With debit card expansion, TransferWise moves closer to challenger bank

Money-transfer startup TransferWise is expanding the reach of its multi-currency debit card and, in doing so, wading into bank territory. The company's borderless account initially was made available to European customers in early 2018. Now, U.S. customers can take advantage of the multi-currency account compatible with more than 40 currencies through a Mastercard debit card issued by New York-based Community Federal Savings Bank . The TransferWise debit card is meant for international consumers, freelancers and small business owners in the U.S. There are no balance minimums or limits, and conversion fees are consistent with current exchange rates. A card for businesses will follow later this year, the company noted. Also included are international bank details for the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Australia and New Zealand, meaning unique account and routing numbers for customers. The account product is "technically" not a bank account, Josh Aziz, head of product at TransferWise, told Bank Innovation . He went on to describe it as a "global account" that customers can use to hold a balance in multiple currencies and to send, receive and spend money internationally, via a local account. TransferWise's website positions it as an "international Venmo." TransferWise hasn't declared any intentions to apply for a banking license in the jurisdictions in which it operates, but the growth of its cross-border money transfer services enabled through the debit card allows it to compete more aggressively with companies like PayPal , Western Union or U.K.-based challenger bank Revolut , which touts low fees for cross-border money transfer services. The timing of the debit card expansion comes just weeks after U.K. challenger bank Monzo announced it would launch in the U.S. this summer, partnering with Ohio-based Sutton Bank before it applies for its own U.S. banking license. It's worth noting that Germany's N26 , which recently announced its intent to enter the U.S. market within "the next few weeks," allows its customers in Europe to transfer euros directly from their N26 account into 19 currencies via TransferWise. TransferWise said its U.S. business has “essentially doubled” in the last 12 months, in line with its growth in the U.K. and the rest of Europe, and that customers have used TransferWise to move more than $27 billion into and out of the U.S. since the company launched the currency in 2015. The company already allows U.S. businesses to pay recurring invoices or run payroll with the real exchange rate using its batch payments tool. Sarah Kocianski, head of research at digital bank advisory firm 11:FS , said that, although it may seem like TransferWise is following Monzo's and N26's footsteps by expanding its borderless account to U.S. customers, the product is "very different" from those of the challenger banks. "Rather than holding a full bank license, it works with partners and acquires e-money licenses in each market it operates , which includes the U.S., for its remittance services," she explained. "That means it likely faces a lower regulatory hurdle than the neobanks when it comes to establishing its new product in the U.S." TransferWise has claimed that its debit card makes it up to four times cheaper to spend money internationally and up to 12 times cheaper to send money internationally than the top U.S. banks and PayPal. Aziz explained that, with traditional wire transfers, money can change hands between numerous intermediary banks, depending on where the money is coming from and where it’s going, and each party along the way takes its cut. TransferWise is able to charge lower fees because it doesn’t have the overhead that traditional financial institutions have and because it has set up its own local accounts and built its own payment infrastructure to move money globally, as one party. “We're accepting money locally and paying out locally,” he added. Aziz said the local account details can give TransferWise cardholders the ability to receive direct deposits from companies operating in those countries. “For a company in Australia for instance, instead of them having to send money internationally to your U.S. bank account, you can actually get an Australian account number and routing number locally,” he explained. “They can direct deposit money right into this balance, and you can spend that money from the card as if you had loaded it yourself.” TransferWise, which is valued at $3.5 billion, can be used in 70 countries and supports 49 currencies that can be moved through about 1,500 different routes, Aziz noted.

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With debit card expansion, TransferWise moves closer to challenger bank

Capital One acquires BlueTarp in appeal to business clients

How BofA solved the industry’s in-branch card issuance problem

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