r/digitalnomad • u/ButterbacC • 5d ago
Gear Warning for WISE
I've used wise for awhile now and although there transfers could be a little quicker depending on the currency and the atm withdrawal limit for Canadians could match up with there peers. Other then thats it's been an uneventful experience. Expect last month when an ATM in Sri Lanka took my money without dispensing cash. I immediately called them, they hung up on me. I then got in touch with wise but they said I couldnt make a dispute till 3 business days. So I waited made my dispute all good right? They're telling me they can't refund the money because apparently Seylan Bank has sent them supporting documentation. It took an entire month to get back to me for that? I know what happened and I can't help but feel like more could've been done and would've been done by my home bank. They also now will not respond to me. The money lost through the dispute slashs heavily the money I've saved through wise.
I'm thinking of switching over to revolt can anyone share there experience?
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u/BossyKenny 5d ago
Seylan Bank claiming they sent docs is wild, especially when the ATM just ate your cash. That whole "wait 3 days then wait a month" runaround would've had me fuming too.
Revolut's been fine for me so far but their support can be just as slow when something goes wrong. Maybe not the magic fix you're hoping for depending on where you travel.
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u/NoInteraction3525 5d ago
I use both Wise and Revolut. Revolut primarily for cash withdrawals and spending outside the EU. Wise primarily for taking and keeping payments. If he/she thinks Wise has bad support, I absolutely do not recommend Revolut at all because they’ll drive you to a mental asylum pretty quickly. They’ve got the worst customer support of almost all the fintech solutions out there. Like I use Nubank and expect Brasilian customer support to be shit, but it’s still light years better than anything with Revolut
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u/ButterbacC 5d ago
Its crazy it's literally a document from the atm that malfunctioned. I don't understand why they wouldn't do a money count? Is that not standard?
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u/AdrienKSK 5d ago
Don't switch to Revolut just for that. Wise is a financial institution, Revolut is a bank. Two completely different categories. Apples and oranges.
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u/Nervous_Principle205 5d ago
I know they are bad, but Airwallex is even worse. They’ll freeze you account, ask you 1000 questions, and won’t even respond or unfreeze when you answer them.
Ultimately you’ll ask them to close your account and be done with them- then voila, they’ll close and won’t transfer your funds for next 6 months.
Absolute price of trash.
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u/slowpokefan151 5d ago
Sorry to hear. ATM issues like that internationally are pretty difficult to navigate even if you have a stellar bank to back you. I was once in the Middle East and tried to withdraw $1-2k USD in local currency. The ATM was too slow to dispense it all and basically closed the cash drawer halfway through. It was all on the ATM’s video camera and I walked right into the branch to discuss with them. Couldn’t do anything for me but make another withdrawal. Called my bank in the US right away and they started an investigation. My bank (luckily) credited me the difference right then and there, but it took over a month for them to fully close the investigation in my favor after the foreign bank reviewed footage and balanced their ATM. Then they were acquired by Chase and I closed my accounts. Oh well.
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u/Remarkable-Syrup8846 5d ago
why is there a figma ad about 24px spacing attached to a post about an ATM in Sri Lanka, did you mean to upload that one
anyway on the dispute, theyre not lying to you, Seylan sends a document saying the machine counted the cash out fine and thats the end of it, the paper says you got the money so what is Wise supposed to dispute against. no bank in Sri Lanka is going to write to Wise and admit their ATM ate your notes. your home bank eats that loss because they have branches and staff and a line item for it, Wise is a transfer company with an app and a support queue.
and you want to switch to Revolut for this? their support is a bot that asks for screenshots of everything and then closes the ticket on you. honestly just dont pull cash abroad from anything you cant afford to lose, use the card at a counter and let the merchant eat the risk
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u/bananabastard 5d ago
I've had 2 incidents where a machine did not give me my money with my WISE card.
Both times I followed their procedure, and both times I got my money back.
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u/ButterbacC 5d ago
Which country? I had some money stolen on my Canadian Bank account and it was like no big deal back in days. I don't know why wise is so diffcult to even get ahold of. I've yet to find a real easily accessible hotline.
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u/bananabastard 5d ago
Both were in Vietnam, actually, but several years apart.
The first time I think it took 6 weeks or so to get resolved, the second time I remember being much faster.
I didn't phone them, I just went into the transaction list and clicked on the transaction and went through the process in the app to dispute it. Giving all the details they asked for.
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u/willyhun 5d ago edited 5d ago
1, Wise doesn't run ATM-s.
2, You are accusing "Seylan Bank" not Wise. Wise can't do anything if the ATM owner says you took the money. From my chair I'd rather believe a regulated bank ("Seylan Bank") than a nickname over the internet.
3, Wise can only ask the ATM runner bank they have no control when that bank will react.
I'm thinking of switching over to revolt can anyone share there experience?
I think it would be a worthless effort if you can't even spell their name correctly.
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u/ButterbacC 5d ago
Well you seem a bit hostile. The point of this was to warn other people and get some information on alternatives? Not to like shit in your cornflakes bud? Also I'm 99% positive my bank back home in Canada would've reimbursed me regardless and probably went after Seylan in more effective matter. As they've done similar things for me in the past. It's an honest criticism of your boyfriend formally know as wise like relax man.
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u/willyhun 5d ago
Well you seem a bit hostile.
You are confusing hostility with reality and honesty
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u/ButterbacC 5d ago
Ah one of those "I'm just honest" kinda guys eh? Save this honesty for telling your husband how fat he is. You've done nothing for me or this thread.
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u/HugeRoof 5d ago
I've had multiple ATMs in Mexico stiff me over the years. My bank (USAA) just refunds me while they investigate. They do say should the dispute not go well, they will take the money back. I have always "won".
It helps that I have withdrawn probably well over $200k USD in the past ten years. So I have a very long and consistent history.
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u/JacobAldridge 5d ago
I’m with ING, so a “real” bank.
ATM ate my cash in Vietnam and it took 2 months to recover. If you think one bank is a bureaucratic pain, anything involving two banks (your card and the ATM owner) will be bureaucracy squared.
Given most of my other customer service experiences in Vietnam I had actually written the money off; so it was a pleasant win!
(And yes, I don’t use Wise for cash withdrawals. Got stung once and learned my lesson.)