Shining a light on the fact that many consumers are unknowingly overpaying for more complicated, more expensive banking, a new campaign from Wise encourages consumers to ‘get smart’ about their banking choices. 

Building on Wise’s ‘Be Smart. Get Wise’ platform, an out of home campaign created by Ace of Hearts places two creative executions side by side to contrast the difference between Wise and traditional banking.

The two messages side by side show the ‘unwise’ way to bank versus the Wise way, creating a visual contrast between outdated systems and Wise’s faster, more cost-effective alternative. 

The creative aims bring to life the choice consumers can make, exposing the hidden costs and inefficiencies of traditional banks. One half of the creative parodies traditional banking. Leaning into the idea of loss aversion and the idea that people hate to feel they are losing out, the other half of the creative pulls out the benefits of Wise, showing that switching is not a risk but a smart move. 

“There’s a strange comfort in sticking with a bank that quietly rinses you. It’s familiar. It’s dependable. It’s… wildly unwise. The work gently, then not so gently, holds a mirror up to that. Because the truth is, most people don’t realise there’s a better way, and even when they do, ‘the devil you know’ tends to win. Our job was to make the smarter choice feel obvious,” says Richard Brim, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Ace of Hearts.

The campaign is part of an ongoing positioning shift for Wise, focusing on the fact that people are unknowingly overpaying for slower, more complicated banking. Wise offers a faster, more transparent way to manage money internationally, where customers can send money abroad in seconds, save up to 70% on transfers and up to 80% when spending overseas and earn interest on their current account balance.

As the brand continues to evolve, Wise is challenging the wider banking sector and aiming to help facilitate people to make more informed choices.

The campaign rollout spans Transport for London with large-scale takeovers, more than 6,000 Tube car panels, placements across major National Rail stations, digital screens and a strong presence at Heathrow to reach international travellers, supported by a broad press buy across national titles. Media buying was led by Goodstuff.

Helping customers to make more informed banking choices, the campaign sees Wise advocate for transparency and challenge the banking sector to do better for its customers.