Wise Business Credit Card

Navigating business finance options in Canada can be overwhelming. From traditional banks to fintech startups, there's an abundance of choices each with its own set of advantages and drawbacks. It's not just about finding a good fit – what works for one business may not work for another, as each option caters to different needs and offers varying benefits.

Enter Wise – a name that's become increasingly familiar in the Canadian business scene. Contrary to the buzz, the Wise business card isn't a credit card but a prepaid card. It doesn't offer a line of credit; instead, you use the funds you already have.

So why is the Wise card catching the attention of businesses? Its standout feature is the multi-currency account, which offers a unique and efficient way to manage international transactions.

Are you curious about what the Wise business card can do for you? In this post, I'll guide you through what makes the Wise card different, how you can get one, and why it's become a go-to for savvy Canadian business owners. Let's get started.

What is a Wise business credit card?

A Wise business account is a multi-currency financial account that can keep your money in various currencies and allow you to receive and make payments as you like. The wise business account is like any other bank account whereby you can receive your payments and you can also transfer funds wherever you want. You can also use its card in the same manner that you use any other debit or credit card for online transfers, in-store purchases, and ATM withdrawals.

Key features

Wise business credit card or simply Wise business card has some great features that keep it apart from other online exclusive prepaid cards and credit cards. Here are the key features that will help you understand why Wise business cards are getting a positive user response.

• Multi-currency account: The amount in your account can be seen in 10 local currencies. You can also keep and convert your amount into 53 currencies. You can transfer money to around 80 countries.

• Accounting integration: You can connect your Wise account to accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and others. This way you can monitor your business monetary expenses in one place through critical lenses, reconcile your monthly statement, and even add your account to look over the reports generated by these accounting software.

• API: You can also manage your monthly payments with an API. It allows you to automate your payroll, orders, and invoices every month.

• Integrate online marketplace: You can integrate your online market accounts like Amazon, stripe, and others with your wise accounts to directly transfer and save funds in your wise account.

• No minimum balance requirement: Like many other bank and fintech cards, you are not required to maintain any minimum balance. So, you won't have to bind your funds just to keep the account running. Rather you can transfer all of the funds and still be able to operate your account.

• Maintenance fee: You are not required to pay any maintenance or monthly fee to keep the account running which is a pure relief for users.

• No foreign transaction fee: Since your amount can be shown in various currencies. So, you can pay in any currency that you desire with the real exchange rate. And that too without incurring any additional foreign transaction fee that you are obliged to pay while using many credit cards.

• ATM withdrawals: You can easily withdraw cash from any ATM in Canada by using your wise business credit card. For ATM withdrawals there can be charges applied so make sure that you are aware of the charge scheme. You can withdraw less than CAD 350 twice a month free of cost. Whereas if the amount of transaction exceeds CAD 350 (while the number of transactions is up to 2( then you will be charged a 1.75% charge to withdraw the cash. For more than 2 ATM withdrawals of amounts up to CAD 350 you will be charged an additional CAD 1.5 per transaction. Whereas for an amount of CAD 350 or more (with more than 2 transactions), you will charged an additional 1.75% charges. So, in case you are withdrawing more than CAD 350 and this is your 3rd transaction (or more) in the month then you will pay CAD 1.5 plus 1.75% charges on the withdrawal so you have to keep a check on your monthly withdrawals as you won't like many monetary deductions in your account.

• Monitor and track expenses: You can monitor, track, and reconcile business expenses which is especially important if you have employee cards and multiple people are using your wise business account.

• Virtual wise card: You can start using your Wise account once it is approved. You don’t have to wait for the physical card to reach you. When your account gets approval you are provided with a virtual card that can be used to conduct online transactions.

• Batch payments: Wise allows you to send batch payments. You can send payments to up to 1,000 people with one click. Isn’t it simply amazing when you can send salaries to all your employees with one click?

Required Documents

To open the Wise business account you are required to upload scanned copies of some documents. The document requirement varies from country to country. In Canada, the main documents that you need are listed below (not limited to):

• Colored scanned copies of ID documents

• Letter of authorization (if you are not director)

• Beneficial owner

• Business registration number

• List of directors

• Business trading address

• Purpose of account

• Company website and description of business activities

• Shareholders list who currently own 25% or more shares of the company. This should include their full name, residence country, exact ownership percentage, and date of birth.

How to open a Wise Business account

To open a Wise business account you can start by visiting the Wise website and then follow some simple steps. Let me walk you through the steps that you need to take in order to open your account at Wise.

• Sign up: Open the Wise website, select the country as Canada, and sign up for the business account. To sign up you will be required to fill in all your details such as email address, contact information, and other information to set up the account. You will be asked to verify your account and set your password. Once you sign up, you can then log in to your account simply by inserting the email ID and password.

• Select the account type: Once the account is set up you have to select the type of account from personal and business accounts. Choose a business account if you wish to operate the account for business transactions.

• Add business details: Then you can add your business details such as name, type, and industry you are working in. You will also be required to add some essential business documents that Wise will verify to approve your account. The details of these documents are shared in the next topic.

• Setup account: Once the account is active, you can activate the multicurrency features that will allow you to keep and hold amounts in multiple currencies. You will be charged one-time set-up fee which is $42 CAD for Canada.

• Wait for approval: once you have entered all the desired details then you have to wait for the account approval. Wise team analyzes your application which usually takes 2 to 3 days but in some cases, it can take up to 10 working days to go through your application. If you have added employees in the account administrator as well then the team will take some time to get their approval as well. Once your account is approved you will receive a confirmation email from Wise. Once your account is approved you are good to conduct transactions.

• Initiate transactions: After confirmation, you can apply for a physical card which can take some time but it cannot hinder you from initiating transactions. You can start transactions once you get approval through the virtual wise transaction ID. All you need to do is enter the recipient’s details and the currency you want to transfer money in.