Wise Eco Card Review: World’s Greenest Debit Card? (2023)

The new Wise eco card is made from sustainable sources like non-food corn, unlike most bank cards made from PVC plastics that take over 400 years to break down. The Wise eco card has all the great features of the standard Wise debit card, combined with a sleek and stylish all-white biodegradable card. In this post, we have a detailed look at it and how it stands against its competition.

Other cards with no foreign transaction fees (Wise vs. Revolut vs. Curve). These are three different approaches. and are not meant to compete directly with each other. All of them offer no foreign transaction fees up to a certain amount.

• Wise is a no-fees multicurrency account that has the world’s most sustainable debit card.
• Revolut is trying to replace your everyday bank with a digital and international approach.
• Curve aims to be a card aggregator (an addition to your existing banks) and work as an extra-secure all-in-one wallet.

Wise Eco Card Review (2023)

Wise Eco Card: Key Benefits

The Wise eco debit card is an excellent option for anyone who frequently travels abroad or needs to make international transactions. It offers low fees, convenience, security, transparency, and ease of management, making it a popular choice for many people.

1. Sustainable Debit Card

Most bank cards are made from PVC plastics that take over 400 years to break down.

The new Wise eco card drastically reduces the environmental impact by using Polylactic acid (PLA), a sustainable plastic substitute made with renewable bio-sourced resources like non-edible corn. This material is more sustainable to source than plastic and doesn’t release toxic gases when incinerated.

The new design of the Wise eco card also barely uses ink. This results in the card’s plain white design and just a small Wise logo (a.k.a “fast-flag”). With modern card authentication having moved to tokens and much of the needed information available via apps, the information printed is as minimal as possible. There is no signature panel, PAN number, CVV, expiry date, or Visa hologram! The Visa logo is printed on the back, and there remains a notch in the card to help those with visual impairments use it more easily.

Wise made the delivery more sustainable. The envelope is produced from a fiber paperboard and also uses minimal ink printing. The standard packaging details were replaced with a QR code to a web page where customers can find more information.

The eco card costs €9 for new customers (Wise’s regular green card costs new customers €7). Existing customers can upgrade to the new card for €4.50 (with replacement green cards costing existing customers €2.50). Even though you can still get the green Wise debit card, you can opt for a white card each time you open the app.

2. Ultra-low fees

The biggest win of the Wise debit card is that it does not charge any foreign transaction fees or markups. Additionally, there are no hidden fees, and the exchange rate used is the real mid-market rate. Most often it ends up being cheaper than the rates offered by traditional banks.

In Sweden, for example, the customer protection agency has a useful online tool that lets you compare more or less “officially” the fees for currency exchange, foreign transactions, and sending money abroad. Financial institutions are obliged to hand out this information, and Konsumentverket’s website is a great and transparent resource for users.

Here I compared the fees for sending money from Sweden to the USA. As you can see, Wise is 3x cheaper than big banks like Nordea, Handelsbanken, SEB, or even Western Union.

3. Free ATM Withdrawals

The Wise debit card can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs and make purchases anywhere Mastercard is accepted. It also supports multiple currencies, so you can avoid the hassle of exchanging money when traveling. With the Wise card you can make two withdrawals of up to 200 GBP each month for free per account. After that, they’ll charge 0.5 GBP per withdrawal. There’s a 1.75% fee on any amount you withdraw above 200 GBP.

	Less than 200 GBP per month	More than 200 GBP per month
2 or fewer withdrawals	Free	1.75% of the amount over 200 GBP
3 or more withdrawals	0.5 GBP per withdrawal	0.5 GBP + 1.75% of the amount over 200 GBP

4. Digital Wallets (Apple Pay)

Add your eco card to Google Pay or Apple Pay to shop online or with contactless. You can always generate digital cards in the app too, to avoid extra shipping emissions.

5. Amazing app with real-time notifications

The Wise app allows you to manage your card and account easily from anywhere in the world. You can add money to your account, view your balance and transaction history, and change your PIN, among other things.

The Wise app provides real-time notifications for every transaction, so you can keep track of your spending and avoid surprises. It also lets you see how much you spend in each currency and category.

6. Secure

The Wise debit card comes with several security features, including the ability to lock and unlock the card instantly via the app and the option to enable or disable contactless payments.

How to order the Wise Eco Card

1. Sign-up for Wise
2. Open the Wise app.
3. Select the Card tab.
4. Swipe right to select the white Eco card and tap on Order your card.
5. In the full-screen prompt, tap on Order your card once again.
6. Select a delivery method (Standard or DHL Express).
7. Choose how your name appears on the card.
8. Set a 4-digit PIN.
9. Confirm your order and choose how you will pay for your Wise card.
10. Wait until the transaction is processed.
11. Tap on Go to my card to view the card.
12. (Optional) Add your digital Wise Eco card to Apple Pay.

How to add the Wise card to Apple Pay

1. Open the Wise app.
2. Tap on the Card tab.
3. Select the Wise Eco card.
4. Tap on Add to Apple Wallet.
5. Confirm your card details and tap on Next.
6. Choose if you want to use the Wise card as default card or not.
7. Done!

Wise Eco Card Costs

These are the new Wise card costs

Ordering your card No subscription fees	€7 EUR / 79 SEK
Optional express delivery Get it delivered in 1-2 days	From €17.4 / 186.67 SEK
Digital card Spend online, in-store and abroad safely	Free
Replacing your card Order a new card at any time	€4 EUR / 41 SEK
Replacing an expired card Reminder you when it’s time to order a new one	Free

Wise Eco Debit Card: Conclusion

I’ve been a big fan of Wise since 2016 when I started freelancing on Upwork and needed a powerful and cheap alternative to transfer money to and from Sweden. Since then, I have been a happy customer, finding their international transfer fees and exchange rates hard to beat.

Wise has done a fantastic job with its new eco card. Made with zero plastic and completely out of reusable materials gives, the debit card not only has a sleek look but also generates no waste once you dispose of it. Wise’s production and delivery fees are more than reasonable (less than €6), and you can also use the card right away digitally via Apple Pay or Google Pay.

One of my favorite features of the Wise eco card is its multi-currency account and how smoothly it works. Compared to Revolut, where the interface is harder to navigate and requires many steps to convert currencies, the Wise card works like a charm. You can just forget in which currency you are paying, and it will either use your balance or exchange between accounts automatically.

Wise offers a great Business package, too, much more powerful than Revolut Pro, at least in the Nordic countries. If you are a freelancer, a small business, or handle a lot of international transactions, Wise is definitely a no-brainer. With zero maintenance fees, you can simply relax and have it ready for whenever you need it.

Overall, very impressed with the Wise eco card and its effort toward sustainable banking in 2023.

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