TransferWise Revolution

About TransferWise Revolution

TransferWise, founded by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann in 2011, pioneered transparent low cost international money transfers. The Estonian founders were frustrated by bank foreign exchange fees. TransferWise matched currency flows between customers going in opposite directions, avoiding actual international transfers. This peer to peer model reduced costs dramatically. TransferWise rebranded to Wise in 2021. The company processed over 100 billion in transfers annually. Wise went public in London in 2021 at an 11 billion valuation. Traditional banks lost significant revenue from international transfer fees to Wise and similar fintech companies. The company expanded to business accounts, debit cards, and interest bearing accounts. Wise demonstrated that fintech disruption could work in the most regulated financial services.