’Denmark Switches.’ A national campaign to collectively move off Big Tech.
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@CiaraNi For the past decade I've only ever had two payment accounts (one each in euro & DKK) and have never been unable to pay.
I stopped looking for alternatives. Last time I did was with a company named Transferwise. They also pretended to be "cheaper than your bank", doing a lot of ads etc.. After the first transaction I figured I'd do an actual check. Aaand it would've cheaper with my bank: their online calculator thingy literally lied about what my bank would've charged me.
@Pepijn Apart from the couple of PayPal subs I had, which are now deleted, I've been the same. One DKK bank card, one Euro bank card, no bank apps - never not been able to pay or transfer.
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Oh. As I looked what happened to Transferwise I learned it rebranded into Wise. That explains why it feels so similar
Anyway. Just hope that people looking to use #Wise do a proper check with their own bank to see if it's actually cheaper. Despite claims, it might not be.
@Pepijn @hpmaennicke Good advice, that I hope that applies for any new bank or supplier, that we always remember to check beneath the advertising.
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@CiaraNi For the past decade I've only ever had two payment accounts (one each in euro & DKK) and have never been unable to pay.
I stopped looking for alternatives. Last time I did was with a company named Transferwise. They also pretended to be "cheaper than your bank", doing a lot of ads etc.. After the first transaction I figured I'd do an actual check. Aaand it would've cheaper with my bank: their online calculator thingy literally lied about what my bank would've charged me.
@Pepijn @CiaraNi
I had the advantage of not having to "believe" Wise's advertising. I had concrete data from my bank for money transfers to Brazil.
And these were and still are not competitive with Wise. Exchange rates and fees are a good 50% cheaper.
Yes, and I get 1.76% interest on my euros every day.
No one has to use it. But it's European and I love it. -
@Pepijn @CiaraNi
I had the advantage of not having to "believe" Wise's advertising. I had concrete data from my bank for money transfers to Brazil.
And these were and still are not competitive with Wise. Exchange rates and fees are a good 50% cheaper.
Yes, and I get 1.76% interest on my euros every day.
No one has to use it. But it's European and I love it.@hpmaennicke @Pepijn It's always good to hear of European alternatives. US giants have dominated the market and the conversation for so long that most of us haven't even heard of the European alternatives, so we don't even know they exist. It's useful to share more names so that we have alternatives to look into in the first place
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Oh. As I looked what happened to Transferwise I learned it rebranded into Wise. That explains why it feels so similar
Anyway. Just hope that people looking to use #Wise do a proper check with their own bank to see if it's actually cheaper. Despite claims, it might not be.
@Pepijn @CiaraNi
It is cheaper to transfer money to Brazil with Wise. Even when I transfer euros, the exchange rate to Brazilian real is more favorable there. Please note: From Wise to Wise.
And transferring money to your own Brazilian account there is free of charge. But only with the local currency.
This is not advertising, but fact. -
@Pepijn @CiaraNi
It is cheaper to transfer money to Brazil with Wise. Even when I transfer euros, the exchange rate to Brazilian real is more favorable there. Please note: From Wise to Wise.
And transferring money to your own Brazilian account there is free of charge. But only with the local currency.
This is not advertising, but fact.@hpmaennicke Sure. But they claim that "cheaper" in other situations as well where they are objectively not. This is why with their previous "Transferwise" name they got into problems.
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@hpmaennicke Sure. But they claim that "cheaper" in other situations as well where they are objectively not. This is why with their previous "Transferwise" name they got into problems.
@Pepijn @CiaraNi
Since rebranding from Transferwise to Wise, they’ve significantly improved transparency—fees and exchange rates are now clearly broken down upfront. My experience with international transfers has been consistently positive: fair, fast, and no hidden costs. Anyone else noticed this change? Or have counterexamples? #Finance #Wise #Transparency -
@Pepijn @CiaraNi
Since rebranding from Transferwise to Wise, they’ve significantly improved transparency—fees and exchange rates are now clearly broken down upfront. My experience with international transfers has been consistently positive: fair, fast, and no hidden costs. Anyone else noticed this change? Or have counterexamples? #Finance #Wise #Transparency@hpmaennicke Some counter-examples were offered in this thread (like: https://mastodon.online/@Pepijn/115916901596229842)
Their current wording is "meh":
"Best Euro rate" - True. It's also the exact same rate as my bank.
"No hidden fees" - True. Same for the bank.
So that leaves the Transfer fee. And on various transactions I check it's all more than my bank.
They were fined for this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_(company)
Again, good if it IS cheaper. But in many situations it isn't. Why not be honest?
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@hpmaennicke Some counter-examples were offered in this thread (like: https://mastodon.online/@Pepijn/115916901596229842)
Their current wording is "meh":
"Best Euro rate" - True. It's also the exact same rate as my bank.
"No hidden fees" - True. Same for the bank.
So that leaves the Transfer fee. And on various transactions I check it's all more than my bank.
They were fined for this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_(company)
Again, good if it IS cheaper. But in many situations it isn't. Why not be honest?
@Pepijn
I'm just talking about my experience. Nothing more. And everything is true.And if we're honest, we know that (almost) all banks earn a lot of money with our money.
And compared to PayPal, Wise is always the better partner.
If #Wero continues to gain momentum in Europe, a lot can change. But only in Europe. (Like PIX in Brazil). -
@Pepijn
I'm just talking about my experience. Nothing more. And everything is true.And if we're honest, we know that (almost) all banks earn a lot of money with our money.
And compared to PayPal, Wise is always the better partner.
If #Wero continues to gain momentum in Europe, a lot can change. But only in Europe. (Like PIX in Brazil).@hpmaennicke Sure. But let's be clear to others then and don't suggest that the experience is the same for everyone.
And to be honest, I'd rather have real European banks work well* than yet another US owned company like #Wise.
*which they do: every private person can send and receive euros for free from and to every euro / sepa country. No extra in-between company is needed for that.
edit: I've deleted the rest of my replies. For all reading this: check Wikipedia, "funding" and fines.
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@hpmaennicke Sure. But let's be clear to others then and don't suggest that the experience is the same for everyone.
And to be honest, I'd rather have real European banks work well* than yet another US owned company like #Wise.
*which they do: every private person can send and receive euros for free from and to every euro / sepa country. No extra in-between company is needed for that.
edit: I've deleted the rest of my replies. For all reading this: check Wikipedia, "funding" and fines.
@Pepijn
Wise is not an American bank—it’s a UK-based FinTech company, founded and headquartered in London. While it partners with US banks (like Wells Fargo) to offer local account details for USD transactions, Wise itself is regulated in Europe (by the National Bank of Belgium) and operates globally as a payment institution, not a traditional bank. Always transparent about fees and exchange rates! -
Since 2021 Wise plc (ISIN: GB00BL9YR756) is listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange."
Wise is not a US-dominated company. The largest single shareholder is anonymous, and while US investors like Andreessen Horowitz hold significant but non-majority stakes, the majority of shares are widely distributed. Control remains with the founders and European investors. -
@Pepijn
As a resident of Brazil, you cannot open an account with any European banking service provider. This makes all transfers to Brazil very expensive.
Only Wise offers account opening in Brazil in accordance with government financial regulations.
Incidentally, the majority of shares are not held by American shareholders, and the shares are only traded in London. -
I've added a new 2026 Digital Resolution to my 'Denmark switches from Big Tech' goals.
I had already switched from Patreon to Steady. Thanks to @JohanEmpa for making that possible after he added Steady as a Mastodon.green payment option.
Now my Microsoft subscription is the only thing left on PayPal and I'm almost deMicrosofted. So I'll be cancelling, not renewing, that. So now I commit to deleting my PayPal account. Today. Inspired by @oldrup, who just did this.
@CiaraNi @JohanEmpa @oldrup My decades old digital kleptomania has left me with a lot of work to do.. i have been stashing files in multiple 1 TB onedrive accounts for ages. ugh.
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From Google Play to F-Droid
I find that for some applications further options are needed.
https://uptodown-android.en.uptodown.com/android
Pls take a look at NetGuard git, it prevents apps on android phones from calling home to mommy and blocks ads.
I donated to the developer and got an unlocking key for extra features.
Getting setup can sometimes be difficult but well worth the bother when you see all the places your phone tries to connect to.
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Before I could pick my 2026 goal for #DanmarkSkifter, I did a digital status. I was mildly surprised when I saw my 2025 digital changes together. I looked at the list and thought: ’Tell me you hang out in the Fediverse without telling me you hang out in the Fediverse.’
From Outlook to Tuta
From Office to Libre
From MS Authenticator to Ente Authenticator
From Google Play to F-Droid
From Spotify to AntennaPod
From Firefox to Vivaldi
From DuckDuckGo to NoAIDuckDuckGo
And I bought a back-up drive.@CiaraNi Honestly Google Play is just so incredibly bad. Even if I know what I'm looking for it feels like it is actively trying to block me from getting to it.
It is a far cry from the early days of smartphones where you could check app stores and find cool things. -
@CiaraNi @JohanEmpa @oldrup My decades old digital kleptomania has left me with a lot of work to do.. i have been stashing files in multiple 1 TB onedrive accounts for ages. ugh.
@johnlorimer Multiple 1TB OneDrives - oof, I sympathise. That'll take a while to untangle from. I have one, not even close to being anywhere near full, and still it's been taking me months to sort out my photos. On the plus side, I am deleting manically and enjoying that process a lot. A very therapeutic photo massacre! And also good for the environment, reducing storage waste. We'll get there, all of us, step by step
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@CiaraNi Honestly Google Play is just so incredibly bad. Even if I know what I'm looking for it feels like it is actively trying to block me from getting to it.
It is a far cry from the early days of smartphones where you could check app stores and find cool things.@drgroftehauge Agreed. I was so busy trying to get away from Big Tech that I didn't think deeply about what I was moving to. So it's been a pleasant surprise to experience that every open-source thing I've switched to so far is better and calmer and simpler to use. Including F-Droid, instead of Google Play.
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@Kerplunk @CiaraNi I just use the AdGuard DNS.
Net Guard git can do a lot more, a donation directly to the developer is cheap and unlocks all features.
The app can not only use blocklists against ads scams etc but more importantly control the applications and to some extent the operating system.
When you see all the places your phone has been silently contacting and how often you will, as I was, be shocked.
Setup takes a little effort but worth it.
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@drgroftehauge Agreed. I was so busy trying to get away from Big Tech that I didn't think deeply about what I was moving to. So it's been a pleasant surprise to experience that every open-source thing I've switched to so far is better and calmer and simpler to use. Including F-Droid, instead of Google Play.
@CiaraNi @drgroftehauge I know I'm supposed to be the techie out of us, Ciara, but how do you actually switch to f-Droid?
