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Those of you familiar with TransferWise will know that it is the
cheapest way to transfer money between countries. It helps you
avoid bank fees and gives you the real exchange rate. YES. SEND IT TO ME!

I have written about this service in another post and it's been hugely
helpful to other expats over the last 2 years.

And now I am pleased to report on the global rollout of the

TransferWise borderless account. With a TransferWise borderless
account you can now send, receive and spend money around the
world with the real exchange rate.

I was lucky enough to be one of the people selected  to trial the

borderless account last year. Based on the feedback of people
involved in the trial, this service has gradually been rolled out to a
wider audience in different countries over a number of months.

In this post, I'll walk you through exactly how the borderless account
works, help you identify whether or not you need a borderless
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account, and reveal all the details on set-up, fees and how much you
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What is the Borderless Account?
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The borderless account gives you bank account details for USD, GBP,
EUR and AUD. You also have the option to add your local currency to
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hold in your balance. So even if you don't live in the US or UK,
Australia or Europe, you will effectively have a bank account there > Get the Right Visa
> Get Travel Insurance
A borderless account is a bit like having local accounts all over the > Book a Hotel
world. It’s a multi-currency account that lets you keep money in 40+ > Book Bus & Ferry Tickets
currencies, and convert between them at the real exchange rate > Find a TEFL Course
whenever you need. > Check Cost of Living
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Who is the Borderless Account For? > Learn Basic Thai
> Best Visa Run Option
The account is for anyone really, but I'll explain how it has been
> Get Your Partner a Visa
useful for me.
> Get Married
> Get Health Insurance
I receive regular payments in US Dollars, and occasionally Euros too.
> Open a Thai Bank Account
> Watch EPL & CL Football FREE
Historically payments were made to my PayPal account or my UK
bank account. With PayPal, I would have to pay a receiving fee, and
then pay another fee to transfer this money to my UK bank account; Have Your Say
in doing so I am subject to PayPal's horrible exchange rate.
James E on The New ‘O-X Long
If the money is paid into my UK bank account, then I'm usually Stay’ Visa – Everything You Need
subject to a wire fee,  and if not a wire fee, I always have to suffer the to Know
poor exchange rate given on transfer.
TheThailandLife on Getting
But now, with TW, I just give my borderless US account number to the Married in Thailand – Do it

person or company paying me and have the US Dollars paid into my Yourself in One Day!

a d
account. I can then spend in US Dollars using my TransferWise
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MasterCard, or I can transfer the US Dollars to my UK bank account at TheThailandLife on Border-Visa
the market exchange rate. Run 101: A Newbie’s Guide

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Newbie’s Guide

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Here's a screenshot of my personal account dashboard. As you can see, it's just like
an online bank account. I've blanked out personal details and sone of the
transactions.

I incur a small fee from TransferWise for withdrawing to my bank

account and converting the currency, but  I save so much money
compared with having the money paid into PayPal.

Moreover, if I receive Euros or Australian Dollars, I can also keep a

balance of these currencies in my TransferWise account. I can then
spend the balances of these currencies in any country I choose, even
here in Thailand.

The borderless account will benefit people who work in professions

where they receive money from a source based in America, in
Australia, in the UK or in Europe. Think people like freelancers,
expats, second home-owners, international students, overseas
contractors, etc.

You can receive the money into your borderless account and then
spend the money using the borderless debit card,  either through
withdrawal or electronically. Or you can send the money onto
another bank account linked to your borderless account.

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 As you can see, you can make ATM withdrawals, contactless payments, online
purchases, chip and pin and more.

=> Get a FREE Borderless account here

The Borderless Debit Card

The debit card is super cool, not least because it is a fluorescent

green colour: When you whip it out in the supermarket, the cashier is
always like, ” Oh, what bank is that?”

I don't actually use the debit card that much. My main use is having
money paid into the borderless account and then transferring money
to my bank account in the UK.

I do use it in Thailand when I'm short on funds in my Bangkok bank

account, which incidentally I often top up by using TransferWise to
send money from my UK bank account to my Thai bank account.

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 My debit card arrived in this cool, minimal style box

*On another note, I recently found out that Bangkok Bank are no
longer issuing Visa debit cards, and those who do have Visa cards
won't be able to get a replacement if they lose the card or it expires.

Instead they are issuing Union debit cards, which are pretty much
useless because you can't really use them anywhere, though you can
use them to withdraw money. So this is another good reason to have
the borderless account debit card.

For the record: there is no real difference

between MasterCard and Visa. The two are both widely accepted in
over two hundred countries and it is very rare to find a location that
will accept one but not the other.

There are also those who regularly visit Thailand but struggle to get a
bank account, or just can't be bothered to go through the process.
The TransferWise borderless account is very well suited to visitors
who would like to have a debit card that provides them with
favourable exchange and withdrawal rates.

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 Inside the box is the ostentatious card > your key to stress-free spending.

It is really useful when visiting other countries, too.

I was recently on holiday in Switzerland. When I ran out of Swiss

Francs it made sense to use the TransferWise debit card because it
gave me a favourable exchange rate. As I spent, it transferred the US
Dollars in my borderless account to Swiss Francs.

The large majority of people can get a borderless account right now,
but they are still rolling out the debit card to a number of countries.
Currently it's only for personal use, too, but they have a plan to roll
out the card to business users soon.

Borderless Account Bene ts Summary:

Lets you spend anywhere in the world at the real exchange

rate. You'll pay low conversion fees, and zero transaction
fees.

Free to pay with currencies in your account: convert money

into your required currency and it will be free to spend or
pay in your chosen local currency.

Free ATM withdrawals up to £200 a month.

Only pay a small conversion fee when you convert your

money — typically between 0.35% and 1%.

Pay in any currency, anywhere and it will automatically

aconvert the currency in your daccount with the lowest h v
 conversion fee.

Free same currency withdrawals for personal account users

( there are a couple of exceptions).

The TransferWise borderless account - How it works

A list of countries where the card is available can be found here.

So those based in the US can't get the debit card right now but can
open a borderless account. I'm pretty sure the card will be rolled out
in the US soon.

How Do I Set up an Account?

To get set up, you'll need to:

1. Create a free account ( you might need to wait a day or so to

have your account verified)

2. Select a currency. You can set up each currency with just a

couple clicks. You can have more than one currency.

3. Add money to your account. You can top up via debit card or
bank transfer

Once your account is set up and you have access to it, you can do the
following:

Convert money between your currencies in seconds at the

real exchange rate with low conversion fees

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 Send money from any currency in your account to pay bills,
send money to friends and family

Spend money with your TransferWise debit Mastercard (if

your country is eligible for the card)

Receive money with account numbers and IBANs. Get paid

in AUD, EUR, GBP or USD in your account (zero fees)

=> Click here to set up your account NOW

Account Fees

It's free to set up your account.

It's free to get your international bank details and free to receive
money using those bank details.

The only cost you’ll be charged is a fee to convert between currencies

– either in your account or if you spend on your TransferWise debit
Mastercard in a currency you don't have in your account.

When you convert money in your account it's always with the real
exchange rate, and you always see the fee before you make the
exchange.  If you spend on your debit Mastercard in a currency you
don't have, Transferwise chooses to convert the balance with the
lowest fee, so you never have to worry about getting the best rate.

I have pictured the fee tables for the US and UK accounts below.

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Here's an example of some of the currency conversion fees:
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 from GBP to EUR 0.35%

from GBP to INR 0.55%

from EUR to GBP 0.5%

from EUR to USD 0.5%

from USD to GBP 0.85%

from USD to EUR 1%

from AUD to GBP 0.7%

from AUD to USD 0.7%

Is TransferWise Really Cheaper Than My Bank?

In a nutshell, yes, much cheaper – at least for this type of banking

where you're dealing with foreign currencies and spending abroad.

Consumer Intelligence conducted research in January 2018

comparing the TransferWise borderless account to 21 current
accounts offerings from banks in the UK, Europe, USA and Australia.
Additional data research was conducted in March 2018 and on an
ongoing basis since then to ensure accurate and up to date
information.

The research concluded that in comparison to the 21 current

accounts included in the study, the TransferWise borderless account
is cheaper, quicker and easier for consumers across all categories.

“ In the UK, the research found it’s up to 9x cheaper to use

TransferWise instead of a bank to send money from GBP to
AUD, EUR or USD for £200 and £1,000. And it's up to 7x
cheaper to spend the same amounts abroad with the
TransferWise debit Mastercard.

In Australia, the research found it’s up to 12x cheaper to

use TransferWise instead of a bank to send money from
AUD to EUR or USD for $250 and $1,000. The TransferWise
card isn't available in Australia yet.

In Germany, the research found it’s up to 4x cheaper to

use TransferWise instead of a bank to send money from
EUR to AUD, USD for €250 and €1,000. And it's up to 2x
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 cheaper to spend the same amounts abroad using the
TransferWise card.

There is no doubt that a borderless account will save you money.

In Summary

The borderless account is the first platform offering true multi-

country banking to anyone who needs it, no matter where you live.

You can receive and send money all over the world, and hold and
convert money in over 40 global currencies, and get a contactless
Mastercard debit card for spending abroad.

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If you are paid in a different currency than that of your home country,
or perhaps even receive income in multiple currencies, the
TransferWise borderless account will save you money.

If you have been using PayPal to receive foreign currencies and then
transfer them to your bank account, you can get those same
companies or individuals to pay you into your TransferWise
borderless account and avoid those evil PayPal fees.

Do note that you can't transfer money from a PayPal account to your
TransferWise borderless account. PayPal would never allow that to
happen! Trust me, I phoned them to see if I could get my TW account
added to my PP and they were brutally honest about why they
wouldn't let this happen.

You can also do favourable currency conversions within your

TransferWise account, but that's optional. With the TransferWise debit
card, you can spend the money from any currency inside your
TransferWise bank account in any country around the world.

This is modern a modern day banking revolution. It will save you

money. I have saved thousands in fees already. Enjoy!

=> Click here to register Borderless Account

Last Updated on June 20, 2019

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Comments Sort by : newest | oldest

Type a phrase & click Search to find answers Search

Koozi says
A concur and big thumbs up with the use of Transferwise. I initiated
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a transfer from my US bank yesterday and the money was in my h v
Bangkok Bank account in less than 18 hours! I was shocked, in a
good way. I received .01 below the median exchange rate as shown
on XE and the fee was around $10 for transferring $1000. All in all a
very good experience. This is as opposed to XE which I used before.
XE gave a good rate and wasn't much more expensive, it, however,
took almost ten days for the transaction to...

Read More >>

Reply Oct 08, 2019 at 5:49 pm

Alberto says
Hi, it looks like the Borderless account does not allow direct debit
ACH. I allowed a USA bank to take the monthly payment of a small
loan from transferwise (I provided the New York Transferwise
branch details from the borderless account) but it did not work. Do
you know any other banks that offer that?
Reply Jul 29, 2019 at 9:16 pm

Mike says
So let me get this right. If i set up a transferwise borderless account
with my Australian bank acc number and my partners siam bank
account, can I transfer money into her account? At the current
exchange rate? So she won't need the borderless debit card. And I
control at my end the ins and outs of the borderless account?
Thanks
Reply Jul 03, 2019 at 8:19 am

TheThailandLife says
You could both have a borderless account. You could send
money from your borderless account to hers. She could
withdraw that money to her Thai bank account. If you just want
an easy way to send her money, user Transferwise money
transfer to send money directly to her Thai bank account. See
that info here: https://www.thethailandlife.com/how-to-send-
money-to-thailand-no-bank-fees
Reply Jul 03, 2019 at 8:47 pm

James E says
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Just an FYI. Transferwise has opened a waitlist to get a MasterCard
branded debit card for borderless accounts.
Reply Jun 06, 2019 at 11:30 pm

TheThailandLife says
Ooh, nice. I'll add that to the Borderless account review once it
is fully rolled out.
Reply Jun 06, 2019 at 11:37 pm

James E says
I just got the announcement that the card is available in the US.
Reply Jul 31, 2019 at 10:28 pm

TheThailandLife says
Nice one!
Reply Aug 01, 2019 at 2:46 am

James E says
Sadly, it was too good to be true. ATM use with the TW
debit card is free - up to a point - beyond which it
carries a 2% fee when using it to withdraw cash at an
ATM. The catch - sorry, not a better word - is that you
withdraw up to 200GBP, 250USD or equivalent in a
rolling 30-day period. Not a calendar month. The 2% fee
does not cover any local ATM charges either. Details at
https://transferwise.com/help/18/transferwise-debit-
mastercard/2935769/what-are-the-atm-fees-for-my-
transferwise-debit-mastercard
Reply Aug 02, 2019 at 7:07 am

TheThailandLife says
This is the same for the Revolut card, which I am
currently reviewing for the blog (will post up
shortly). That has a limit of 200 GBP/Euros per
month and 1 or 2 % after that. Of course local ATM
a d
fees will apply. The best thing to do is limit h v
 withdrawals and use card payments. I must admit I
use the banking facility of Borderless far more than
the card. The card is a 'nice to have'.
Reply Aug 02, 2019 at 4:37 pm

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