specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Wise
providerId: wise
created: '2026-05-08'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-08, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-08'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Payments
  - FX
  - Cross-Border
  - Banking
  - Multi-Currency
  - Rate Limiting
  - Throttling
description: >-
  Wise does not publish a fixed numeric request-per-second rate limit for the Platform
  API. Limits are applied at the account level and adjusted dynamically based on usage
  patterns and risk signals. Excessive request volume returns HTTP 429 Too Many Requests
  and integrators are expected to honour Retry-After. Webhook delivery is retried with
  exponential backoff. Reconciliation against a published numeric ceiling pending - Wise
  asks partners with high-volume needs to coordinate via account management.
sources:
  - https://docs.wise.com/api-docs/
  - https://docs.wise.com/api-docs/concepts/rate-limits
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  serverError: 5xx
limits:
  - name: Account-Level Throttle
    scope: account
    metric: requests
    limit: dynamic
    timeFrame: minute
    notes: >-
      Wise applies dynamic per-account limits. There is no public RPS ceiling. Partners
      requiring elevated throughput coordinate via account management.
  - name: Authentication Endpoints
    scope: client
    metric: requests
    limit: tighter than data endpoints
    notes: >-
      Token issuance and OAuth endpoints are throttled more aggressively than data
      endpoints to deter credential stuffing.
  - name: Webhook Delivery
    scope: subscription
    metric: events
    limit: best-effort with retry
    notes: >-
      Failed webhook deliveries are retried with exponential backoff for up to ~14
      attempts before the subscription is marked unhealthy.
policies:
  - name: 429 Throttling
    description: >-
      When the dynamic account-level threshold is exceeded the API returns
      429 Too Many Requests. Clients should respect any Retry-After header.
  - name: Backoff Strategy
    description: >-
      Implement exponential backoff with jitter for both 429 and 5xx responses; cache
      idempotent reads (profiles, recipients, currencies) to reduce volume.
  - name: Idempotency
    description: >-
      Use the X-idempotence-uuid header on transfer creation and funding calls so
      retries do not create duplicate money movements.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com