Making Regular Payments to France

eDicky

ortolickus said:

Do i actually need to open a Euro account with Wise? eDicky says "Wise pays them from its euro account" which implies that i don't;

They are your euros that Wise pays to your recipient from its euro account.

As it's going to be a regular series of transfers I suggest you open a full account with Wise, who then provide sub-accounts in various currencies (and a debit card useful for travel), you can have just GBP and EUR for your purpose. Then it's a simple matter to send euros to your beneficiary, whose account details are already stored with your account.

Or you can just use Wise as a money transfer service, paying them your GBP each time.

I've been using Wise since they began (as TransferWise) ten years or so ago (?) and opened their full account as soon as they began offering it. They're a pretty solid outfit these days, efficient and cost effective with a transparent percentage fee on the perfect mid-market exchange rate, although the fee has been edging upward in recent years.

ortolickus

I've been trying to make my first actual payment using Wise, but i've spent an hour trying to get my ID verified with no success. The problem appears to be that i don't have a smartphone and the images that i finally get accepted (on the 10th attempt) using the webcam on my laptop are then rejected because Wise can't "verify" them. I could carry on trying for another hour or two, but i think i would be wasting my time. There seems no way to contact them to explain the problem and i assume it's all done by "AI" anyway.

Can i somehow use my granddaughter's smartphone (with her guidance!) or am i completely shafted? Any suggestions? Thanks.

PRAISETHESUN

ortolickus said:

I've been trying to make my first actual payment using Wise, but i've spent an hour trying to get my ID verified with no success. The problem appears to be that i don't have a smartphone and the images that i finally get accepted (on the 10th attempt) using the webcam on my laptop are then rejected because Wise can't "verify" them. I could carry on trying for another hour or two, but i think i would be wasting my time. There seems no way to contact them to explain the problem and i assume it's all done by "AI" anyway.

Can i somehow use my granddaughter's smartphone (with her guidance!) or am i completely shafted? Any suggestions? Thanks.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't use her phone - you install the app, sign into your account, and then verify yourself. Just make sure to sign out and delete the app from her phone, and to also unauthorise her device from your account, otherwise in theory she (or anyone else who uses her phone, eg. a friend/partner, or anyone who finds it if lost/stolen) can transact on your behalf in future.

ortolickus

Thanks, but i was planning on making these payments monthly. It seems a hell of a fuss to have to perform every time. That's my only option?

eDicky

ortolickus said:

Thanks, but i was planning on making these payments monthly. It seems a hell of a fuss to have to perform every time. That's my only option?

After being verified using the app on your daughter's phone, and with your Wise account fully open, presumably you could log in to your account on your laptop whenever you need to.

ortolickus

eDicky said:

ortolickus said:

Thanks, but i was planning on making these payments monthly. It seems a hell of a fuss to have to perform every time. That's my only option?

After being verified using the app on your daughter's phone, and with your Wise account fully open, presumably you could log in to your account on your laptop whenever you need to.

That's a comforting assumption, but it just sounds too simple! I guess i'll just have to give it a go. As i mentioned, there doesn't seem any way to contact them - unless i'm missing something?

friolento

You only need to do the ID verification once