Wise plc
Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026
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Wise plc
Compare market positioning with top industry peers
Explore Wise
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 2011 in London, United Kingdom
Wise began in 2011 as TransferWise after Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus looked for a cheaper way to move money between the United Kingdom and Estonia. The company rebranded to Wise in 2021 to reflect its expansion beyond one-off transfers.
Taavet Hinrikus is the co-founder of Wise plc and was its first CEO. An Estonian entrepreneur, he joined Skype as its first employee in 2003 and later served as director of strategy, giving him firsthand experience in building peer-to-peer infrastructure that undercuts incumbents. After leaving Skype, Hinrikus worked as an angel investor and advisor to multiple startups before co-founding TransferWise with Kristo Käärmann in January 2011. His personal need to convert euros to pounds for London living expenses—and Käärmann's opposite need—created the peer-to-peer matching concept that became Wise's core innovation. Hinrikus was widely cited as the initial draw for investors, with his Skype pedigree providing credibility in a market where European fintech disruption was unprecedented. He served as CEO until 2017, when he handed the role to Käärmann to focus on investing. He remained chair until July 2022. In 2023 Hinrikus was ranked 197th on The Sunday Times Rich List with a net worth of $1,093 million, making him one of Estonia's first billionaires alongside Käärmann.
Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus found TransferWise in London to reduce hidden bank FX markups.
The company expands beyond one-off transfers into multi-currency account functionality.
TransferWise becomes Wise and completes a London direct listing as its product set moves beyond transfers.
Wise announces its intention to move the primary listing to the United States while retaining a London presence.
Wise reports FY2026 net revenue of $2.5028B and income before tax of $660.4M.
Wise becomes primarily listed on Nasdaq under ticker WSE while retaining LSE ticker WISE as a secondary listing.
Wise reports 17.7M active customers and $57.7B in cross-border volume in Q1 FY2027.
Wise has relied more on building local payment rails and regulatory licenses than on major acquisitions.
Broaden the investor base and align the company with U.S. fintech and technology market peers.
Since its establishment in 2011, Wise plc expanded from an early-stage venture into a recognized leader in Cross-Border Payments, Multi-Currency Accounts, and Financial Technology, overcoming key market challenges.
Over its history, Wise plc executed decisive strategic pivots toward scalable monetization and digital distribution, securing its current market leadership.
By continually modernizing operations and embracing workflow automation, Wise plc maintains resilience through changing technological and economic cycles.