Wise is a money transfer provider and not a bank so it does not pay interest on ordinary cash balances. Instead, customers who want to earn a return on cash held in their Wise account they need to activate Wise Assets, which invests their money into low-risk government money market funds managed by BlackRock.

At the moment, you can earn up to 3.22% on your GBP Pounds, 3.39% on USD Dollars and 1.80% on any Euros you hold with Wise.

Follow These Steps To Start Earning Interest Like Returns From Wise

Getting started with Wise Assets only takes a few minutes.

Step 1: Open your Wise account – You’ll first need a personal Wise account and an eligible currency balance.

Step 2: Select Wise Assets – Inside the app or website, choose the option to activate Wise Assets (sometimes shown as Earn Returns).

Step 3: Accept the investment information – Because this is an investment product rather than a savings account, you’ll be shown information explaining:

• how the money market fund works
• the investment risks
• the applicable fees
• the tax implications

Step 4: Invest your balance – Choose how much of your eligible balance you’d like to invest.

You don’t have to invest your entire balance if you don’t want to.

Step 5: Start earning daily returns – Once activated:

• your money is invested into the relevant money market fund
• returns accrue every working day
• you can continue spending or sending your money using Wise
• withdrawals are normally available immediately, although larger withdrawals may occasionally take up to two working days

While the returns can be attractive and are paid daily, it’s important to remember that Wise Assets is an investment product rather than a savings account, meaning returns are variable and your capital is not guaranteed.

But, even though we have to say that because all investment products carry risk they are actually all very safe. If you’re keeping money in a Wise account, you may be wondering whether it earns interest.

Does Wise Pay Actual Interest on Cash?

The short answer is no. Standard Wise cash balances do not pay interest in the same way as a savings account.

However, Wise does offer a feature called Wise Assets, which allows eligible customers to invest their cash in low-risk money market funds that aim to generate returns while still allowing you to spend and transfer your money as normal.

Here’s how it works.

No. Money held as a normal cash balance in your Wise account does not earn interest.

Unlike many banks that pay savings interest on deposits, Wise is an electronic money institution rather than a bank. Your cash is safeguarded, but it isn’t lent out to generate interest for customers.

If you simply leave GBP, USD or EUR sitting in your Wise balance, you won’t receive any return.

To earn a return, you’ll need to opt into Wise Assets.

What Is Wise Assets?

Wise Assets is an optional investment feature available within the Wise app.

Rather than paying interest on your cash balance, Wise invests your money into a professionally managed money market fund.

The aim is to provide returns that closely track central bank interest rates while allowing you to continue spending, transferring and withdrawing your money.

Unlike a traditional savings account:

• your money is invested rather than deposited with a bank
• returns are variable, not guaranteed
• your investment can rise or fall in value (although the funds are designed to be very low risk)
• returns are credited every working day

Wise describes this as combining the convenience of a current account with the growth potential of an investment account.

What Is Your Money Actually Invested In?

When you activate Wise Assets, your money isn’t lent to other customers.

Instead, it is invested into government-backed money market funds managed by BlackRock.

Depending on the currency, your money is invested in:

• GBP: BlackRock ICS Sterling Government Liquidity Fund
• USD: BlackRock ICS US Treasury Fund
• EUR: BlackRock ICS Euro Government Liquidity Fund

These funds invest primarily in:

• short-term government securities
• Treasury bills
• government-backed money market instruments
• other high-quality short-term debt

Here is the breakdown of the what the Wise Assets BlackRock Money Market Funds top ten investments are:

GBP: BlackRock ICS Sterling Government Liquidity Fund

Position Description	Asset Type	Amortized Cost	%Par	Par	Market Value	ISIN	Final Maturity	Maturity/Reset
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AN	Treasury Debt	GBP 392,651,110.00	4.4	400,000,000.00	398,674,817.20	GB00BSGPTH47	27-Jul-26	27-Jul-26
TRI-PARTY SOCIETE GENERALE PARIS	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	GBP 300,000,000.00	3.3	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	GBP 300,000,000.00	3.3	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY HSBC BANK PLC	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	GBP 300,000,000.00	3.3	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY BNP PARIBAS	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	GBP 300,000,000.00	3.3	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY JP MORGAN SECURITIES PLC	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	GBP 300,000,000.00	3.3	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	GBP 300,000,000.00	3.3	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AN	Treasury Debt	GBP 258,264,106.00	2.89	262,930,000.00	261,292,515.34	GB00BSGQ2B23	24-Aug-26	24-Aug-26
ING BANK NV	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	GBP 223,222,679.00	2.45	223,222,679.00	223,222,678.98	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AN	Treasury Debt	GBP 201,884,773.00	2.26	205,906,000.00	202,048,194.81	GB00BSGR2373	21-Dec-26	21-Dec-26

USD: BlackRock ICS US Treasury Fund

Position Description	Asset Type	Amortized Cost	%Par	Par	Market Value	ISIN	Final Maturity	Maturity/Reset
TRI-PARTY WELLS FARGO SECURITIES L	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	USD 4,100,000,000.00	11.66	4,100,000,000.00	4,100,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY ROYAL BANK OF CANADA (NE	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	USD 4,000,000,000.00	11.38	4,000,000,000.00	4,000,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY SOCIETE GENERALE	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	USD 2,180,000,000.00	6.2	2,180,000,000.00	2,180,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	USD 1,900,000,000.00	5.4	1,900,000,000.00	1,900,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY BNP PARIBAS	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	USD 1,750,000,000.00	4.98	1,750,000,000.00	1,750,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TREASURY FLOATING RATE NOTE	Treasury Debt	USD 1,470,445,133.00	4.18	1,470,000,000.00	1,479,177,731.99	US91282CMJ70	31-Jan-27	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY CREDIT AGRICOLE CIB (NEW	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	USD 1,315,000,000.00	3.74	1,315,000,000.00	1,315,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY NATIXIS S.A.	Treasury Repurchase Agreement	USD 1,144,000,000.00	3.25	1,144,000,000.00	1,144,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TREASURY BILL	Treasury Debt	USD 980,806,330.00	2.86	1,006,907,000.00	999,716,705.31	US912797RS85	03-Sep-26	03-Sep-26
TREASURY BILL	Treasury Debt	USD 988,133,060.00	2.84	1,000,000,000.00	990,964,028.00	US912797VD60	22-Sep-26	22-Sep-26

EUR: BlackRock ICS Euro Government Liquidity Fund

Position Description	Asset Type	Amortized Cost	%Par	Par	Market Value	ISIN	Final Maturity	Maturity/Reset
NETHERLANDS (KINGDOM OF)	Other Commercial Paper	EUR 349,696,056.00	4.88	350,000,000.00	349,846,385.00	XS3416877051	01-Jul-26	01-Jul-26
TRI-PARTY SMBC BANK INTERNATIONAL	Other Repurchase Agreement	EUR 300,000,000.00	4.18	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY NATIXIS S.A.	Other Repurchase Agreement	EUR 300,000,000.00	4.18	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY JP MORGAN SECURITIES PLC	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	EUR 300,000,000.00	4.18	300,000,000.00	300,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
NETHERLANDS (KINGDOM OF)	Treasury Debt	EUR 287,357,156.00	4.04	290,000,000.00	289,945,426.64	NL0015073S14	29-Jun-26	29-Jun-26
EUROPEAN UNION	Treasury Debt	EUR 257,362,007.00	3.63	260,100,000.00	258,326,118.00	EU000A4EHML3	09-Oct-26	09-Oct-26
TRI-PARTY CREDIT AGRICOLE CORPORAT	Government Agency Repurchase Agreement	EUR 250,000,000.00	3.48	250,000,000.00	250,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
TRI-PARTY NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK	Other Repurchase Agreement	EUR 250,000,000.00	3.48	250,000,000.00	250,000,000.00	–	25-Jun-26	25-Jun-26
EUROPEAN UNION	Treasury Debt	EUR 243,403,357.00	3.41	245,000,000.00	244,342,921.27	EU000A4EEWF1	07-Aug-26	07-Aug-26
EUROPEAN STABILITY MECHANISM	Treasury Debt	EUR 237,866,277.00	3.35	240,100,000.00	238,815,465.00	EU000A4DMLT0	17-Sep-26	17-Sep-26

Because they invest in short-dated government assets, they are considered among the lowest-risk investment funds available. However, they are still investments, meaning your capital is not guaranteed and returns can fall if interest rates decline or markets move unexpectedly.

What Sort of Interest Can You Get?

Although Wise refers to these as “returns” rather than interest, the returns closely follow central bank interest rates.

At the time of writing, Wise advertises estimated annual returns of approximately:

Currency	Variable return (after fees)
GBP	3.22%
USD	3.39%
EUR	1.80%

These figures are not fixed savings rates.

Instead, they change over time depending on:

• Bank of England base rates
• Federal Reserve interest rates
• European Central Bank rates
• money market performance

Returns are calculated daily and automatically added to your investment on each working day.

Wise also charges an annual management fee, which varies depending on the currency and is already reflected in the advertised returns.

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Is Wise Assets Safe?

Wise Assets is designed to be a low-risk investment, but it isn’t the same as a savings account.

Your money is invested in government-backed money market funds, which aim to maintain a stable value while generating income from short-term government securities.

Because this is an investment:

• capital is at risk
• returns are not guaranteed
• future returns may be lower if interest rates fall
• you may need to pay tax on any gains depending on your circumstances

For many users, Wise Assets offers a way to earn a competitive return on cash that would otherwise sit idle, while still retaining much of the flexibility of a current account.

Why Doesn’t Wise Pay Interest On Cash Balances?

One of the reasons Wise has traditionally been able to keep its transfer fees low is that it earns income from the interest generated on customer balances.

When you leave money sitting in a standard Wise account, those funds are safeguarded in accordance with electronic money regulations rather than held in a savings account. While customers don’t receive interest on these cash balances, Wise earns interest on the pooled funds it holds with banks and other secure institutions.

This became particularly significant after global interest rates rose sharply in 2022 and 2023.

In its 2023 annual results, Wise reported that rising interest rates helped almost triple its pre-tax profit to £146.5 million, with the company specifically highlighting higher interest income on customer balances as one of the key drivers of earnings. Overall income increased 73% as customer balances continued to grow.

Rather than automatically passing this interest on to customers, Wise historically retained much of this income as part of its business model, alongside the fees it charges for international money transfers.

The launch of Wise Assets changes this for customers who choose to opt in. Instead of Wise retaining the returns generated on your money, your balance is invested in a government money market fund managed by BlackRock, allowing you to receive the investment returns (after fees). It’s important to remember that this is an investment product rather than a savings account, so returns are variable and your capital is at risk.