Key Data

• Trading Name: Wise
• Legal Entity: Wise Payments Limited
• Activities: Online money transfer service
• Location: London, UK
• Regulations: authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Key People: Kristo Käärmann (Linkedin) and Taavet Hinrikus (Linkedin)

Wise (previously TransferWise) is a pioneering FinTech and unicorn. TransferWise Limited is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with Reference No 900507, for the issuing of electronic money. The London-based online money transfer service was established in 2011 by Estonians Kristo Käärmann (Linkedin) and Taavet Hinrikus (Linkedin).

On 7 July 2021, Wise went public with a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange, and was valued at $11 billion.

Offering

TransferWise does not currently accept transfers from or to cryptocurrency-related companies. Likewise, customers from certain high-risk industries are rejected. Nevertheless, TransferWise is also used by high-risk merchants.

TransferWise is available in 12 languages and supports more than 750 currency routes worldwide, including GBP, USD, EUR, AUD, and CAD, and provides multi-currency accounts. In 2018, TransferWise‘s net profit reached $8 million with more than 4 million customer base.

Wise Updates

For H1 of the fiscal 2024 year, Wise reported a total income of £656 million, a significant 58% increase year-over-year. This surge is highlighted by an impressive 280% growth in pre-tax profits, amounting to £194.3 million. A key driver of this success is the favorable interest rate environment, which has allowed Wise to leverage its considerable customer balances to generate additional revenue.

The fintech giant has also witnessed a remarkable increase in active customer engagement, exceeding 30%.

Compliance Check

We have already included Wise in our Green Compliance list. The company has always placed a high value on compliance and has not gotten involved with the unregulated crypto space. This distinguishes Wise from competitors, such as Revolut or N26. The strong results in H1 2024 show that Wise is financially strong. […] Therefore, we confirm our Green Compliance Rating.