TransferWise, the British-based money transfer business has changed its name to Wise. The move is in anticipation of a potential initial public offering, or IPO bid.
The possible flotation is the culmination of nearly a decade’s work by founders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann. TransferWise has recently been valued at $5 billion by private investors.
With its new moniker, Wise is aiming to move beyond its original vision of providing consumer focused international money transfers. Now the company wants to create a cross-border payments network.
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Wise already boasts an impressive turnover, processing £4.5 billion in cross-border transactions each month and producing savings for customers of around £1 billion. Using TransferWise, and subsequently Wise, customers make savings on transfer fees compared to traditional legacy banks.
Money transfers
The Wise business has recently moved into other financial product areas by introducing new consumer and business-focused offerings, including a multi-currency bank account and debit card.
In fact, Wise comprises a trio of core areas that could make it ripe for flotation. Aside from the international money transfer services it provides there is also Wise Business. Aimed at business users this facet of the company offers more advanced features, including bank feeds and multi-user accounts.
Rounding it out is the Wise Platform, which allows platform banks and financial service business such as Monzo, GoCardless and Xero to benefit from the Wise infrastructure including faster payments and tools for expediting international transactions.
It’s been reported that TransferWise bosses have been in talks with prime minister Boris Johnson about the IPO deal, along with the likes of Deliveroo and Revolut.
The company expects to complete its transition from TransferWise to Wise by March of this year.
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- Via: TechCrunch
