Tandem Bank vs Wise - Everything you need to know before choosing

Tandem Bank®¹ describes itself as the UK’s greener bank. With Tandem you can get a savings account to earn interest, apply for loans for things like buying an electric vehicle or upgrading your home to be more environmentally friendly, and access energy and money saving product ideas through the Tandem Marketplace.

Wise is a non-bank alternative which offers a digital account and card for personal and business customers, with an interest feature you can use to earn interest on funds in GBP, EUR and USD. In total, you can hold and exchange 40+ currencies with Wise, and you’ll get the mid-market exchange rate with low conversion fees from just 0.43%² whenever you need to switch from one currency to another.

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Tandem Bank and Wise are both digital financial service providers - but they have quite different features. Read this review of Tandem Bank vs Wise compared to see which might work best for your needs.

What is Tandem Bank?

Tandem Bank is a fully licensed UK bank with a focus on helping customers live in a more environmentally friendly way. As a personal customer, you can open a Tandem savings account, or get mortgages and loans - but there’s no option for a Tandem Bank current account or debit card. Tandem Bank does not currently offer accounts for business customers.

In total, Tandem Bank has close to 100,000 UK customers, and has offered over 288 million GBP in lending to help people access affordable financing solutions while improving their carbon footprint and living a greener life.

What is Wise?

Wise is not a bank, it’s an E-Money Institution, regulated in the UK by the FCA. Wise offers digital account and card services for personal and business customers, with features including the option to hold and exchange 40+ currencies with the mid-market exchange rate and low fees from 0.43% every time. You’ll also be able to send payments to 160+ countries, and receive payments to your Wise account in 9 currencies.

Wise values transparency, so there are no ongoing Wise fees, and no need to hold a minimum deposit in your account. All costs and charges are split out for transparency, so you can hold, send, spend and exchange dozens of currencies, and just pay for the transactions made.

Tandem Bank vs Wise benefits

Tandem Bank and Wise are both digital financial service providers, but there are some distinct differences in the product ranges available and the core purpose of each business.

Tandem Bank is a licensed UK bank, which has savings accounts and loan services for personal customers. Its focus lies in helping people save money while improving their carbon footprint and living in a more environmentally friendly way.

As we’ve mentioned, Wise is not a bank. They’re regulated for the services they offer through the FCA in the UK, and a selection of other regulatory bodies overseas. Wise focuses on allowing personal and business customers in the UK and beyond to access easy and cheap ways to manage their money across currencies.

Here are a few of the things Tandem Bank and Wise have in common:

• Both Tandem Bank and Wise are digital providers with no branch network
• Both Tandem Bank and Wise offer accounts for personal customers which can be used to earn interest
• Both Tandem Bank and Wise have account options which have no monthly fees
• Both Tandem Bank and Wise are safe to use and fully licensed and regulated for the specific services they offer

However, there are also plenty of ways in which the features and services from each provider are quite different. That means both Tandem Bank and Wise have their own unique features and benefits, too.

Here are a few of the benefits you get with Tandem Bank:

• Get a loan or mortgage to help you improve your home or buy a more efficient car
• Access information and suppliers who can help you reduce your spending and carbon footprint through environmentally friendly approaches
• Use Tandem’s Loop Money service to send payments to friends and family in GBP instantly for free

Here are a few of the benefits you get with Wise:

• Hold and exchange 40+ currencies in your Wise account, get paid in 9 currencies conveniently
• Spend with your Wise card in 150+ countries, and send payments to 160+ countries
• All currency conversion uses the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees from 0.43%²
• Some fee free cash withdrawal every month - no ongoing fees for any account

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Tandem Bank vs Wise fees and charges

Tandem Bank and Wise have quite different features, so which one suits you will depend on what exactly you need from a provider. Tandem doesn’t have a debit card which means its savings accounts can’t be conveniently used for day to day spending. However, it does have other services like loans and mortgages.

Wise doesn’t offer loans or mortgages, but their digital accounts are flexible with the option to support 40+ currencies, and linked debit card for daily spending.

Both services offer interest bearing accounts you can manage online or with your phone - so if that’s what you’re looking for you’ll want to weigh them both up to help you pick.

To help your research, let’s look at some of the key features and costs for both providers. Don’t forget to run through the whole fee schedule for the provider you prefer before you sign up, so there are no surprises down the line.

	Tandem Bank³	Wise
Availability	UK personal customers	Personal and business customers in the UK and a broad selection of other countries
Currencies supported	GBP	40+
Open account	No fee	No fee for personal customers; low, one time charge for business customers
Monthly fee	No fee	No fee
Minimum and maximum deposit	No minimum 250,000 GBP maximum holding	No minimum No maximum holding for UK customers - some limits apply for customers in some other countries⁴
Interest rate	Variable - 4.65% at time of writing*	Variable - 4.70% on GBP holding at time of writing⁵* Interest is also available on EUR and USD balances. Rates are set separately for these currencies
ATM fees	Not applicable - card not available	2 withdrawals, up to 200 GBP/month fee free, 0.5 GBP + 1.75% after that⁶*
Foreign transaction fees	Not applicable - card not available	Free to spend any currency you hold in your account Currency conversion from 0.43% where required
Loans and mortgages	Available	Not available

*Fee information correct at time of research - 8th August 2023

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Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

Tandem Bank savings accounts are held in GBP only, and can not send or receive payments in any other currencies⁷. If you need to send payments abroad and in foreign currencies, you may be better off with a currency and international money transfer specialist like Wise.

Wise international transfers can be sent using a balance you hold in your Wise account already - or you can choose to pay by bank transfer or with a credit or debit card. You’ll be able to send money to 160+ countries, with the mid-market exchange rate and low, transparent fees from 0.43%. ²

Wise payments can be super fast, too - 50% arrive instantly and 90% are there in 24 hours⁸. This is because Wise built its own payment network to avoid the SWIFT network usually used by banks. This makes the process more efficient, and because there are no intermediaries involved, it can be cheaper too. That allows savings to be passed back to the customer in the form of lower fees and a better exchange rate.

We’ll look in detail at how to send a payment overseas with Wise in just a few steps, later.

Speed: The speed of transaction claim depends on funds availability, approval by Wise's proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners' banking system, and may not be available for all transactions

Tandem Bank vs Wise - app and ease of use

Both Tandem and Wise are digital only services. That means there’s no branch network and you’ll usually access and manage your account through an app or by logging in on your laptop. Usually, picking a digital provider can mean you get lower overall costs. With no branch network to maintain, these services have lower overheads and can pass these benefits back to customers.

However, picking a digital only service does also mean you’ll need to be happy with the app and user interface. You can’t just walk into a branch to ask for help so finding a service which has an easy to use, reliable and multi-functional app is essential. Let’s look at what current customers think of the apps and ease of use on offer from both Tandem Bank and Wise.

	App store	Google Play
Tandem Bank	4.3 out of 5 stars, from 4.6k reviews⁹	Rating not yet available¹⁰
Wise	4.6 out of 5 stars, from 29k+ reviews¹¹	4.8 out of 5 stars, from 553k+ reviews¹²

Both Tandem Bank and Wise apps are safe to use, and are regularly updated to ensure customer funds, data, and their accounts are secured.

How to easily transfer money with Wise

You can’t send money overseas with Tandem Bank. If what’s important to you is being able to manage your money across currencies, you may be better off with Wise. You’ll be able to spend internationally with your Wise card - and make easy, fast and cheap payments locally and overseas.

Open a Wise account online or with your phone to send a payment directly to bank accounts in 160+ countries, in 40+ currencies. Payments usually arrive quickly - or even instantly in many cases. Wise accounts also have other handy features like your linked Wise debit card and convenient ways to get paid in 9 different currencies, right into your Wise digital account.

Here’s a step by step guide to sending money with Wise:

1. Download the Wise app for free
2. Register an account by entering your personal and contact information
3. Get verified by uploading a photo of your ID documents¹³
4. Model the payment you want to make to get a fee and rate quote
5. Choose how you want to pay (bank transfer or card for example)
6. Check everything over and confirm - you’ll be prompted to pay using your chosen payment method

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If you’re torn between Tandem Bank vs Wise it’s worth weighing them both up - but which is best for you will simply depend on your specific preferences and needs.

Tandem Bank is a good option if you want to save money in GBP, and earn variable interest - or if you want a loan or mortgage for environmentally friendly upgrades to your lifestyle. However, accounts aren’t meant for day to day use and there’s no debit card for spending or withdrawals.

Wise has digital accounts and linked debit cards, which can also be used for earning interest, but which have more of an international focus. With Wise you can hold 40+ currencies, get paid in 9 currencies, send money to 160+ countries, and spend with your Wise card in 150+ countries. Wise accounts have no ongoing fees, and every time you need to send or spend money in a currency you don’t have in your account, you’ll be able to access the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees from as little as 0.43%. Bear in mind that Wise is not a bank - and that means that some services you can get from Tandem Bank, such as loans and mortgages, are not available.

Use this guide to compare Tandem Bank vs Wise based on the types of transactions you need to make - and see which might suit your needs best.

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Sources:

1. Tandem Bank
2. Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information
3. Tandem Instant Access Saver
4. Wise holding limits
5. Wise interest feature
6. Wise will not charge you for these withdrawals, but some additional charges may occur from independent ATM networks
7. Tandem FAQ
8. Speed: The speed of transaction claim depends on funds availability, approval by Wise's proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners' banking system, and may not be available for all transactions
9. Tandem Bank App Store
10. Tandem Bank Google Play
11. Wise App Store
12. Wise Google Play
13. Wise may request additional documents to verify a customer's identity

Last checked on: 8th August 2023