Wise adds family & group travel tools for Australians

Wise has introduced new travel money features for Australian customers, adding tools for families, groups and solo travellers.

The update includes cards for children aged six to 17, destination spending guides in the app, airport lounge passes, shared group balances, bill splitting, and PayID support for funding Wise accounts from Australian banks.

The additions are designed to address common frictions in overseas spending, particularly for travellers managing costs across families or friendship groups. Research commissioned by Wise found that 67% of Australian travellers reported financial anxiety during their most recent overseas trip.

That pressure appears sharper for some groups. In the same survey of 1,500 Australians who had travelled in the past two years, 46% said they had argued with someone about travel-related money, while 30% said someone had failed to pay their fair share on a trip.

Parents reported higher levels of concern than travellers without children, with 75% of those travelling with children under 18 reporting spending anxiety on their most recent trip.

Travel hub

Part of the rollout centres on Wise's Travel Hub, an in-app section that provides destination-specific guidance after a customer uses a Wise card abroad. Travellers receive a digital passport stamp in the app, then gain access to local tips on low-fee ATMs, public transport, exchange rates, and when to use cash or card.

Wise has also added airport lounge access through a partnership with DragonPass. Customers can buy passes for more than 1,400 airport lounges through the app.

Family spending

For families, the new Young Explorers product extends card access to children. Parents can create physical cards for children aged six to 17, while digital cards are available from age 13. Children also get a simplified version of the app.

Parents retain control over funding and can set spending limits. Two adults can also view the same Young Explorers card, allowing both parents to monitor spending.

The move places Wise more directly in the market for youth spending tools, where banks and fintechs have been trying to build early customer relationships through prepaid cards and app-based money management products.

Shared costs

Another part of the update focuses on group travel. With Group Spending, customers can create a shared balance with up to nine other Wise account holders for expenses such as meals, transport, and activities.

The central account holder remains the owner of the funds, while each participant receives a virtual card linked to the group balance. Spending can then be tracked in one place.

Bill Split targets another familiar problem on overseas trips: one person paying upfront and then trying to collect money from everyone else. Users can open a card transaction in the app, divide the payment across a group in their chosen currency, and request repayment.

Requests can also be sent to people without a Wise account, while account holders receive a direct in-app payment request. This reduces the need to juggle multiple cards or manually calculate costs across currencies.

Funding change

Wise has also introduced PayID support for Australian customers. Users can link a mobile number or email address to their Wise account as a PayID, allowing instant payments from Australian bank accounts without entering a BSB and account number.

The addition gives Wise a more local funding option in a market where PayID has become a common way to move money quickly between bank accounts. For customers settling travel costs with friends, it removes a step in moving money into a Wise balance before sending or spending it.

Wise said the broader package reflects how travel money issues are no longer limited to exchange rates and card acceptance, but also involve how groups organise spending and repayments during a trip.

Tristan Dakin, Wise's Australia and New Zealand Country Manager, said the launch was aimed at reducing the stress travellers face when dealing with different currencies, hidden fees, and shared spending.

"Aussies love travel, but we've all experienced the stress of navigating different currencies, being overcharged by hidden fees, and keeping tabs on spending with friends and family. With these new features, we're taking convenience to the next level, helping travellers to spend less time worrying about money, and more time enjoying their trip," he said.