Wise Business
Partner, Corporate & Commercial
Concept
Wise plc (formerly TransferWise) is a UK public fintech. Since11 May 2026 primary listing — NASDAQ(ticker WISE), LSE remains secondary venue. Founded in 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus. For FY2026 (closed 31 March 2026) Wise serves~19m customers, processes$242bn in payments per year(+31%). Transaction revenue for Q4 — $1.9bn (+22%), of which cross-border $1.3bn, cards and other $600m (+34%). Active customers — 11.3m (+22%). Card volume — $44bn (+37%).
Wise Business is a separate product for legal entities: multi-currency account with local details in 9 currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, NZD, SGD, HKD, RON), local payments in 70+ countries, currency exchange in 40+ pairs at mid-market with explicit fee disclosure, Mastercard corporate cards, API for batch payouts.
Regulation
Multi-jurisdictional EMI stack
Wise is one of the most widely licensed EMIs in the world:
- UK— Electronic Money Institution Wise Payments Limited underFCA;
- EU— Wise Europe SA (Belgium) underNBBand SEPA-passporting;
- USA— Wise US Inc. with MSB FinCEN and Money Transmitter Licences by state;
- Hong Kong— Wise Asia-Pacific Limited / Wise HK with MSO under Customs & Excise Department;
- Singapore— Major Payment Institution underMAS;
- Australia, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, India— local EMI / MTL / Funds Transfer Provider licences.
Each legal entity is separated: UK Ltd goes to Wise Payments Limited, HK Limited — to Wise Asia-Pacific or Wise HK, US LLC — to Wise US Inc., EU — to Wise Europe SA. This allows Wise to operate locally in each jurisdiction and hold funds in safeguarded mode under local regulator.
NASDAQ primary listing from May 2026
Transfer of primary listing from LSE to NASDAQ is a strategic move. Wise gains access to deeper US capital, expands institutional shareholder base and simplifies access to US acquisitions. LSE secondary helps retain UK investors. For the regulatory layer this is significant: Wise now falls under full SEC reporting, which strengthens risk disclosure discipline and operational metrics.
Post-Wirecard transparency
Wise is one of the main beneficiaries of post-Wirecard tightening. FCA after 2020 introduced stricter safeguarding rules (daily reconciliation, mandatory segregation in tier-1 banks). Wise complies through JPM, Citi, Barclays as safeguarding banks — i.e. client funds held at proper banks, not on Wise's own balance sheet. This eliminates Wirecard-type risk and gives Wise reputation as the most stable EMI in the world.
Russian clients
Wise as UK public company under FCA regulation runs strict sanctions screening. After 2022 policy on Russian connections tightened — Wise is one of the more cautious EMIs on RF profiles.
Products
Multi-currency account
Local details in 9 currencies: USD (ACH / Wire / SWIFT in USA), EUR (SEPA IBAN in Belgium), GBP (sort code in UK), AUD, CAD, NZD, SGD, HKD, RON. Balance holding in 50+ currencies.
Local payments
In 70+ countries: SEPA in EU, ACH / Wire in USA, Faster Payments in UK, Osko in Australia, UPI in India, FPS in Hong Kong. International SWIFT — to 175+ countries.
Currency exchange
Mid-market with explicit fee display. Margin on major pairs — from 0.43% (USD↔EUR, GBP↔EUR) to 1.5% on exotics.
Corporate Mastercard cards
£3 (or equivalent) for physical card issue, virtual — free. ATM withdrawal limits, roles, contractor cards.
Mass payouts
Batch payments up to 1,000 recipients via single CSV file or through API. Often used for freelancer payments in multiple jurisdictions.
Integrations
Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage — auto-sync of transactions and reconciliation.
Wise Interest
Placement of GBP / USD / EUR balances in BlackRock money market funds. Indicative yield near central bank base rates (USD ~3.5–3.8%, EUR ~1.9%, GBP ~3.7% as of April 2026). Not a deposit, managed portfolio.
Account opening
One-time fee£45(UK) /HK$575(HK) /$50(US). Thereafter — no monthly fee, no minimum balance. Current tariffs — onWise pricing page.
Use cases
- Freelancer / solo entrepreneur.Developer, designer, consultant with clients in US / EU / UK. Local details in each jurisdiction — US client pays USD via ACH, EU — EUR via SEPA, UK — GBP via Faster Payments. Expenses (Adobe, Figma, GitHub, AWS) — by Wise card without double conversion. Strongest Wise use case.
- Company with freelancers / contractors in several countries.SaaS / agency / product company with dozens of freelancers in EU, LATAM, SEA. Monthly payments — CSV via batch payments. Wise pays via local rails without SWIFT fees. For 50–100 contractors — savings of $1–3K per month versus bank.
- E-commerce / marketplace seller.Shopify, Amazon FBA, Etsy with revenue in multiple currencies. Wise as payout account. Amazon EU pays GBP / EUR to UK / European details, Amazon US — USD. Conversion decision remains with company. No acquiring — for own checkout needAirwallexor Stripe.
- Company with bank but weak FX.Main account at HSBC HK or Standard Chartered with 1–2% FX and $30+ SWIFT both ways. Wise as currency and payment layer: company pays Wise, Wise converts at mid-market, outgoing on local rails. Bank remains for deposit and heavier financial function.
- UK / EU company with focus on mid-market FX.Direct EUR details (IBAN in Belgium) and GBP (sort code in UK) — effectively local account for EU company. SEPA payments same day, no international fees.
Setup throughprivate.law
- Package preparation.Incorporation documents, director passports, business description in Wise format. 1–2 business days.
- Application submission and one-time fee.Client applies in their dashboard (Wise has no partner channel for business accounts), immediately pays £45 / HK$575 / $50.
- Director verification.Selfie + photo ID in app. Minutes.
- Compliance review.Automatic for clean profiles — instant; manual for complex — 1–5 business days.
- Activation.Details in 9 currencies, card issue — same day.
Total timeline for clean profile —from several hours to 5 business days. Wise is the fastest of EMIs if profile is clean.
Q/A
What is needed for application?
Incorporation documents, passports of directors and UBO ≥ 25%, business model description, website. For UK companies — Companies House number and confirmation statement. For HK — BR Certificate and NAR1.
Is personal presence required?
No. Director verification — selfie + photo ID in mobile app.
Do you open Wise for individuals?
Wise Personal Account is a separate product. Suitable for freelancers without incorporated entity, but usually more beneficial to open Business on HK Limited or UK Ltd — this improves tax profile.
Which company do you most often open on?
UK Limited and HK Limited are the two main corporate wrappers. UK Limited often more beneficial for IT freelancers due to maintenance cost. HK Limited — for business with Asian counterparties.
How much does Wise charge?
Business opening — one-time fee £45 / HK$575 / $50. No monthly fee, no minimum balance. FX from 0.43% above mid-market. Local payments from £0.40 + FX margin. SWIFT — £7–20 per outgoing.
How does Wise differ from Airwallex and Statrys?
Wise — most transparent pricing and fastest onboarding; public status on NASDAQ.Airwallex— more products, acquiring, multi-entity treasury.Statrys— DBS custodianship and Asian B2B.
Does it file CRS / FATCA reports?
Yes. As UK and EU regulated EMI Wise is required to collect UBO tax residency and file reports to participating jurisdictions.
Who is it not suitable for?
Acquiring — not an acquirer. Trade finance, letters of credit, bank guarantees — no. Large balance storage as banking relationship — need licensed bank. Offshore BVI / Seychelles / Marshall Islands — rejection. Crypto, gambling, adult, weapons — prohibited. Client money for law firms, escrow — rejection. Holdings without operations — rejection. Large enterprises with multi-entity treasury — better Airwallex or bank.
Related
- Hong Kong company
- Opening account in Hong Kong banks
- Neobanks
- Airwallex
- Statrys
- Aspire
- Mercury
- Payoneer
- Currenxie
- Personal account abroad
- CFC
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