Contactless is a safe and easy way to pay. But if it’s not working, here are the most common ways to fix it.
If contactless suddenly stops working
For security, we occasionally ask you to use Chip and PIN to make sure it’s still you. This can happen after you’ve made several contactless payments in a row.
1. Make a Chip and PIN payment. Insert your card into the payment terminal and enter your 4-digit PIN. This reactivates contactless payments.
2. Check your contactless setting is on. If a Chip and PIN payment doesn’t help, check that contactless payments are enabled for your card in the app:
Go to the Card tab
Tap Manage payment methods
Make sure Contactless is turned on
3. Check your spending limits. If your payment is declined, you may have reached your daily or monthly limit for that payment type:
Go to the Card tab
Tap Limits to see your remaining limits
You can increase your limits here if you need to
Learn more about your card spending limits
If your transaction isn't showing in your activity
If a payment is declined but you don’t see the transaction in your Wise activity, it usually means there was a connection issue between the shop's payment terminal and Wise.
This isn’t a problem with your card or account. It’s best to try paying again or use a different payment terminal.
If both contactless and Chip & PIN payments are failing
If you can’t make any payments with your physical card, the card’s chip might be damaged.
To check if it's damaged, try using your card at an ATM. If it still doesn’t work at an ATM, your card is likely damaged and you’ll need to replace it.
Learn how to replace your Wise card
If you’re using Apple Pay or Google Pay
If contactless payments aren't working with your mobile wallet:
Make sure you have the latest version of the Wise app.
Try removing your card from your Apple Pay or Google Pay wallet and adding it again.
If you're using a new card for the first time
Before you can use contactless, you’ll need to activate your new card.
For cards issued in most regions: Your first transaction must be a Chip and PIN payment.
For cards issued in the US, Japan, or the Philippines: You must first activate your card using the 6-digit code that came with it. After that, you'll need to make one Chip and PIN payment to enable contactless.
Learn more about activating your Wise card
Good to know:
Cards issued in the US before December 16, 2019, don't have a contactless feature. You can still use them for contactless payments by adding them to a mobile wallet.
Still having trouble?
If you’ve tried all these steps and your card still isn’t working, please get in touch with us. We'll be happy to look into it for you.