Wise vs Equals Money Business: Which Is Better?

Which Is Better for UK businesses choosing between simple low-cost cross-border transfers and 38-currency IBAN coverage with relationship-led FX expertise?

If you want the simplest cheapest cross-border SME account, choose Wise. We rate Wise as the cheapest mid-market FX for occasional transfers, from 0.33% above interbank with no monthly subscription.

If you operate in hospitality, manufacturing, iGaming or accountancy and need multi-currency IBANs in more than 35 currencies with relationship-led FX expertise, choose Equals Money. We rate Equals as broader on industry-specific support.

When you convert £50,000 EUR a month, Wise costs roughly £165-285 with no subscription. Equals Money on Business tier adds £25-£35/month before any FX cost.

If you need broader currency depth than Wise offers, choose Equals Money for the 38-currency IBAN coverage. Wise covers 9+ currencies on Advanced, narrower but deeper for the corridors covered.

Wise vs Equals Money Fees and Charges

You pay nothing for Wise Essential and £50 one-off for Wise Advanced (which unlocks local account details in 9+ currencies). No monthly subscription on either tier.

You pay £25-£35/month at Equals Money for Business and Business Plus card tiers, billed as £300 and £420 a year. Paying yearly instead cuts those to £250 and £350, a saving Equals puts at 17%. Physical cards cost £10 one-off each; virtual cards are free up to 50 (Business) or 100 (Business Plus).

On FX, Wise charges from 0.33% above mid-market, varies by currency pair. Equals Money charges in-house relationship-led FX without publishing a specific markup percentage on the main product page.

Equals Money publishes no transfer markup at all, because it negotiates the rate against your volume and structure. The consequence is that the only figure governing your cost is the one written into your own quote, and there is nothing to compare against Wise until you hold it.

On UK Faster Payments, Wise outgoing is free. Equals Money UK transfer fees aren’t prominently itemised on the main page.

For cash deposits, neither account offers UK cash channels. Pair either with a high-street account if you take cash daily.

On the card, Wise charges 0% non-sterling if you hold the currency and free ATM up to £250/month then 2.69%. Equals Money card fees follow plan-tier limits with virtual cards bundled.

Wise vs Equals Money Features and Tools

Feature breadth is the clearest split between the two. Wise focuses on low-cost cross-border transfers and multi-currency holding in 9+ currencies. Equals Money emphasises multi-currency IBANs in more than 35 currencies and in-house FX expertise.

You get multi-currency IBANs in more than 35 currencies at Equals Money. Wise offers local account details in 9+ currencies on Advanced, narrower than Equals.

When your bookkeeper handles invoices in 8 currencies for a hospitality business, Equals Money’s multi-currency IBANs in more than 35 currencies across 21 free major currencies beats Wise on currency depth.

If you need broad business-type acceptance, both providers cover sole traders, LTDs and partnerships. Equals Money explicitly markets to hospitality, manufacturing, iGaming and accountancy verticals.

For accounting integrations, both connect with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent via Open Banking. Wise also integrates with Sage and Zoho Books.

You get virtual and physical cards at Equals Money: 50 virtual on Business, 100 on Business Plus, physical at £10 one-off. Wise card programmes are more standardised.

Wise vs Equals Money International Payments

If you invoice or pay in foreign currency at meaningful volume, Wise wins on raw FX cost transparency. Mid-market from 0.33% beats Equals Money’s unpublished relationship rate at most SME volumes.

You can hold balances in more than 35 currencies at Equals Money with 21 major currencies free. Wise covers 9+ currencies on Advanced.

When you convert £100,000 GBP to EUR a month, Wise costs roughly £330-570 (0.33-0.57%). Equals Money does not publish an FX markup, so the cost depends on the quote you are given.

For receiving foreign currency, Equals Money provides multi-currency IBANs with local clearing in 21 major currencies. Wise provides 9+ local account details on the Advanced plan.

Neither is FSCS-protected, so protection settles nothing between them. Wise diversifies safeguarded funds across Barclays, Citibank, Chase. Equals Money safeguards at Tier-1 banks.

For card spending overseas, Wise charges 0% if you hold the currency. Equals itemises a flat £1.50 for cash withdrawals on every tier, and £10 one-off per physical card.

Wise vs Equals Money Customer Reviews and Reputation

Trustpilot needs reading with care here, because the two bases are not comparable. When we checked on 3 September 2026 Wise sat at 4.3 across 299,278 reviews and Equals at 4.6 across 588. Equals scores higher on a base roughly five hundred times smaller, which tells you about its enterprise, relationship-managed customer set rather than about the product.

You hear Wise complaints cluster around first-payment KYC freezes (6-24 hour holds) and occasional account restrictions during compliance review.

You hear Equals Money positive reviews lean on in-house FX expertise, relationship management model, and breadth of currency support. Smaller review base than Wise.

When your bookkeeper urgently needs a supplier paid on Friday afternoon, both providers’ local transfer rails clear in minutes. SWIFT transfers run on standard timing.

Support model splits sharply. Wise offers chat and phone for paid customers. Equals Money provides dedicated account managers for higher-tier customers and relationship management depth.

Wise vs Equals Money for Mid-Market FX Cost vs 35+ Currency IBANs with Vertical Industry Support

For simplest cheapest cross-border SME transfers, Wise wins. We rate Wise as the value pick for transparent FX cost across most UK SME volumes.

For multi-currency IBANs in more than 35 currencies with vertical industry support, Equals Money wins. The breadth of currencies and the iGaming/hospitality/manufacturing positioning beats Wise on vertical-specific coverage.

When you operate in iGaming or other industries where mainstream banks restrict service, Equals Money explicitly markets to these verticals. Wise has more generic positioning.

If you’re a simple UK SME doing 3-5 currency invoicing, Wise wins on simplicity and cost. The £50 one-off Wise Advanced setup pays for itself in the first month at typical volumes.

We checked both providers’ integration sets in May 2026: both support Xero and QuickBooks via Open Banking. Wise additionally integrates with Sage, FreeAgent and Zoho Books.

We modelled the cost stack at £50,000 monthly EUR conversion: Wise lands around £165-285 all-in. Equals Money depends on the in-house FX quote you negotiate, and we could not model the equivalent: the figure does not exist until that quote does.

Downsides of Wise and Equals Money

You won’t find FSCS protection at either provider: both EMI-safeguarded only. Safeguarding is not FSCS cover at any balance, and the gap is worth pricing whatever you hold.

Equals Money does not publish its exact FX markup. The rate is set per customer, so it exists only inside a quote and cannot be weighed against the Wise figure in advance.

You won’t find cash deposit options at either provider. Pair either with a high-street account if you take cash daily.

You pay £25-£35/month at Equals Money even before transaction fees. For low-volume cross-border SMEs, that subscription is meaningful versus Wise’s no-subscription model.

You won’t find card acquiring at either provider. For ecommerce payment acceptance, pair either with Stripe, Adyen or Airwallex.

You face per-transfer fees at Wise that vary by currency pair. For high-volume supplier payments in one corridor, the cost predicts well; for unpredictable patterns it can surprise.

Alternatives to Wise and Equals Money

You don’t have to choose between Wise and Equals Money alone. We compared several adjacent UK business accounts that solve specific problems better than either.

If you need FSCS-protected multi-currency banking, choose Revolut Business. Eligible deposits held with Revolut Bank UK Ltd are FSCS-protected up to £120,000. Some businesses that applied during the phased rollout were opened with Revolut Ltd rather than the bank; Revolut says that rollout is complete and any such account transitions automatically. Check the entity named on your own statement.

If you need free PRA-licensed UK banking with FSCS, choose Starling Business.

If you need card acquiring plus multi-currency banking, choose Airwallex. 1.30% + 20p UK card acquiring plus subscription multi-currency banking.

If you need full high-street banking with branches plus trade finance, choose HSBC or Barclays.

Final Verdict: Wise or Equals Money?

Choose Wise Business if you want the cheapest cross-border SME transfers with transparent mid-market FX from 0.33% and no monthly subscription.

Choose Equals Money if you need multi-currency IBANs in more than 35 currencies across 21 free major currencies, relationship-led FX expertise, or operate in hospitality, manufacturing, iGaming or accountancy verticals.

When breadth of currencies and vertical industry support matters, Equals Money wins. When transparent low-cost FX and simplicity matter, Wise wins.

If you need FSCS-protected primary banking, pair either account with a PRA-licensed bank. Starling holds its own licence; at Revolut the cover follows whether your account sits with Revolut Bank UK Ltd, which is named on your statement.

Frequently Asked Questions