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TransferWise aren't a bank so the financial protects are slightly different

I use them for some of my overseas customers, my only challenge with them is the limited number of currencies they support e.g. had to open a Revolut account to get payment from a Canadian customer

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TW have all the functional features of a bank lots of people care about. A debit card, direct debits, standing orders etc. I of course recognize they aren't a fully licensed bank, but for EUR balances they are worth a look

The reason a Bank is strictly defined is that TW does not guarantee any cash that you have stored with them.

With a bank you have up to £85,000 insured and guaranteed e.g. if the bank fails

IIRC TransferWise holds all your money in escrow (as opposed to investing it or w/e), so they don't need to guarantee it. I'm not sure off hand if that's just what they claim, or if they actually make a legal promise to that effect.

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