TransferWise’s web-site shouts: “Say bye to crazy bank fees and even crazier exchange rates. The Borderless account is here.” This makes it more like a bank as TransferWise will, for first time, hold money on deposit for its customers and provide them with bank account numbers in several countries:

Source & Copyright©2017 - TransferWise 

TransferWise is used by one million people & businesses across 60+ countries, the main features of the new Borderless Account Service are:

• Instant local bank account details in: GBP account - account no. and sort code; EUR - SWIFT/BIC and IBAN: USD - Routing (ABA) and Account Number 
• Hold and manage money in 15+ currencies for future payments: British Pound, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Danish Krone, Euro, Hong Kong Dollar, Hungarian Forint, Japanese Yen, Norwegian Krone, US Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Polish Zloty, Swedish Krona, Singapore Dollar
• Switch between currencies & make payments at the ‘best possible’ rate.

Taavet Hinrikus, CEO and co-founder of Transferwise claimed that, “We’ve created the Borderless account. It’s an account that’s not constrained by country or currencies and gives businesses more freedom and control.”

Wired magazine report that, “There are no setup fees, monthly charges and, importantly, it doesn't cost anything to receive a payment. There is a "small transparent charge" when money is transferred across countries, though. Transferwise's website says traditional bank accounts only work "properly" in one country and the Borderless account is designed to reduce the costs of banking internationally.”

Roll out

The Borderless Account is available in the UK and Europe and will be launched in the US later this year. (For more details see Rob Rawson's 'In-depth review of TransferWise.')

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CTMfile take: The Borderless Account is a new combination of accounts, currencies and payment services, but in many ways this is matched by traditional banks. The difference is the packaging and presentation from a trusted fintech.