If you use Wise (formerly TransferWise) for travel or international transfers, this story will make your jaw drop — and more importantly, it could save you from a financial nightmare.
A Japanese user recently shared a detailed account of how he withdrew just 600 Mexican pesos (approximately ¥5,000, or roughly USD $30) from an ATM in Mexico City using his Wise card — and ended up being charged ¥466,915 (approximately USD $3,100) from his Wise account. That's nearly ¥462,000 more than he actually withdrew.
What followed was a four-month battle involving Wise, Mastercard, and Japan's financial settlement system — with the user receiving almost nothing back.
This story is going viral in Japan, and if you're in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, or the Philippines and using Wise as your go-to travel money card, you need to read this carefully.
What Exactly Happened?
On October 1, 2025, the user inserted his Wise card into an ATM in Mexico City and withdrew 600 Mexican pesos — a routine, small transaction. Nothing unusual happened at the ATM. He received his cash, pocketed his card, and moved on.
But when he checked his Wise account, the amount deducted was not the expected ~¥5,000. Instead, ¥466,915 had been wiped from his balance.
The user immediately contacted Wise to dispute the transaction. And this is where the story gets even more alarming.
Over the following four months, he engaged in back-and-forth communication with Wise support, Mastercard's dispute resolution team, and even Japan's financial settlement authorities. He published the full email chain and evidence publicly on a Japanese blogging platform (Note.jp) to warn others.
The conclusion? Wise officially acknowledged what they called a "risk structure" — essentially admitting that a vulnerability in how ATM transactions are processed can expose users to massive overcharges — but the refund process was painfully slow, complicated, and incomplete.
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