses in the US is currently paused, but you can join the waitlist to be notified when card issuance resumes.
• UAE: There are specific limitations regarding customers in the UAE and AED transfers. For more details, please visit the AED transfer guide. [6]

Countries not listed are either because Wise does not yet offer services there or only provide personal accounts, not business accounts.

In this section, we'll be covering the eligibility to open a business account with Wise 

Company Types Eligible

Wise offers business accounts to various types of businesses, such as:

• Sole traders and freelancers.
• Limited and public companies.
• Partnerships.
• Charities and trusts in the European Economic Area (EEA), Canada, the US, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Wise does not cater to:

• Charities and trusts in countries not mentioned above.
• Unregistered charities 
• Brazilian businesses who intend to make transfers in BRL.
• Superannuation funds or Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSF) in Australia.
• Businesses related to Cuba in connection with US relations.
• Businesses with bearer shares, irrespective of the jurisdiction of their incorporation.

In addition, your business must not be involved in certain restricted sectors or activities. Prohibited business types include those dealing with:

• Adult content and related services
• Alcohol production and sales
• Tobacco products and services
• Pharmaceutical goods
• Chemicals manufacturing and distribution
• Gambling and betting services
• Military goods and services, including semi-military provisions
• Cryptocurrency trading or related services
• Entities under international sanctions.

Please refer to this Wise Prohibited Activities page for a full list. [7]

Countries Eligible 

Although Wise mentions that their services are available in most countries, we cannot find a comprehensive list of eligible countries on their website.

However, there are certain places where you cannot open or log in to a Wise account. These include:

In order to open and use a Wise Business account, you will need to supply documents to verify you and your business.

The required documents will vary depending on the type of business entity and the country where the business is registered. However, the commonly requested documents include the following:

• Colored scan of an ID document (such as a passport or driver’s license)
• The legal name of your entity: This can be the full legal name and, if applicable, the trading name of the business.
• Business registration number
• Business or entity legal type, such as limited companies, public companies, or partnerships.
• Business categories and activities, such as ecommerce, consulting, etc. You may also include your company’s website and a short description of your business operations.
• Details of who are the ultimate beneficial owners. This should include their full names, dates of birth, and countries of residence.
• Business registration address, which is the address used for your business legal registration. You may have to provide proof of address, such as a utility bill for electricity.
• Business trading address, which is the address where daily operations take place or the address where customers can contact you. PO boxes are not accepted. A business trading address can be the same as or different from the business registration address.
• List of shareholders who own 25% or more of the business, including full name, country of residence, date of birth, and exact percentage of shares they own.
• List of directors or individuals running the business based on its legal structure and regional requirements. Include full name, country of residence, and date of birth.
• Proof of source of business funds or income, such as bank statements, invoices, service agreements, audited statements, or loan agreements, typically needs to be dated within the last 6 to 12 months.
• You’ll need to specify the purpose of the account and explain how you plan to use Wise.
• If you're not the director or a shareholder of the company, you need an authorisation letter or a board resolution from the company confirming that you’re authorised to use and communicate with Wise on behalf of the business.
• Account representative's personal details.

If your business is registered in the UK, EEA, US, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, or New Zealand, you may need to provide additional documents to complete the account opening process.[8] For instance, Singapore businesses must provide Singapore proof of address to complete the verification process, Hong Kong businesses need to provide their Hong Kong business registration number, and US-based businesses need to provide their social security details.

The cost of opening a Wise Business Account depends on your business's registration location. The one-time registration fee ranges from GBP 16 to GBP 45, but in some regions, it’s free.

A one-off fee is charged for verifying your business. In the event of unsuccessful verification, Wise will refund the fee. The fee may increase if the verification process for your business is complex.

There is no initial deposit, minimum balance requirement, or monthly fees to open or maintain a Wise business account.

However, there are transaction fees depending on currencies and location. Notable fees include:

• Getting account details (if applicable): Around GBP 20 - GBP 60.
• Sending money: Fees vary by currency but start at 0.33% per transfer.
• Currency conversion fee: Also starts at 0.33%, shown upfront in the Wise app before confirming a transaction

To check the exact fees for your country, visit the Wise Business pricing page. Select your country by clicking the flag icon in the top-right corner to view location-specific costs.

For general support, Wise suggests you refer to the Wise Help Center. [9]

For personalised support, you can reach out through phone or email. If you're in the US, call the toll-free number: +1 888 501 4041.

However, to obtain these contact details in other areas, you'll need to log in to Wise first.

We cannot find other contact information on the website.

If Wise doesn’t meet all your business needs, consider Statrys.

Statrys is a licensed payment service provider in Hong Kong that offers digital-only payment solutions tailored to businesses in Hong Kong, and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

With a Statrys business account, you can receive, hold and send money in 11 major currencies: GBP, USD, EUR, HKD, CNY, SGD, RMB, AUD, CAD, NZD, JPY, and CHF. Statrys also provides virtual and physical Mastercard® payment cards, allowing you and your team to spend online, in-store, or withdraw cash at ATMs worldwide.

Unlike Wise, Statrys offers forward contracts to help businesses manage currency risk at competitive, real-time mid-market rates. Additionally, Statrys provides full account access to businesses in these regions, addressing key Wise limitations like the unavailability of payment cards in Hong Kong.

Every Statrys account comes with a dedicated account manager who can be reached via phone, live chat, WeChat and WhatsApp to ensure you get personalised support whenever you need it.