Everything you need to know about the batch payments tool

The Wise batch payment tool is the faster, cheaper way for you to make multiple international money transfers.

The batch payments tool lets you create and send multiple transfers with one payment — by simply uploading a file. We built it for businesses that need to run international payroll to their customers, freelancers or employees. To pay recurring invoices and suppliers, or simply for those who just want to streamline their payment processes. And the pricing is the same as regular Wise transfers.

Are you a medium to large-sized business? Or would you rather automate payouts? Get in touch with our Sales team today

Scroll down to read everything you need to know about:

• Getting started with a batch payment
• Choosing a template
• Saving and uploading your template to your account
• Reviewing and paying for your transfer
• Resolving errors
• Automating the process

We recommend Control (Ctrl) F if you want to know about a specific topic.

What to know before you get started

What’s a batch payment?

The batch payment tool allows you to create and send many transfers in one go by simply uploading a file. You can then make a single payment to Wise to cover all transfers in the batch payment file.

The main benefit of using the batch payment tool is being able to create up to 1,000 transfers with a single file rather than setting up one transfer at a time. Some people may call a batch payment a bulk payment, mass payout, or mass payment.

How do I create a batch payment?

It’s easy to create a batch payment. Below is an overview of the steps you need to take:

1. Set up your Wise Business account.
2. Once your account is verified, you’ll be able to start using Batch Payments. Learn more about verification here.
3. On top left, click “Send Money” and select Batch payments.
4. Choose and download a batch payment template file.
5. Open the template file in a spreadsheet editor like Excel and fill in your recipients' transfer details, including name, transfer amount, and currency you want them to receive.
6. Save your file as a .CSV (it should have .csv at the end) and upload the file on the batch payments page.
7. Review the transfers in your batch.
8. Pay for your batch.
9. Track your transfers in real time from your account page.

What to know about choosing a template

First, what is a batch payment template?

We’ve created different templates to help you get started with batch payments. They’re downloadable only in .CSV (comma separated value) format files that you can open using a spreadsheet app, like Microsoft Excel. There are multiple to choose from, so just use the one that works for you.

1. What’s the “Email template"? — if you don't know the bank details of your recipients, you can add their email addresses to the template only as shown in the picture below. Just add their email addresses to the template, along with the transfer amount and currency. We send each a secure link so they can collect their money. Just make sure you add the email address under the ”recipientEmail” column. If you need to send money to multiple currencies, there's a way to do that, too. Learn more here.
2. What’s the “Saved recipient template”? — if you've used Wise before, your recipients are automatically saved. For this template we add all the details of all your saved recipients automatically — the details will be filled in when you download the file. You can see all your recipients in the Recipients section here. Once you’ve downloaded the template, you may delete anyone from the file that you don’t want included in the batch payment. Remember: you can't send money to new recipients with this template.
3. What’s the “Bank template”? — this template allows you to manually add recipient bank and transfer details. All recipients you pay to with the file will automatically be saved in your list of recipients.

How do I fill in a batch payment template?

1. Choose “Bank template” and you can start filling out the file.
2. Select your “source currency” and your recipient’s target currency.
3. Then choose the “Type” of the transfer. We sometimes support transfers to e-wallets or other types of accounts.
4. Choose the “Recipient type” - are you sending money to a personal or business bank account?
5. Then input “transfer amount” and “amount currency”.

• If you select “Source currency”, we’ll then deduct the fees from the currency amount you pay for the batch and send the rest in the recipient’s local currency - this way, the recipient covers the fee.
• If you select “Target currency”, we’ll then guarantee that your recipient gets the exact amount in their local currency - this way, you’ll cover the fee for them.

When you click on “Add row”, you’ll see the file being generated. You can keep adding more rows to your file - just make sure to edit one of the variables in transfer details (e.g. the “Transfer amount”).

When done, click “Download” and manually edit out all the rows where you see “e.g.” It’s possible to add other currencies or duplicate existing ones directly from the file. Just make sure that all the required columns for the target currency are present.

You can leave out “E-mail” and “Payment reference” rows blank as they’re optional.

Can I pay out to multiple currencies within one batch payment file?

Yes, you can payout to multiple currencies when using batch payments. Note that there can only be one “Source currency” per Batch file, i.e. if you’d like to fund your Batch in GBP and EUR currencies, you’d need to use 2 different templates.

What to know about saving and uploading your file

What file format do I save my batch payments template file in?

Once you’ve opened the template file in a spreadsheet editor and filled in your transfer details, you can save your file as a .CSV (it should have .csv at the end of the file’s name) and upload the file right on your account page.

How do I upload my batch payments template file?

Once your account is verified, you'll be able to upload your batch payment. You can upload the file by dragging it into the dotted box on the batch payments page, or by clicking on “Select file” and manually uploading the file from the computer.

How do I see all the transfers I’ve created?

You’ll see all the transfers on the second step “Review transfers” once you’ve uploaded the batch file.

What to know about reviewing and paying for your batch

How do I pay for my batch?

At the final step of the batch payment, you’ll be able to pay for your transfer. You’ll see two payment options: pay by local bank transfer and use balances already in your Wise Business account.

For Option 1, we’ll give you our bank details, and you can send the total amount of your batch to us via bank transfer. Once you have sent your bank transfer, mark your batch payment as paid by clicking "I have paid". When we have received money, we’ll pay out the correct amounts to each of your recipients.

For Option 2, you’ll be able to select to pay from one of your Wise Business balances. You can learn how to top up your balances here.

How can I make sure my recipient gets a certain amount of money in their currency?

If you need to make sure your recipient gets a certain amount of money in their home currency, simply change “Amount currency” to “Target currency” and type in the amount you want the recipient to get. We’ll add the fee on top of the amount you’d pay in your source currency.

When should I pay for my batch?

We recommend that you pay for your batch as soon as you upload your file to guarantee the rate. You can learn more about the guaranteed rate here. If for some reason you can't pay in straight away, your transfers will remain open for a few days before being automatically cancelled by our system.

Add a refund account

You need to add your own bank account as a refund account, in case that you cancel one of the transfers or we need to refund any amount you’ve paid for the Batch. You can do this by going to “Recipients” from the Account page, adding your bank account details and marking them as “primary”. You can learn more about how to do it here.

If you’re paying for the Batch with your balance, you won’t need to add a refund account.

Can I use Wise to run my payroll on Time Doctor?

You can use Wise's batch payments tool with the Time Doctor platform to easily pay your overseas employees. If you already use Time Doctor for payroll, you can set up the Wise integration in Time Doctor.

Learn how to set up Wise integration in Time Doctor here.

What to know about resolving errors?

How do I know what’s wrong with my transfers and how to fix the errors?

In case that there is an issue with any of the transfers in the Batch, we’ll let you know about it on the second step - “Review transfers”.

Whether the account or bank number is wrong, or there is something else missing about the transfer - you’ll be able to see it on screen.

You can then “Download a copy of these errors” and edit out the transfer details directly within the file. Once you’re done making the edits, save the file, click on “Cancel and reupload file” and reupload.

Alternatively, you can “Continue without these transfers” (that have errors) and keep the file with the errors that you can fix later.

What to know about automating your payments

Can I automate my batch payments?

If you’re interested in automating your payments, you can integrate with our open API.

Wise opened its API to help businesses streamline their workflows. By using it, not only can you automate payments — you can also connect your business tools to Wise, and create other ways to manage your finances.

There are no extra charges or premium subscriptions. And it only takes a few minutes to get your tokens.

Find out more here.

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Updated on 21st February 2022.