Kristo Käärmann

Be less "banker". Be more Nationwide. The 140 year-old British lender has joined the decent [and cool] kids on the block @StarlingBank and @monzo, going full transparent on their cross-border fees. Exchange rate is a perfect place to hide a fee from unsuspecting customers. Most banks and even some payment companies can't resist the temptation. It's no coincidence that @AskNationwide is structured as a membership owned by it's customers. 🤷

My favourite consumer app is @Wise. Over time my appreciation for just how great a business it is has exponentially grown. Largely it is due to @kaarmann's maniacle focus on the the long term compounding of competitive advantage, and the trade offs he has been willing to make.

This headline is pretty spot on by @DamienVenuto. It's not just "online shopping" - it's booking a hotel, using your card when you travel, paying subscriptions. Get smart, folks!

@oykun @Wise What they said. It is very good. 👍

@KieranO @Wise IDK. What initially feels like "microservices", at scale becomes just "services". Once you're successful enough to build a team of 20 engineers then anything monolithic becomes a huge pain.

@kaarmann @Wise That’s a good score! Wise is past the point where microservices or long-term roadmaps are an issue - was meaning early stage. I’d bet money if you were starting a NewCo you would make different choices on tech stack/issue tracking software.

Startup red flags 🚩 • Jira • Teams/SharePoint • Google Analytics • .NET, PHP, Java • Microservices • Cumulative graphs • Calculating LTV using revenue • Not measuring cohort retention • 12 month roadmap • 20% time • None of the founders code • Paying the founders market comp • Cash bonuses (excluding sales roles) • Job ads focused on qualifications • Inflated titles • Meeting culture • No open conflict • Most chats in private DMs What else?

@glacyforyou @Wise Aha. Let me see if we can somehow improve. One quick fix is to open your own wise account, so that you can request from there for your client to pay. Or even create full invoices as a business wise.com/ph/receive-mon…

It’s an honor to get a response from the founder himself, something you’ve been consistently doing since the early days of your company. With all due respect, Sir, this wasn’t the case in the previous years moreso for the past 7 years that we’re using your platform. Every December, when my client sends me a bonus larger than that amount, I still receive the funds in real time often on the same day. Appreciate the info though as my client is also puzzled why this was the case, now I can get back to him w/ an answer.

Since earlier this year, I’ve noticed that Wise automatically holds my client’s payment each time it exceeds 50k. Do you experience the same thing @Wise users out there?

And two clicks later, voilà!

Then double checked that the robot got it right.

"Pay a screenshot" is one of the coolest secret features on @wise. Just used it save NZ$225 of card fees and some hassle on a campervan rental. 1/

@CalabroneDogs @Wise Did you get the big one with the dome roof?

So I wired the money for my new house in Italy. by using @Wise I literally saved $6,000. if you need to move money internationally they are the best!

@fmcbill Peak season.

@kaarmann That's quite a lot for a camper hire. What am I missing?

IDK what the NZ$ 230 will get me, but was happy to save it on the camper by paying with a transfer vs using a card. Cheaper for them, cheaper for me. It's smart for merchants to make card charges transparent to buyers, especially if there is a much cheaper alternative. Otherwise they would have just added the 3.02% in the price for everyone.

At any given time there is only one true EUR-INR exchange rate. You get it when you query the ECB and the Reserve Bank of India, when you google "eur to inr" and whenever you use Wise. When you see a different rate on the internet, they are hiding their fees in the exchange rate so you won't notice. Happy exploring!

@cuanmoneyclub @Wise @acce It's pretty close when you include the fees. No added fees on Xoom.

$PYPL PayPal World screen grab. Sending money across the world to a UPI wallet via Xoom. PayPal is a cohesive business now. PayPal World Critical Mass is coming.

@LinzGelsthorpe @Wise Without knowing the detail, it looks like you must have just missed a cutoff and Monday is a public holiday in Thailand. Sorry that happened to you.

Erm @Wise when I added funds from my UK account to my wise account and I converted it to Thai Baht it was instant, when I looked at sending it to my Thai bank account it said it should arrive in 5 hours,having done it, now it says will arrive on Tuesday,4 days is not 5 hours?