New validation issue with Wise

My main problem with them is that they won’t let me open an account from my desktop and I do not want to put anything to do with money on my mobile.

Who would you use other than Revolut if you wanted to move off Wise, Karen?

Just an update - I have spoken to Wise who have insisted that I change my main UK bank account, which manages my pensions and all sorts of other stuff , in order to match the format of my name on my Wise account “because that is correct”. When I tried to explain that the name on my UK bank account is also absolutely correct but in a different format, they said there was nothing they could do because they were right.

To say I am spitting feathers is putting it mildly…

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If I transfer money in the other direction I imagine I will have the same problem because my account name here is Mme Angela Rxxxxx

There are no fees at Torfx. I missed a bullet when Wise insisted if I couldn’t do a decent photo showing me and my passport they wouldn’t allow me to join. Very pleased I couldn’t now. :joy:

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Are you trying to initiate the transfer directly from Wise? If so, how about just doing a transfer from your UK bank account to Wise, change it to Euros at Wise, then transfer it to your French account?

No I wasn’t (I can’t as it happens because the Coop isn’t in the list of banks you can do that with). It was a bog-standard transfer from my UK bank as I have been doing for the past 15? years.

In the end I did exactly what you said - transfer in then exchange - but I had to say that the account I was sending from was not mine.

No idea. I shrunk from Rev due previous really bad experiences but would put in the effort to find another way as soon as Wise wants even 1 .more cent than now for my regular transactions

There are of course many people who never had a problem with Rev. But those who do have a terrible time..

Really bad experience with Wise 1 year ago. Just off the plane in a rainstorm suddenly my Wise card was rejected by bus after bus near Heathrow. I’d taken the bus from Heathrow to near Slough to get my hair cut. My hairdresser had dropped me back at a bus stop on the A4. No other way out than bus from the stop in the pouring rain.

Managed to get to Hounslow West by kindness of 1 bus driver. Wise card still rejected on Underground. No other card. As top of my list was to visit bank the following day as my main bank card had expired. Spent 1 and ¾ hours cold and in the dark and rain outside Hounslow West station in 2 calls to Wise support. Passed extensive security on each of the calls. But nothing wrong with card. Wise said nothing wrong with account, they knew of no reason card was being rejected. I did succeed in buying something in between the calls and told them which transactions weren’t working so they said no idea why. Had to give up when my phone battery went flat.

To cut a long story short the Underground let me travel to my bed. Card worked fine other places the following day.

I eventually worked out that although I had always used my Wise card on Transport for London, Transport for London was apparently no longer accepting Wise cards. I’d been able to get to Slough on the bus from Heathrow becauae it wasn’t a London Transport bus.

At no time did Wise support tell me this and never has Despite nearly 2 hours on the phone with them, frozen solid and being rained on.

On my previous trip home my Wise card had been blocked for no good reason on my first transaction - that wasted 1 day of a very packed 3 days trip standing on street xorners calling them to sort out. Luckily I had another card that time.

So yeah I’m now open to an alternative to Wise whereas I’d have stuck with them through a great deal more before.

Thanks David Spardo I will make a note of this for when next provoked by Wise. It’s so disappointing when a firm or facility you always relied on suddenly stops working.

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Angela, I just transferred money from my regular UK bank account to Wise without any problem. But I wasn’t sending the money any further. I just wanted to load some sterling on the Wise card so as to have an extra sterling bank card when I’m in the UK next week.

The names on my regular bank account and the Wise account definitely don’t match, incidentally. But of course I wasn’t logged into Wise at any point- just my regular bank’s site. So unfortunately we’re not talking about quite the same thing. Sorry, I misunderstood your original post but realise now what you were trying to do.

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The requirement for name matching only became obligatory for many fintech platforms from October this year (at least, that’s what Convera were telling me for my international business transfers).

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Karen, what a pain. But Transport for London are currently accepting the Wise card, aren’t they? I can’t find anything on the internet to indicate they’re not. Quite a few FB posts by people who have used it in the last 3 months or so.

The last time I sent money via Wise there had been a long gap while I waited for a better exchange rate for the £. When I went back to the site, there was a facility for Wise to connect me directly with my UK bank. I used it because it was quick but I noticed there’s also a button offering a manual transfer.

I wondered if that is how I used to do things with Wise, I sent money from my UK account to the Wise one using their sort code and account number, then used the balance to buy euros. Would using that get them off people’s backs for account names not matching?

Apologies if I’m talking rubbish.

Sorry to hear that Wise are not living up to their name…

FWIW when I put money into Wise I use the mechanism on the Wise app or website to upload money from my “connected bank account”. Is that the method you were using @AngelaR ?

My Wise account name is my three names spelled out in full, whereas my UK bank account (actually Nationwide) is in the form first name - initial - last name.

I don’t initiate the transaction from the Nationwide end, always from Wise.

Then I convert to Euros as needed within Wise.

The “connected bank account” feature is under the "Your account menu (top right in a web browser, click on your name) and then in Settings / Payment methods:

They weren’t on a subsequent trip. So assumed permanent.

So long as doesnt work with TFL my continuation with Wise is very subject to no fee increase. That would be third strike and I’d take active steps not to have to rely on them again. Instead of now, just hoping.

I now see that you are not the only one to have had problems with Wise and TFL. One workaround being suggested is to add the Wise card to Apple Pay and tap your phone at the gate, instead of the physical card.

Actually there are lots of complaints about cards being rejected and not just Wise. The feeling seems to be that the blame lies with TFL… Don’t know whether that’s true or not.

You’re not talking rubbish @Jennifer11 . I have always had to use the manual transfer option because Wise doesn’t have my bank in its list of direct connections.

It’s the manual transfer option that now has stopped working as it will only do it if the names on the two accounts match. They don’t and never will.

I can do it as a 2 stage process as you can load money onto your Wise bucket from any account at all and then tranfer from there. I can no longer do a manual transfer and have it converted into my French acccount any more. In money laundering terms this makes no sense as they are the same but in two steps instead of one.

Thank you for mentioning the rate rise @KarenLot - icing on the cake, that is!

I wasn’t using theconnected bank account option as I can’t. Wise doesn’t like the Co-op!!

Have you done a transfer this week @ChrisMann because it was only Wednesday when it objected to my UK bank account name, which is in exactly the same format as yours, and my Wise name is the three names in full, like yours. Always fine until Wednesday…

well it had worked for years before. And still did not later. I will try again next time I’m there next year. Might have a new Wise card too.