Wise for Indian Exporters: Fees, Multi-Currency & FEMA Compliance
Mid-market FX rates, multi-currency accounts, and transparent fees. Everything Indian exporters need to know about using Wise Business for cross-border payments.
Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a cross-border payment platform that uses the real mid-market exchange rate (the same rate you see on Google, Reuters, or XE) with zero markup. For Indian exporters, this is the single biggest differentiator: banks and most payment services add a 1.5-4% FX margin on top of the interbank rate. Wise does not.
Feature
Detail
FX Rate
Mid-market rate, zero markup
Supported Currencies
40+ currencies (hold balances in 10+)
Regulatory Status (India)
Partners with AD-category banks; FCA-regulated (UK)
Business Account
Wise Business. Multi-user, batch payments, API access
Local Account Details
USD (ACH), EUR (IBAN), GBP (sort code), AUD (BSB), and more
Marketplace Integration
None. Direct client payments only (no Amazon/eBay payout)
How do I set up a Wise Business account from India?
Opening a Wise Business account from India requires standard KYC documentation. The process is fully online and typically completes in 1-3 business days.
Required Documents
PAN Card. Business PAN (for companies/LLPs) or individual PAN (for proprietorships).
GSTIN. Active GST registration certificate. Trade name must match other documents.
Certificate of Incorporation. For Pvt Ltd, LLP, or partnership firms. Proprietors can use Udyam registration or shop establishment certificate.
Director/Partner ID. Aadhaar or passport of all directors/partners. Passport preferred for faster verification.
Proof of address. Business address proof (utility bill, bank statement, or registered office lease agreement). Must be less than 3 months old.
Indian bank account. Current account in the business name for INR withdrawals. Must be with an AD-category bank.
What are the setup steps?
Go to wise.com/business and select "India" as your country of registration.
Enter business details. Legal name, registration number (CIN for companies), business type, and activity description.
Upload KYC documents and verify director/partner identities. Wise may request a selfie or video verification.
Once verified (1-3 business days), activate your multi-currency account. You get local account details for USD, EUR, GBP, and AUD immediately.
Link your Indian bank account for INR withdrawals. Wise verifies the account with a micro-deposit (takes 1-2 days).
How long does Wise account setup take?
Step
Duration
Application + document upload
15-30 minutes
KYC verification
1-3 business days
Multi-currency account activation
Instant after KYC
Indian bank link verification
1-2 business days
What does Wise charge Indian exporters?
Wise charges a transparent transfer fee (flat component + percentage) and uses the mid-market rate with zero FX markup. There is no monthly subscription for Wise Business. You only pay when you move money.
What are the transfer fees by corridor to INR?
Corridor
Flat Fee
Variable Fee
FX Markup
Total on $5,000
USD → INR
$3.69
0.43%
0%
$25.19 (0.50%)
EUR → INR
€2.61
0.41%
0%
€23.11 (0.46%)
GBP → INR
£1.20
0.37%
0%
£19.70 (0.39%)
AUD → INR
A$2.88
0.55%
0%
A$30.38 (0.61%)
Fees as of August 2026. Wise fees vary slightly based on payment method (bank transfer vs card) and amount. Check wise.com/pricing for real-time quotes.
Are there any other fees?
Fee Type
Amount
Notes
Monthly subscription
Free
No monthly or annual fees
Receiving money
Free (local details)
Free to receive via ACH/local. SWIFT inward may incur intermediary bank fees
Holding balances
Free
No fee for holding USD/EUR/GBP/AUD balances
Currency conversion
0.37-0.55%
Same as transfer fee. Charged only when converting, not when holding
Wise Business card
Free (first card)
Spend in 40+ currencies at mid-market rate. Additional cards $3 each
How much INR do I get on a
0,000 invoice from a US client?
Invoice amount
0,000.00
Client pays via ACH to your Wise USD details
Free
Wise transfer fee (flat + 0.43%)
-$46.69
FX markup
$0.00
Amount converted at mid-market rate
$9,953.31
At mid-market rate of 1 USD = 84.50 INR
INR 8,41,054.70
Is Wise FEMA and RBI compliant for exporters?
Wise operates in India through partnerships with authorized dealer (AD) banks regulated by the RBI. All inward remittances through Wise ultimately flow through the Indian banking system and are subject to FEMA regulations.
What are the key compliance points?
Requirement
How Wise Handles It
Purpose code
You must specify the purpose code when receiving or sending money. P0108 for export of goods, P0802 for IT/ITES services, P1007 for commissions. The receiving AD bank uses this code for RBI reporting.
FIRC issuance
Wise does not issue FIRCs. When funds land in your Indian bank account, request the FIRC (or e-FIRC) from your AD bank. Some banks auto-generate; others need a written request.
9-month repatriation rule
Export proceeds must reach your Indian bank within 9 months of the shipping bill date (goods) or invoice date (services). Holding funds in Wise's multi-currency account does not count as repatriation. Funds must be in your Indian bank account.
EDPMS closure
Your AD bank closes EDPMS entries when they receive the inward remittance. Since Wise payouts appear as domestic transfers from Wise's partner bank, ensure your bank correctly tags them as export proceeds (not domestic income).
LRS limits (outward)
For outward remittances from India, the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) limit is $250,000 per financial year per individual. Business payments for imports, vendor payments, etc. Are outside LRS. They require supporting invoices and purpose codes.
How do Wise multi-currency accounts work?
Wise Business gives you local account details in major currencies. Your clients pay you as if paying a local bank. No international wire fees on their end, and funds arrive in 0-2 business days.
What local account details do I get?
Currency
Account Type
What You Get
Client Pays Via
USD
US checking account
ACH routing number + account number
ACH transfer (free, 1-2 days) or wire (
5-25, same day)
EUR
Belgian IBAN
IBAN + BIC/SWIFT
SEPA transfer (free/low cost, 0-1 day)
GBP
UK bank account
Sort code + account number
Faster Payments (free, instant) or BACS (free, 1 day)
AUD
Australian account
BSB code + account number
PayID or bank transfer (free, 0-1 day)
How do I hold, convert, and withdraw funds?
You do not have to convert incoming funds immediately. The multi-currency account lets you hold balances in the original currency and convert when the rate is favorable.
Receive. Client pays your USD/EUR/GBP details. Funds land in your Wise balance (0-2 business days).
Hold. Keep the balance in the original currency. No holding fees. Monitor the exchange rate.
Convert. When the rate suits you, convert to INR (or another currency) at the mid-market rate. Wise charges only the transfer fee.
Withdraw. Transfer INR to your Indian bank account. Arrives in 1-2 business days via IMPS/NEFT.
Can I make batch payments through Wise?
Wise Business supports batch payments for paying multiple vendors or contractors at once. Upload a CSV file with recipient details, amounts, and currencies. Wise processes all payments in one batch, each at the mid-market rate. Useful for Indian exporters who need to pay overseas suppliers, freight forwarders, or distributed teams.
How does Wise compare to Indian banks for receiving payments?
The real cost of receiving international payments is not just the transfer fee. It is the hidden FX markup. Here is a side-by-side comparison for a $5,000 inward remittance.
Bank card rate (82.20-83.00, i.e., 1.8-2.7% below mid-market)
FX cost (hidden)
$0
$90-135 (embedded in worse rate)
GST on fees
18% on fee (INR ~380)
18% on charges (INR ~270)
Total received (INR)
INR 4,20,398
INR 4,08,850 - 4,13,500
You save with Wise
INR 6,900 - 11,550 per $5,000 transfer
Speed
1-2 business days
2-5 business days
Assumes mid-market rate of 84.50 INR/USD. Bank card rates sourced from SBI/HDFC/ICICI published TT buying rates. Actual savings vary by bank and amount.
Annual savings estimate
Monthly export proceeds
$20,000
Savings per transfer (avg INR 9,000/$5,000)
INR 36,000/month
Annual savings vs bank SWIFT
INR 4,32,000/year
Can I integrate Wise with my accounting or ERP system?
Wise Business offers a robust API and pre-built integrations for automating payments, reconciliation, and accounting.
What can the Wise Business API do?
Capability
Endpoint
Use Case
Create transfer
POST /v1/transfers
Automate bulk vendor/contractor payments
Get quote
GET /v3/quotes
Get real-time fee + rate before confirming
List transactions
GET /v1/balance-statements
Reconcile incoming payments with invoices
Webhooks
POST /v3/profiles/{id}/subscriptions
Get notified when transfers complete, funds received, or status changes
Batch payouts
POST /v1/batch-payments
Pay multiple recipients in one API call
Which accounting tools does Wise integrate with?
Xero
Direct integration. Auto-imports Wise transactions as bank feed entries. Matches invoices to payments. Reconciliation in one click.
QuickBooks Online
Direct integration. Syncs Wise balance and transactions. Automatically categorizes transfers and conversion fees.
CSV/Batch Upload
Upload recipient lists via CSV for bulk payments. Supports up to 1,000 recipients per batch. Download transaction statements as CSV/PDF for Tally or other accounting software.
Zapier / Make
Connect Wise to 5,000+ apps. Trigger actions when payments are received (e.g., update a Google Sheet, send a Slack notification, create an invoice in Zoho).
What are the limitations of Wise for Indian exporters?
What should I watch out for?
Limitation
Detail
Workaround
No marketplace integration
Cannot receive payouts from Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Etsy, or other marketplaces directly
Use Payoneer or WorldFirst for marketplace payouts; use Wise for direct client payments
Transfer limits
INR to foreign: up to INR 15,00,000 per transfer (LRS governed). Foreign to INR: up to $50,000 per transfer (higher limits available on request)
Split large amounts across multiple transfers, or contact Wise Business support for increased limits
Countries not supported
Cannot send to Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Crimea, and select sanctioned regions
Use traditional SWIFT via your AD bank for restricted corridors (subject to RBI/OFAC compliance)
No FIRC issuance
Wise does not issue FIRCs directly. Your Indian bank must issue them
Brief your bank branch before first withdrawal; carry Wise transaction receipt showing remittance source
Weekend/holiday rates
Wise may add a small markup (0.05-0.3%) on weekends and holidays when FX markets are closed, to cover rate volatility risk
Convert on weekdays during market hours for the best rate
Invoice in the client's local currency
Share your Wise local account details (USD ACH for US clients, EUR IBAN for EU clients). They pay as a domestic transfer. Faster, cheaper, and no friction. You receive in that currency and convert when you choose.
Convert during market hours on weekdays
Wise adds a small weekend/holiday buffer to the rate. For the pure mid-market rate, convert Monday-Friday during London or New York trading hours (IST 1:30 PM - 11:30 PM for the best USD liquidity).
Track the 9-month FEMA deadline per invoice
Maintain a simple spreadsheet: invoice date, amount, Wise receipt date, INR withdrawal date, FIRC obtained (yes/no). The clock starts from your invoice/shipping bill date. Not from when the client pays. Do not let funds sit in Wise past the 7-month mark without a clear conversion plan.
Use Wise for services + Payoneer for marketplaces
The optimal setup for many Indian exporters: Wise for B2B client invoicing and service exports (best rates, transparent fees), and Payoneer or WorldFirst for marketplace payouts (Amazon, eBay, Walmart) where direct integration matters.
Download monthly statements for your CA
Wise provides detailed transaction statements showing the exact mid-market rate applied, fees deducted, and INR converted. Download these monthly for your chartered accountant. They serve as supporting documents for GST returns, income tax filings, and EDPMS reconciliation.
Seasaw for Exporters
Automate your export compliance
Seasaw reconciles your Wise transactions with shipping bills, tracks EDPMS entries, and ensures FIRC collection. So you stay compliant without the spreadsheet headaches.