WISE

Wise is a London-headquartered global financial technology company that provides international money transfer and multi-currency account services. Founded in 2011 as TransferWise by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, the company rebranded to Wise in February 2021 to reflect its expanded product portfolio beyond remittances. Wise is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WISE, with a market capitalization of approximately $11.5 billion as of early 2025. The company serves over 12.8 million active customers worldwide, facilitating the movement of approximately $37 billion across borders each quarter. Wise offers three core products: Wise Account, a multi-currency personal account supporting 40+ currencies; Wise Business, designed for cross-border business payments; and Wise Platform, a B2B infrastructure solution enabling banks and fintechs to embed Wise's payment capabilities via API. The platform connects to over six local payment systems and more than 90 bank providers globally, with 74% of transfers arriving in under 20 seconds and 95% within 24 hours. Wise operates on a transparent fee structure using the mid-market exchange rate without hidden markups, positioning itself as a cost-effective alternative to traditional banks. In January 2025, Wise officially launched services in Mexico, enabling Mexican nationals to send money abroad to over 40 currencies across 160 countries. This marked Mexico as the second Latin American market where Wise established bidirectional send-and-receive functionality. The company targets the substantial Mexican remittance corridor, where consumers moved approximately $168 billion in and out of the country in 2024. Wise is regulated as a financial institution in multiple jurisdictions globally and emphasizes security through two-factor authentication, encryption, and fraud detection systems. The company partners with financial institutions including BlackRock for interest-bearing accounts and major banks through its Wise Platform offering. While not a bank, Wise provides FDIC-insured deposit options in the United States through partner institutions.