Wise surges 14% after revenues rise

Shares in payments transfer business Wise are up 14% this morning after the company posted a sharp rise in revenues and customer transactions.

Sales in the first quarter grew 51% compared with the previous year to hit £186 million, a greater proportion of transaction values than in previous quarters.

As many as five million Wise customers transacted over £24 billion across borders in the three months to June 2022, a year-on-year increase of 37%, driven by an expansion in the number of customers from the US and Brazil.

More than 50% of customer cross-border transfers are now completed instantly, up 36% from the first quarter, while 90% are completed within 24 hours.

The Shoreditch-based firm said it expected to see revenue growth of 30-35% in the next financial year, with 20% growth over the medium term.

In November, Wise announced it was cutting prices for customers following a surge in customer transactions.

Founded in 2011 by Estonian entrepreneurs, Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, Wise become London’s biggest ever tech listing when it joined the London Stock Exchange in July 2021 with a £9 billion valuation. The company’s shares have lost 69% of their value since their peak in September 2021.

Last year, Wise CEO Kristo Kaarmann was charged £365,651 for a deliberate default during the 2017/18 tax year, the Telegraph reported.