Is Wise safe? Safeguarding, licences and what is not covered

In short: Wise is a regulated payment and e-money company in the UK and the EEA, but it is not a bank, so the money in your Wise account is not covered by a deposit guarantee such as the FSCS. Instead, Wise must safeguard customer money: keep it separate from its own funds and hold it in bank accounts and low-risk assets. That is a real protection, but a different one, and it is worth understanding before you keep a large balance there.

Which Wise company holds your money

Wise is a group of companies. The one you deal with depends on where you live, and Wise lists them on its regulation page.

Investment products are provided by separate companies: Wise Assets Limited in the UK (FCA, registration 839689) and Wise Assets Europe AS in the EEA, an Estonian investment firm supervised by the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority (licence 4.1-1/174).

Safeguarding vs a deposit guarantee

A bank lends out part of the money customers deposit. If it fails, a state scheme such as the FSCS (UK) or a national deposit guarantee in the EU pays back eligible deposits up to a limit. Wise does not lend customer money, and its payment and e-money services are not covered by those schemes:

• UK: Wise says the e-money and payment services of Wise Payments Ltd are "not subject to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)".
• EEA: Wise says the payment services of Wise Europe SA are not covered by the Belgian Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

Instead, safeguarding rules require Wise to keep customer money apart from the money it uses to run its business, so that it should be returned to customers rather than to other creditors if Wise becomes insolvent.

Where Wise keeps the money

The limits of safeguarding

Safeguarding is not the same as a promise of fast repayment. In its own guide to the FSCS, Wise explains that if an e-money institution fails, an administrator has to identify and return customer funds, which can involve costs or delays. At a UK bank, by contrast, eligible deposits are covered by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person, per authorised firm (the limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025).

So Wise suits money you are sending, converting or spending. If you want state deposit protection for savings, a licensed bank account is the product built for that. Our guide Is my money safe in a neo bank? explains the difference in more detail.

Interest and Stocks are investments

In some countries Wise lets you hold money as Interest or Stocks (grouped under "Assets"). These are not part of your normal balance:

• Interest invests your whole balance in a money market fund chosen by Wise for your country and currency. Wise's help page states that "your money is at risk and you could get back less than you put in", and returns can go down as well as up.
• In Ireland, Wise shows the warning "Capital at risk, growth not guaranteed" and quotes rates after an annual fee of 0.29% for EUR and 0.31% for USD.
• In the EEA, Wise says each Assets customer is covered by the Estonian Guarantee Fund for up to 20,000 EUR. In the UK, Wise says Assets customers are eligible for FSCS protection up to £85,000. These schemes cover failures of the investment firm, not falls in the value of the fund.

If you see a rate in the Wise app, check whether your money is in your normal balance or in Interest before you move a large amount.

Security features

Day-to-day safety is mostly about fraud and account access. Wise says it uses:

• 2-step verification, which you can turn on in your account settings.
• Identity checks at login and for every transfer, by text message, fingerprint or face recognition.
• A dedicated fraud team, and a support team for customers sending large amounts.

As with any provider, never move money because someone calls or messages you claiming to be Wise. Contact Wise yourself through the app or website.

Regulatory record

In October 2024, the FCA fined Wise's chief executive, Kristo Käärmann, £350,000 personally for failing to tell the regulator about significant personal tax issues. The fine was against him as an individual, not against Wise's companies, and the FCA notice concerns his own capital gains tax, not customer money. It is still a useful reminder to look at the regulator's register and news, not only at a provider's marketing.

How to check your own Wise account

1. Find out which Wise company provides your account (it depends on your country of residence; the table above lists the main ones).
2. Look the company up on the regulator's register, for example the FCA register for FRN 900507.
3. Keep in mind that your normal balance is safeguarded, not covered by a deposit guarantee.
4. Treat Interest and Stocks as investments whose value can fall.

Summary

Wise is a licensed and supervised provider, and safeguarding means customer money is kept separate and held in banks and low-risk assets. The trade-off is that there is no deposit guarantee on your balance, and recovery after a failure could take time. Wise is built for international transfers and spending in other currencies; for long-term savings, compare it with a bank.

See fees and features on the Wise page, compare providers in our neo bank comparison, or read Revolut vs Wise and Is Revolut safe?.

Sources

• Wise: How is Wise regulated in each country?
• Wise: How our UK entity, Wise Payments Ltd, safeguards customer funds
• Wise: How our EU entity, Wise Europe SA, safeguards customer funds
• Wise: What is FSCS protection (and how Wise safeguards your money differently)?
• Wise Help: Holding your money as Interest
• Wise Ireland: Meet Wise Interest
• Wise Help: Is it safe to send large amounts with Wise?
• FCA: FCA fines Kristo Käärmann £350,000 for failing to notify the FCA of significant tax issues

Prices and features checked on 2026-10-28.

This guide is general information, not financial advice. Fees, features and availability change, so check the provider's own website before you apply. Read how we compare providers and our affiliate disclosure.