Wise
Wise helps individuals and businesses send money globally at real exchange rates with minimal fees.
Wise is a fintech platform that enables individuals and businesses to send money internationally at real mid-market exchange rates with transparent, low fees (starting at 0.35%). Using a peer-to-peer matching system and local bank accounts across countries, Wise eliminates the need for physical currency conversion and traditional banking intermediaries. The platform solves the international payments problem that traditional banks created through hidden fees and unfavorable exchange rates, making cross-border money transfers faster, cheaper, and more transparent.
Problem solved
Traditional banks charge excessive fees (often exceeding 5%) and apply hidden markups on international money transfers, making cross-border payments expensive and opaque.
Target customer
Individuals managing international finances, freelancers receiving payments in multiple currencies, expatriates sending money home, SMBs with cross-border operations, and enterprises conducting international business
Founders
T
Taavet Hinrikus
Co-Founder
First employee at Skype and Director of Strategy; Estonian-born, moved to London in 2006 where he experienced international payment challenges; World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer and advisor to Estonia's Prime Minister on digital agenda.
K
Kristo Käärmann
CEO & Co-Founder
Management consultant at Deloitte; Estonian; co-created the original peer-to-peer money exchange concept with Hinrikus to solve their own cross-border payment needs.
Funding history
Seed
$1.3M
November 2011
Led by IA Ventures, Index Ventures
· IJNR Ventures, NYPPE, Max Levchin (PayPal co-founder), David Yu (former Betfair CEO), Errol Damelin (Wonga.com co-founder)
Series A
$6M
May 2013
Led by Valar Ventures (Peter Thiel)
· Unknown
Series B
$25M
June 2014
Led by Unknown
· Richard Branson
Series C
$58M
January 2015
Led by Andreessen Horowitz
· Unknown
Series D
$26M
May 2016
Led by Unknown
· Unknown
Series E
$292M
May 2019
Led by Unknown
· Unknown
Secondary
$319M
July 2020
Led by D1 Capital Partners
· Lone Pine Capital, Vulcan Capital, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Investments, LocalGlobe
Venture Debt
$227M
May 2021
Led by Unknown
· Unknown
IPO (Direct Listing)
Valued at $11B
July 2021
Led by London Stock Exchange
· Unknown
Debt Financing
$348.5M
October 2022
Led by Unknown
· Unknown
Total raised:
$1.775B
Industries
Pricing
Fee-based model starting at 0.35-0.59% of transfer amount (varies by currency pair), with no hidden fees, no subscriptions, and no monthly costs. Physical Wise card has one-time £7 fee with no annual subscription. Additional revenue from ATM withdrawal fees above monthly limits.
Notable customers
Not officially disclosed; serves millions of individuals and businesses globally across 150+ countries
Integrations
PayPal, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Zendesk, DocuSign, Amazon S3, Google Workspace, Cloudflare, AWS
Tech stack
React (JavaScript frameworks)
core-js (JavaScript libraries)
web-vitals (JavaScript libraries)
Next.js (Web servers)
Chart.js (JavaScript graphics)
Zendesk (Documentation)
webpack
Amazon S3
DocuSign
Google Analytics (Analytics)
Mixpanel (Analytics)
Cloudflare Bot Management (Security)
Node.js (Programming languages)
Google Workspace (Email)
Cloudflare (CDN)
Twitter Ads (Advertising)
Tatari (Advertising)
TVSquared (Advertising)
Microsoft Advertising (Advertising)
theTradeDesk (Advertising)
PayPal (Payment processors)
Google Tag Manager (Tag managers)
Amazon Web Services (PaaS)
Envoy (Reverse proxies)
SpeedCurve (RUM)
Website
Competitors
PayPal
Broader payments platform with higher fees and markups; Wise focuses exclusively on competitive international transfers with real mid-market rates.
OFX
Traditional international money transfer service; Wise offers significantly lower fees and faster processing via local account networks.
Remitly
Focuses on remittances from developed to developing countries; Wise serves broader cross-border payment needs with better rates.
MoneyGram
Legacy cash-based transfer service; Wise is digital-first with bank-to-bank transfers and real exchange rates.
Western Union
Traditional high-fee money transfer service; Wise disrupted the market with transparency and significantly lower costs.
Why this matters: Wise went public via direct listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 at an $11B valuation, validating its market-disrupting model. As a fintech unicorn that challenged legacy banking incumbents and won, it represents one of the most successful fintech exits and now operates at scale across 150+ countries with 3,700+ employees.
Best for: Individuals, freelancers, expatriates, and businesses that need to send or receive money internationally frequently without losing money to hidden fees and poor exchange rates.
Use cases
Expatriate Remittances
An Estonian working in London needs to send money home to support family. Instead of losing 5%+ to bank fees, they use Wise to send money at the real mid-market rate with a 0.53% fee, saving hundreds annually.
Freelancer Cross-Border Payments
A freelancer in India receives payment in USD from a US client but needs GBP in their UK bank account. Wise matches their transfer with someone sending in the opposite direction, eliminating currency conversion delays and fees.
Small Business International Operations
A UK-based e-commerce company pays suppliers in multiple countries (EUR, CNY, INR). Wise provides transparent, low-fee transfers and local payment accounts to simplify reconciliation and reduce payment costs by 60-80% versus traditional banking.
International Student Tuition Payment
A student's parents in China pay tuition fees to a US university. Wise provides a fast, transparent way to convert CNY to USD at real rates without the 3-7% markups traditional banks would charge.
Alternatives
PayPal
Choose PayPal if you need broad payment functionality beyond just transfers, but expect higher fees; Wise is better for international transfers specifically.
Remitly
Choose Remitly if you primarily send money from developed countries to developing nations; Wise covers all country pairs with equal simplicity.
Stripe
Choose Stripe if you need comprehensive payment processing for e-commerce; Wise is better for direct person-to-person or business-to-business international transfers.
Mercury
Choose Mercury for comprehensive business banking with multi-currency accounts; Wise is better for pure cross-border transfer speed and cost efficiency.
OFX
Choose OFX if you need legacy integration capabilities; Wise offers better rates and modern digital experience.
FAQ
What does Wise do? +
Wise enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money internationally using real mid-market exchange rates with transparent, low fees. It uses a peer-to-peer matching system and local bank accounts in 150+ countries to process transfers quickly without traditional banking intermediaries or hidden markups.
How much does Wise cost? +
Wise charges fees starting at 0.35% of the transfer amount, with an average of 0.53% globally as of 2025. The exact fee depends on the currency pair. There are no hidden fees, subscriptions, or monthly costs. A physical Wise card costs £7 one-time with no annual fees.
What are alternatives to Wise? +
Remitly focuses on remittances but has higher fees; PayPal is broader but more expensive for international transfers; OFX is a legacy service with worse rates; Stripe is better for e-commerce; Mercury is better for business banking. Wise remains the most cost-efficient for pure international transfers.
Who uses Wise? +
Wise serves expatriates sending money home, freelancers receiving international payments, small-to-medium businesses with cross-border operations, international students paying tuition, and individuals managing finances across multiple countries. The platform has millions of active users across 150+ countries.
How does Wise compare to PayPal? +
Wise specializes exclusively in international transfers at real rates with fees as low as 0.35%, while PayPal is a broader payment platform with significantly higher markups (typically 2-4% on transfers). Wise is faster, cheaper, and more transparent for cross-border payments; PayPal is better if you need general payment processing.
Tags
international payments
money transfer
foreign exchange
cross-border
remittances
fintech
transparency