To Wise/Transferwise users - Red flag Thread poster: Jean-Yves Préault
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Hi everybody,
Wish you all the best for this new year
Just a short message to warn Wise/Transferwise users that this financial provider is threatening me to cancel a transfer made towards my personal French bank account (the official one, labelled under my name, that I’m using since months).
This institution seems to think they have the right to detain their customers’ money under fanciful reaso... See more Hi everybody,
Wish you all the best for this new year
Just a short message to warn Wise/Transferwise users that this financial provider is threatening me to cancel a transfer made towards my personal French bank account (the official one, labelled under my name, that I’m using since months).
This institution seems to think they have the right to detain their customers’ money under fanciful reasons.
They don’t accept the facultative personal reference used to label this transfer (which was neither racist, sexist, homophobic, or else).
Basically, the reference was just showing the transfer was made to repay a payment made from my FR personal bank account to a legal and official service provider.
So Wise/Transferwise wants to overstep FR regulation and my FR bank terms and conditions, to indirectly censor the use of my personal bank account.
I consider it as a huge red flag, and I seriously think about changing asap to another bank for my pro. activity.
Advise all users to be extremely cautious with Wise/Transferwise.
Warm regards,
Jean-Yves ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Wise/Transferwise | Jan 3, 2023 |
Jean-Yves, you're a bit late with this warning in my case.
As of 16 Dec 2022, Wise closed all accounts owned by Russian and Belorussian nationals (residents).
I'll have to move to another country and submit an appropriate proof, such as a utility bill or residential lease, to enjoy the privilege of being a Wise user again.
No such plans so far. They're not the only pebble on the beach, you know.  ... See more Jean-Yves, you're a bit late with this warning in my case.
As of 16 Dec 2022, Wise closed all accounts owned by Russian and Belorussian nationals (residents).
I'll have to move to another country and submit an appropriate proof, such as a utility bill or residential lease, to enjoy the privilege of being a Wise user again.
No such plans so far. They're not the only pebble on the beach, you know.
[Edited at 2023-01-03 09:30 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 17:32
Member
English to Turkish
| Sorry to hear that | Jan 3, 2023 |
Vladimir Pochinov wrote: They're not the only pebble on the beach, you know. [Edited at 2023-01-03 09:30 GMT]
Would you care to share the other alternatives you're using? Except for Paypal and Payoneer.
| | | | | Not enough detail | Jan 3, 2023 |
Wise is not a bank, but like other financial institutions, they have to abide by a large number of money-laundering and terror-funding regulations, sanctions, embargoes, etc., which is not their choice but our governments' and the EU's.
If for example someone's name or a message accompanying a transfer contains 'Iran', it could easily be flagged.
So what exactly did the message say?
What did Wise say?
Is the Wise account a business account? The... See more Wise is not a bank, but like other financial institutions, they have to abide by a large number of money-laundering and terror-funding regulations, sanctions, embargoes, etc., which is not their choice but our governments' and the EU's.
If for example someone's name or a message accompanying a transfer contains 'Iran', it could easily be flagged.
So what exactly did the message say?
What did Wise say?
Is the Wise account a business account? Their conditions don't allow personal accounts to be used for business, even in your own name.
Russia is another case, as we all know. ▲ Collapse
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I haven’t had any problems. Payments from my customers through Wise (some use TransferMate instead) go directly to my bank account just like a bank transfer (I don’t have to withdraw funds from an account in Wise or TransferMate).
| | | | | Wise, PayPal, Skrill, Payoneer | Jan 3, 2023 |
Baran Keki wrote:
Would you care to share the other alternatives you're using? Except for Paypal and Payoneer.
Baran, I posted incorrect information, my bad. AFAIK, PayPal stopped serving Russians in March 2022, and Wise followed suit 2-3 months later. It was Payoneer I had meant in my original response.
I use ProZ*Pay occasionally to accumulate some small payments; however, the only option available to Russians at this point is setting up a crypto wallet, withdrawing the funds into it, and then dealing with conversion and withdrawal issues again
There are intermediaries who accept hard-currency payments on your behalf, take 6-8% in fees, and transfer the funds to you in roubles, or otherwise
I have relatives and friends in the EU, USA, Canada, etc. who can help
I'll keep some other options I came up with last year undisclosed for now, just in case, you know
[Edited at 2023-01-03 13:48 GMT]
| | | | | They have my money too | Jan 4, 2023 |
Jean-Yves Préault wrote:
This institution seems to think they have the right to detain their customers’ money under fanciful reasons.
Wise froze all cedi (Ghana's currency) transactions in December 2022, so yes, they do think they have the right to detain their customers' money. These transfer services are all like that, so it's best to leave as little as possible in their coffers in the long term.
| | | | | Never keep large amounts with any payment service | Jan 4, 2023 |
It's highly advisable to withdraw your funds as soon as you accumulate an amount that makes the payout method practical in terms of minimum amount, fees, etc.
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Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei wrote: Jean-Yves Préault wrote:
This institution seems to think they have the right to detain their customers’ money under fanciful reasons. Wise froze all cedi (Ghana's currency) transactions in December 2022, so yes, they do think they have the right to detain their customers' money. These transfer services are all like that, so it's best to leave as little as possible in their coffers in the long term.
Banks too sometimes freeze accounts. It typically happens if they suspect money laundering, terror financing or other illegal activity is taking place, and they cannot always inform the account holder in such cases. They can incur huge fines if they fail to carry out sufficient money-laundering checks.
The problem is that in such cases, we may not know if it is the financial institution doing something wrong or if they are just following legal obligations.
Keeping all our money with only one institution, bank or not, or even just in one country, exposes us to such risks.
| | | | | Thanks for sharing your experience/insight | Jan 4, 2023 |
Hi everybody,
Many thanks for sharing your experiences and insight regarding my issue with Wise/Transferwise.
First of all, I have to mention that Wise actually accepted the transfer, it seems my arguments and threat to close my account was enough to have this transfer accepted.
Some precision regarding this transfer. What happened ? I made a payment from my French bank account to a service provider, officially registered and legal in North America and in the EU at least... See more Hi everybody,
Many thanks for sharing your experiences and insight regarding my issue with Wise/Transferwise.
First of all, I have to mention that Wise actually accepted the transfer, it seems my arguments and threat to close my account was enough to have this transfer accepted.
Some precision regarding this transfer. What happened ? I made a payment from my French bank account to a service provider, officially registered and legal in North America and in the EU at least (40€ - lol). My own FR bank (the suspect and obscure Banque Populaire – re-lol ) had nothing to contest regarding this payment.
I have two Wise accounts, and one is a pro. account ofc. Basically, I wanted to count my purchase as a professional one, hence I created a transfer from Wise pro account to my FR bank account to make provision for this purchase.
As a reference, I indicated «Repay X», with X being the payment provider of the company I purchased services. Absolutely no relation with banned countries, illegal activity, weapons, seggs or drugs or anything else immoral or unethical.
For me, as long the transfer was made to an official FR bank account, labelled at my name, there is absolutely no justifiable reason to block it, I must be absolutely free to transfer money to repay « Russian vodka », « Iranian restaurant », « bath bombs » or a « North Korean suit » if want to do so.
So far, I haven’t had any problem, but this experience was a huge red flag, and indeed, I will take care to leave as little as possible in my Wise account.
Now, that being said. I really feel for the colleagues that find themselves in a dramatic situation with payment providers due to wars or economic sanctions.
Using blockchains and crypto doesn’t go without risks either.
Hot wallets can be hacked, you can send funds to the wrong network/address, and many networks/stables aren’t that much censorship resistant (your funds can be blocked in the blockchain…). Also, you still have to on-ramp, from fiat to crypto, then to off-ramp (from crypto to fiat).
If ever you have a solution to be paid on a EU or American/Canadian bank account, you can check MtPelerin’s solution to go on-chain without kyc under certain amounts and with decent fees. Ofc, always stay extremely cautious, I haven’t tried this solution myself, and the use of a hardware wallet is absolutely recommended.
To conclude, I agree with Thomas, we have to settle different accounts, in several currencies, and using different systems, to secure the pennies hardly won.
Warm regards,
Jean-Yves ▲ Collapse
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