TransferWise Launches the Borderless Account in Canada

The next phase for leading fintech company as it launches a new way for businesses to manage their money internationally

TransferWise is launching the Borderless account today, introducing a new way for Canadian businesses and freelancers to manage their money internationally. It’s the next step in the fintech company’s plan to lead the new wave of financial services.

The Borderless account is like having a local bank account in any country, without ever having to set foot there. Businesses and freelancers can get local account details (i.e. a unique account and routing number) for the US, Europe, and the UK. They can also keep money in 27 different currencies, transferring between these currencies instantly.

TransferWise plans to offer a corresponding debit card in 2018, which will be available for businesses and consumers alike. The card will provide them the same benefits when traveling, making payments to family and friends abroad, or purchasing international goods.

With the Borderless account, Canadian businesses can:

• Open accounts to pay and get paid as if they were a local business in that country.
  • Receive unique local account numbers for the US, Europe and the UK in seconds – Canada and others to come.
• Hold and manage balances in 27 currencies – saving money on unnecessary conversions.
  • Convert money between currency balances instantly.
  • Currencies include: Euro, British Pound, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar, Hungarian Forint, Japanese Yen, Norwegian Krone, New Zealand Dollar, Polish Zloty, Swedish Krona, Singapore Dollar, US Dollar, Bulgarian Lev, Czech Koruna, Croatian Kuna, Romanian Leu, United Arab Emirates Dirham, Georgian Lari, Israeli New Shekel, Mexican Peso, Peruvian Sol, Turkish Lira, Ukrainian Hryvnia and South African Rand.
• Save on maintenance fees – there are no set up fees or monthly charges and it costs nothing to receive payments.
• Avoid exchange rate mark-ups – when moving money across currencies, there’s only a small transparent fee and all transfers are made at the real mid-market exchange rate (i.e. the one you see on Google).

“We built TransferWise out of personal frustration. My bank was screwing me for a long time and now we’ve built a cheaper, easier solution to moving across borders,” says Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of TransferWise. “If you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur working with a global network of vendors, the Borderless account will be a game-changer.”

The Borderless account demonstrates TransferWise’s increased focus on helping small businesses manage money internationally. It gives businesses more control over their international finances by allowing them to pay invoices, convert currency, and receive payments in multiple currencies with unprecedented simplicity.

“I was on my way to open a euro account and ended up not doing it as TransferWise came up with this new Borderless feature. It took me 10 seconds to set it up and we’ve been using it ever since. The advantage of the service is clear. You save time, get excellent user experience and most importantly take advantage of low transaction costs.  As a small but growing company, it’s valuable to us,” said Irina Turcan, TransferWise customer and Founder of UK health supply company Erbology.

“While our operations are in the UK, our customers and suppliers are based worldwide. When we sell to the EU, we get paid in euros. The same applies to our operations in the US and Canada,” continued Turcan. “So if we dealt with a high street bank we would lose a lot of money on the currency exchange and transaction fees. We were losing on conversion rates. In addition, Borderless saves us monthly fees that a retail bank would typically charge. Both the app and the website are user friendly and service is great.”

Next phase for leading fintech company
In the six years since it launched, TransferWise has grown from a small startup serving two currencies, into a global platform serving more than a million customers across 750 currency routes. The company now has 700 employees across nine offices around the world, 100 of whom are based in North America. It reached profitability in the beginning of 2017, anticipating a $130 million revenue run rate. The company is using its resources to fuel its next stage of development: expanding beyond money transfer.

“With the unique platform we’ve built, we’re looking forward to creating a new kind of financial services for the future,” says Käärmann. “The infrastructure can help people do more than just transfer money. It can help them manage their international finances completely differently, giving them more freedom and control.”

People transfer more than $1.2 billion every month through the platform, which means they are saving more than $2 million every day compared to using other providers.

To learn more about the Borderless accounts, please visit TransferWise.com/ca/borderless.