Payments Firm Wise Heads to New York With £181 Billion Year Behind It

Wise said today (Monday) its cross-border payment volumes climbed 26% in the final quarter of fiscal 2026 to £49.4 billion, as the London-listed fintech prepares to shift its primary listing to Nasdaq on May 11 and reshape how it reports its numbers to investors.

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Active customers reached 11.3 million in the three months to March, up 22%, while underlying income rose 24% to £435.3 million. For the full year, Wise processed £181.7 billion in cross-border transfers, a 25% increase, and served 18.9 million active customers.

The cross-border take rate slipped another basis point to 51, down from 53 a year earlier, which the company described as a balanced approach to pricing and reinvestment. Wise has run this playbook consistently, including when it reported 20% volume growth in Q2 of fiscal 2025 alongside an eight-basis-point drop in take rate.

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"We are making good progress on building the network for the world's money," Chief Executive Kristo Käärmann said in the trading update. In January, Wise became one of the first payment institutions granted membership to Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term Canada, and last month it launched a UK current account with a physical branch concept on Oxford Street.

Dual Listing Set for May 11 on Nasdaq

Wise confirmed it remains on track to complete its listing transfer this quarter, with an expected debut date of May 11 on Nasdaq. The London Stock Exchange will retain a secondary listing. A registration statement has been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term Commission, though the company noted it has not yet been declared effective.

Shareholders approved the move last July, after Käärmann first outlined the Wall Street plan in June 2025, arguing the switch would give Wise better access to its largest market.

As part of the transition, Wise said its full-year fiscal 2026 results will be presented in US dollars under US GAAP, abandoning the "underlying" profit framework in favor of reported income before tax. The company translated its medium-term guidance into the new framework, keeping a 15%-20% constant-currency net revenue CAGR target and setting an income-before-tax margin target of 15%-20%. It said reported margins would likely run at 20%-25% in the near term until it can pay more interest to customers.

Cross-Border Rivals Step Up

Wise operates in a market where rivals are moving on similar ground. Revolut, whose valuation recently overtook Barclays, expanded its international transfers with 14 new payment corridors across nine African countries, plugging into Airtel Money, Orange Money and MTN.

Nubank's global account runs on Wise Platform, the firm's infrastructure arm that also powers Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered and Google Pay, taking its partner tally above 85.

Wise leans on a fee-compression model funded by scale and interest income on safeguarded balances. Customer holdings grew 37% to £29.4 billion, card and other revenue rose 29%, and Wise Business volumes jumped 35%.

Instant transfers, defined as arriving in under 20 seconds, climbed to 75% of flows from 65%, a capability the company has long pushed in its broker partnerships with Interactive Brokers, Tiger Brokers Singapore and Gotrade.

Wise estimated that a 25 basis point change in central bank rates would move net interest income by around $40 million a year, based on customer balances of $26.4 billion at the end of the first half of fiscal 2026.