Wise Business is one of the most popular tools for international payments. The rates are fair, the interface is clean and it works well for businesses that need to move money across borders quickly. Up to a point.
That point arrives the moment your FX exposure stops being a line item and starts affecting your margins.
Wise does not offer:
- Forward contracts
- FX options
- Hedging tools
Wise acknowledge this themselves. Their own content describes forward contracts as instruments used by other providers, directing businesses elsewhere when that level of protection is needed.
For businesses with smaller or less predictable FX needs, spot FX may be entirely sufficient. For a business with recurring currency commitments, such as paying overseas suppliers, receiving revenue in dollars or euros or managing payroll across borders, FX becomes a material risk.
Hedging products are not suitable for every business, so this guide aims to help readers looking for the best Wise Business alternatives work out which platform is right for them based on their needs. It will look at what they offer, who they’re built for and how they compare. So whether you need basic spot FX or a full hedging strategy, you’ll find a provider here that fits.
Why businesses look for Wise alternatives
Wise built their reputation on transparent pricing and mid-market exchange rates. For many businesses, it is the obvious first step when moving away from bank transfers. But the product is built around spot FX, converting one currency to another at the current market rate, right now.
Spot FX is useful. But it leaves your business exposed to whatever rate the market offers on the day you need to convert. If sterling drops 3% against the dollar in the week before you pay a major supplier invoice, that’s your problem to absorb.
The tools that protect against this, like forward contracts, FX options and limit orders with hedging intent, are simply not part of the Wise product. This is not a criticism. It is a design choice. Wise is built for payments, not for risk management.
Businesses that have grown to the point where FX volatility affects budgeting, pricing or margin need something more. That is the gap the Wise alternatives in this guide fill.
How the main providers compare
The table below scores the five Wise Business alternatives most relevant to UK companies: Alt21, Wise Business, Revolut Business, Ebury and OFX.
| Feature | Alt21 | Wise Business | Revolut Business | Ebury | OFX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | Real-time, shown before booking* | Transparent fee shown upfront | Varies by plan | Transparent fee shown upfront | Fees depend on variables |
| Forward contracts | Yes | No | Limited | Yes (60+ currencies) | Yes (12-month max) |
| FX options | Yes (vanilla + structured) | No | No | Yes (select jurisdictions) | No |
| Human support | Dedicated team | Chat / help centre only | In-app chat | Dedicated relationship manager | 24/7 phone and email |
| Platform model | Fully self-service | Fully self-service | Fully self-service | Platform + relationship manager | Specialist-assisted |
| Minimum FX volume | No stated minimum | No minimum | No minimum | Typically SME+ focus | $150 minimum |
| Spot FX | Yes (34+ currencies) | Yes (40+ currencies) | Yes (60+ currencies) | Yes (50+ currencies) | Yes (30+ currencies) |
| Limit orders | Yes | Rate alerts only | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| FCA regulated | Yes (MiFID + PSR) | Yes | Yes28 | Yes | Yes |
* Rates shown before booking are indicative and may change until the trade is confirmed.
A note on the table: features and availability can change. Always verify current product terms directly with each provider before making a decision.
The providers in detail
Alt21 – built for businesses that hedge
Best for: growing businesses and finance teams that need real hedging – forwards, options, or both – at their fingertips, without the complexity and cost of a large institutional provider.
Alt21 is an FCA-regulated FX platform built specifically around hedging. Where most payment platforms bolt on a few currency tools, Alt21 starts from the other direction: the hedging product is the core, with payments built around it.
The platform gives businesses access to spot FX, forward contracts, FX options and structured products like participating forwards and ratio forwards. It covers 34+ currencies, and pricing transparency is baked into the product: you see what Alt21 earns on every transaction, in real time, before you confirm.
Onboarding is straightforward and the self-service platform allows independent operation. Alt21 has FX specialists available to provide support if your business circumstances change.
The platform also supports limit orders, multi-level payment authorisation and, for EU-based businesses, multi-currency accounts. For finance teams managing FX risk across multiple currencies and time horizons, it is one of the more complete self-service tools available to UK businesses.
Alt21 key features
- Full pricing transparency
- Spot, forwards and options
- Limit orders
- Self-service platform for simpler finance workflows
- Fast onboarding and easy setup
- 34+ currencies
- Multi-level authorisation
- Integrations with 1,200+ banks
- Links with accounting software and ERPs via API
- Human support
- FCA dual-regulated
Wise Business – transparent payments, no hedging
Best for: businesses that want low-cost spot FX and payments infrastructure, where currency risk is manageable and hedging is not yet a priority.
Wise Business remains the benchmark that most Wise Business alternatives are measured against thanks to its strength in straightforward international payments. The mid-market exchange rate, low fees and multi-currency account (50+ currencies) make it a natural choice for businesses whose FX needs are primarily about moving money efficiently.
Batch payments, accounting integrations, expense cards and local bank details in multiple currencies are all useful features for businesses with international operations. The product is polished and reliable.
The limitation is clear: no forward contracts, no options, no hedging instruments of any kind. For businesses where FX risk is a material concern, Wise Business works best as a payments layer rather than a complete FX solution.
Wise key features
- Low transaction fees
- Fast international transfers
- Easy-to-use mobile app
- Multi-currency accounts
- Simple team management tools
Revolut Business – multi-currency convenience
Best for: businesses that need multi-currency account infrastructure and card payments, with manageable FX exposure and limited requirement to hedge.
Revolut Business is a strong option for businesses that operate across multiple currencies and need a day-to-day banking-style experience with some hedging capabilities. Accounts hold 28+ currencies, come with physical and virtual cards, and offer a range of plan tiers from a free Standard account up to enterprise options.
The platform is well-suited to businesses with recurring international spending, like paying suppliers, managing foreign payroll and handling travel expenses. For these use cases, the combination of multi-currency accounts and cards is useful.
Revolut Business’s currency hedging offering sits somewhere between Wise and Alt21. It offers forwards but not options, offers a relatively narrow range of currencies (11 vs Alt21’s 30+), and has usage limits. It’s also more costly to transact outside GBP/USD/EUR pairs.
Together, these suggest a platform aimed at companies who have material, but modest, FX requirements.
Revolut key features
- Card spending features
- Integration with accounting software
- Hold many different currencies
- Manage employee spending easily
- Clean user interface
Ebury – enterprise-grade hedging for larger businesses
Best for: established businesses with significant FX exposure across multiple currencies, and who need a specialist to implement a hedging strategy.
Ebury is a well-established FX and payments platform that offers a comprehensive hedging suite including fixed forwards, window forwards, flexible forwards and FX options. Forward contracts are available for up to 10 years and across 60+ currencies.
The platform is built around a combination of technology and human expertise: each client works with a dedicated relationship manager who helps design and implement a hedging strategy. This can have value for businesses with complex multi-currency exposure, but might feel like an overhead for those that want a clean self-service platform.
Ebury is regulated by the FCA and serves businesses of various sizes, though the service model tends to suit mid-market and enterprise businesses with meaningful FX volumes.
Ebury key features
- Wide range of hedging tools
- Personal relationship managers
- Line of credit options
- Support for exotic currencies
OFX – payments platform with forward contracts
Best for: businesses that occasionally need a forward contract but have not yet reached the point where a full hedging strategy is required.
OFX is a well-established international payments provider that offers forward contracts and limit orders alongside spot FX. It covers 30+ currencies and 170+ countries, with accounting integrations and 24/7 human support.
As well as forwards, OFX offers limit options, allowing customers to set maximum or minimum trading prices. Like Revolut Business, OFX offers no FX options.
OFX key features
- Spot FX and forward contracts
- Limit orders
- 30+ currencies, 170+ countries
- Accounting software integrations
- 24/7 phone and email support
- Spread-based pricing, no itemised fee
- FCA regulated
Which provider is right for your business?
The key question is: where does my business sit on its FX journey?
If your international payments are occasional and relatively small, such as paying a foreign freelancer or receiving a client payment in euros, then Wise Business or Revolut Business do the job well at low cost.
If your business has grown to the point where you have predictable, recurring FX commitments – quarterly supplier payments, ongoing overseas payroll, revenue in foreign currencies that funds GBP costs, you name it – the question changes. You are no longer just moving money. You are managing a financial risk. That is when a platform built for hedging becomes the right tool.
For most UK SMEs reaching this point, Alt21 is ideally positioned to meet that need: forward contracts, FX options and limit orders are core to the platform rather than add-on features.
Alt21 is a dual-regulated self-service platform built for finance teams rather than treasurers. Its pricing is transparent and the entry bar is accessible rather than enterprise-gated.
For larger businesses with complex multi-currency exposure and a need for dedicated specialist support, Ebury’s relationship-led model might be worth the added friction that creates.
Forward contracts and FX options are regulated financial instruments. They may not be suitable for every business and carry financial risk, including the risk of loss. Please read the product information and terms before entering into any transaction.
The Wise graduation moment
There is a natural point in a business’s growth where Wise stops being sufficient. It’s not a failing of the platform, but the moment when your FX exposure becomes large enough that an unhedged position carries real financial risk.
You know you’re there when any of the following apply:
- You start to build currency movements into your pricing
- Margins depend on a rate you assumed
- Your revenue is growing in foreign currencies and you want to protect what you’ve earntYou’re starting to wonder if there’s a better way than hoping rates hold
The businesses with material FX risk that manage it well are not necessarily the ones that time the market better. They are the ones that stopped leaving it to chance.
