The short answer
The Wise file has 18 columns, dates written as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS and an unsigned amount with a direction column. YNAB wants a CSV with the columns Date,Payee,Memo,Outflow,Inflow. So the date is rewritten as YYYY-MM-DD, the amount is split into Outflow and Inflow, and the text columns are moved as in the table below.
Paid pack. The Wise profile is one of the 35 profiles unlocked by a licence (9 US dollars, paid once; see the terms). Without a licence you can still convert this file with the free manual column mapper, using the column table on this page, within the free limit of 25 rows per file.
The converter runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded.
What the Wise CSV looks like
- Country: International.
- Account type: transaction history export.
- Header row: yes, one row before the first transaction.
- Columns: 18, separated by commas.
- Date format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS, for example 2024-03-04 09:15:00 (the source writes it as %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S).
- Amounts: an unsigned amount with a direction column. Evidence for the direction: the source says it in words.
- Header text: the source gives column positions and meanings only, not the header names.
Note kept with this layout in the profile data: Eighteen columns. The amount column is unsigned: money in and money out sit in the same column, and the third column gives the direction. The hledger rules file labels the eighteen fields id, status, direction, date_created, date_finished, source_fee_amount, source_fee_currency, target_fee_amount, target_fee_currency, source_name, source_amount_after_fees, source_currency, target_name, target_amount_after_fees, target_currency, exchange_rate, reference, batch (the rule author's labels, not the header text). The converter must read the direction column to set the sign and should show it for confirmation.
What YNAB accepts
- File type: CSV (the vendor calls it the recommended and preferred format); QFX, OFX and QIF are also accepted.
- Header row: optional; the import preview has a "No header row" option.
- Required columns: Date, Outflow, Inflow.
- Optional columns: Payee, Memo.
- Amounts: Two positive columns: money out in Outflow, money in in Inflow. A single signed amount column is also accepted: the user selects the same column for both Inflow and Outflow in the import preview, and YNAB reads positive and negative values from it. The preview has a "Swap Inflow and Outflow" option.
- Dates: not stated on the page; the columns and their reading are confirmed in the import preview.
| YNAB column | Required by YNAB | Filled from the Wise file |
|---|---|---|
| Date | required | column 4 |
| Payee | optional | column 13 |
| Memo | optional | column 17 |
| Outflow | required | column 14, rows that are money out |
| Inflow | required | column 14, rows that are money in |
From the vendor's help page: "Select that same Amount column for both the Inflow and Outflow fields in the import dropdowns. You don't need to reformat your file or split it into two columns first—YNAB reads positive and negative values from a single column."
Column-by-column mapping
Every column of the Wise file, left to right, and where it ends up in the YNAB file.
| Column | Header text | What it holds | Where it goes in the YNAB file |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | not given by the source | Reference or check number | Not copied |
| 2 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 3 | not given by the source | Direction (in or out) | Not copied; it decides the sign of the amount |
| 4 | not given by the source | Transaction date | Date, rewritten as YYYY-MM-DD |
| 5 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 6 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 7 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 8 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 9 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 10 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 11 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 12 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 13 | not given by the source | Payee or counterparty | Payee |
| 14 | not given by the source | Amount, unsigned | Outflow when the row is money out, Inflow when it is money in; always a positive number |
| 15 | not given by the source | Currency | Not copied |
| 16 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
| 17 | not given by the source | Memo or note | Memo |
| 18 | not given by the source | Not used | Not copied |
Pitfalls for Wise to YNAB
Dates
- Same order of date parts (year first, then month, then day), different notation: 2024-03-04 09:15:00 in the bank file becomes 2024-03-04 in the YNAB file.
- The date column also holds a time (2024-03-04 09:15:00). Only the date is kept; the time is dropped.
- YNAB on dates: not stated on the page; the columns and their reading are confirmed in the import preview. The converter writes year-month-day because it cannot be misread as day/month or month/day. The vendor page does not list accepted date formats, so the user must check the dates in YNAB's preview before importing.
Amounts and their direction
- The amount column is unsigned and another column says whether the row is money in or money out. That direction decides between Outflow and Inflow.
- YNAB's own rule: Two positive columns: money out in Outflow, money in in Inflow. A single signed amount column is also accepted: the user selects the same column for both Inflow and Outflow in the import preview, and YNAB reads positive and negative values from it. The preview has a "Swap Inflow and Outflow" option.
- How sure the direction is: the source says it in words.
Other YNAB import rules
- The vendor states it is no longer necessary to format a CSV file before uploading it; columns are matched to fields with dropdown menus after upload.
Before and after: an invented example
Invented sample data. These four rows were made up for this page. They are not from a real Wise export and hold no real account, name or balance.
The source gives column positions only, so the headings below are the column number and what the column holds, not the bank's header text. The 11 unused columns of the file are left out of the table.
| 1: reference or check number | 3: direction (in or out) | 4: transaction date | 13: payee or counterparty | 14: amount | 15: currency | 17: memo or note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S0001 | OUT | 2024-03-04 09:15:00 | Coffee Corner | 4.50 | EUR | Card purchase |
| S0002 | IN | 2024-03-05 09:15:00 | Example Co | 2500.00 | EUR | Salary March |
| S0003 | OUT | 2024-03-07 09:15:00 | Sample Landlord | 1234.56 | EUR | Standing order |
| S0004 | IN | 2024-03-11 09:15:00 | Example Shop | 15.25 | EUR | Refund |
| Date | Payee | Memo | Outflow | Inflow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-04 | Coffee Corner | Card purchase | 4.50 | |
| 2024-03-05 | Example Co | Salary March | 2500.00 | |
| 2024-03-07 | Sample Landlord | Standing order | 1234.56 | |
| 2024-03-11 | Example Shop | Refund | 15.25 |
Do it by hand in a spreadsheet, free
These steps need no tool from this site. The cell references follow the column positions of the profile above; if your spreadsheet uses semicolons between formula arguments, replace the commas.
- Open the Wise CSV in a spreadsheet program through its import dialog. Set the date column (column 4) to Text so the program does not reinterpret it, and leave the amount columns as numbers.
- Row 1 is the header and the transactions start in row 2.
- Date: rewrite column D from YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS to YYYY-MM-DD (2024-03-04 09:15:00 becomes 2024-03-04). In a new column, for the first transaction:
=MID(D2,1,4)&"-"&MID(D2,6,2)&"-"&MID(D2,9,2)This formula reads the date by character position, so it only works while the dates are text and every date has a two-digit day and month. Fill it down. - Amounts: the amount is unsigned and column C gives the direction. Look at which words your file uses there (the public sources do not list them) and adapt the text in the formula. Outflow:
=IF(C2="OUT",ABS(N2),"")Inflow:=IF(C2="OUT","",ABS(N2)) - Text columns: fill Payee (from column 13); Memo (from column 17). Where several bank columns feed one column, join them with a separator such as " - ".
- Apply YNAB's own rules from its help page: The vendor states it is no longer necessary to format a CSV file before uploading it; columns are matched to fields with dropdown menus after upload.
- Keep only the new columns, put the header row Date,Payee,Memo,Outflow,Inflow on top, save the sheet as a comma-separated CSV, and compare the dates, the direction of the amounts and the number of rows with your statement in YNAB's import preview.
Or use the converter
Load the file, choose the Wise profile in the bank list and the target YNAB, read the preview, then download. The conversion runs locally in your browser: the file is not uploaded, and only the licence key is sent for unlocking.
Paid pack. The Wise profile is one of the 35 profiles unlocked by a licence (9 US dollars, paid once; see the terms). Without a licence you can still convert this file with the free manual column mapper, using the column table on this page, within the free limit of 25 rows per file.
Where this layout comes from
No bank supplied or approved this layout. It was copied on 5 October 2026 from a public open-source importer file kept by volunteers: bank2ynab/bank2ynab, file bank2ynab/data/bank2ynab.conf
Also read: simonmichael/hledger, file examples/csv/other/Wise.rules
The lines used from the source: [Wise] Source Filename Pattern = transaction-history ; Header Rows = 1 ; Input Columns = skip,skip,skip,Date,skip,skip,skip,skip,skip,skip,skip,skip,Payee,Outflow,skip,skip,skip,skip ; comment: "Inflow and Outflow are in the same column"
The YNAB rules come from the vendor's own help pages: support.ynab.com/en_us/file-based-import-a-guide-Bkj4Sszyo (named as text, not linked), support.ynab.com/en_us/formatting-a-csv-file-an-overview-BJvczkuRq (named as text, not linked). The official page was fetched and read on the checked date.
Bank formats change. Banks alter their CSV exports without notice and vendors change their import rules, so this mapping can be out of date. If the preview looks wrong, use the manual column mapper.