Wise's Emea policy head has criticised banks for hiding charges on foreign exchange transactions, claiming they are costing customers billions a year.

“What banks advertise is that transfers are free, low cost, but they don’t disclose the 3% or 4% markup that they are charging,” Magali Van Bulck told Financial News. “We are not telling banks how much to charge because that’s a commercial decision. But banks should disclose hidden markups. Customers deserve to know how much they are being charged.”