Wise (formerly TransferWise) is one of those rare fintechs that didn’t just chase hype but built something genuinely useful. Founded in 2011 by two Estonian friends living in London, Taavet Hinrikus (who, fun fact, was Skype’s very first employee) and Kristo Käärmann, Wise set out to fix a painful, universal problem: hidden fees and bloated exchange rates in international money transfers.

Fast forward to May 2025, and Wise now has over 15.6 million active customers moving £145+ billion a year across borders. With products spanning personal accounts, business tools, and a powerful API platform, Wise has quietly become one of the most influential fintechs out there; without ever pretending to be a bank or throwing out the word “disrupt” every 10 seconds.

Let’s break down their journey; one “up” or “down” at a time.

A Personal Pain Becomes a Global Product

Year 2011. Two Estonian guys in London, tired of bank fees, started exchanging money with each other; one got paid in euros, the other in pounds. They matched exchange rates, avoided fees, and thought… “Hey, why isn’t everyone doing this?”

How they pulled it off: They built a peer-to-peer platform that made this smart workaround available to the masses. No markups, no mystery fees; just real exchange rates.

Lesson for fintech startups: Your pain point might be someone else’s too. Solve it well enough, and you’ve got a business.

From Side Hustle to Hottest Startup

Within a year, TransferWise moved €10 million. Not bad for a project born out of frustration. By 2015, they were shifting over £500 million a month. Investors noticed. Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures came on board, and Richard Branson gave it the thumbs-up too.

How they did it: Smart marketing (like mock “protests” in London), solid UX, and a laser focus on one product done extremely well.

Lesson for fintech startups: Simplicity scales. Nailing one valuable use case can open doors.

Actually Profitable

Unlike many fintechs burning through VC cash like it’s bonfire night, TransferWise quietly hit profitability in 2017.

How they did it: Sustainable margins, customer loyalty, and resisting the temptation to expand too fast or too wide, too soon.

Lesson for fintech startups: Profitability isn’t just possible — it’s a moat.

Wise Up: The Rebrand

TransferWise wasn’t just about transfers anymore. With business accounts, debit cards, and multi-currency features, the name didn’t quite fit. So in 2021, they became Wise; clean, global and future-proof.

How they did it: A thoughtful rebrand tied to product evolution, not vanity. They kept their identity and customer trust intact.

Lesson for fintech startups: Rebranding isn’t about new logos. It’s about reflecting who you’ve become.

Going Public the Wise Way

Instead of the typical IPO hassle, Wise went for a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021. No bankers setting prices, no hype machine, just straight to market. It worked. Wise debuted at a £8.75 billion valuation.

How they did it: Confidence, a loyal customer base, and a brand that sold itself.

Lesson for fintech startups: There’s more than one way to go public. Choose what fits your DNA.

Regulators Come Knocking

Not everything was smooth sailing. Wise got heat from the Belgian central bank in 2022 over anti-money laundering practices. Then in 2025, the U.S. CFPB fined them $2.5 million for remittance rule breaches; including, awkwardly, promoting inaccurate fees.

How they handled it: Wise accepted the findings, updated processes, and doubled down on compliance investment; a humbling reminder that scale invites scrutiny.

Lesson for fintech startups: The bigger you get, the more you need to act like a grown-up. Especially in compliance.

Oof, That Share Price

Wise warned of slower income growth in 2023. Cue investor panic and a £1 billion drop in market cap. Not ideal.

How they responded: By sticking to fundamentals. Despite the drop, Wise stayed profitable and reminded the market it wasn’t built for quarterly stunts.

Lesson for fintech startups: You can’t control markets, but you can control your business. Stay calm. Keep building.

Expanding into Investment Products

In 2024, Wise snagged an Australian Financial Services Licence, allowing it to offer investments to Australian users. It’s a big step toward becoming a global financial utility, not just a transfer tool.

How they did it: Licensing, smart partnerships, and a playbook that’s been working since day one: build, test, then scale.

Lesson for fintech startups: New geographies and products are great, but only if you’ve earned the right to expand.

Where Wise Is Heading Now

As of 2025, Wise is still pushing the boundaries of transparent, efficient global finance. They’re investing in infrastructure, growing Wise Platform (their B2B API offering), and slowly, steadily changing how money moves around the world.

They’re not the flashiest fintech. But in a sector that loves drama, maybe being quietly excellent is the most disruptive thing of all.

Need help telling your fintech startup’s story? Let’s get in touch; we help fintech founders craft narratives that build trust and drive growth.

Visa has launched a new program to make life easier for financial institutions and fintechs looking to work more closely together. Announced on May 21, 2025, Visa Commercial Integrated Partners aims to improve how Visa’s commercial products are embedded into third-party business applications, using a mix of APIs, partner collaboration, and streamlined onboarding.

This is not a dramatic technology overhaul. Rather, it’s a structural improvement designed to accelerate commercial innovation across the fintech ecosystem.

Reducing Barriers for Commercial Payments Innovation

The new program offers a way for fintechs and business application providers to integrate Visa payment capabilities into their platforms more efficiently. The big idea? Let financial institutions that use Visa’s commercial platform tap into these integrations without needing to build direct technical connections to each application; think ERP systems or fleet management tools.

“Visa Commercial Integrated Partners represents a significant step forward in our mission to empower financial technology providers and financial institutions with innovative digital payment solutions.“

-Darren Parslow, Global Head of Visa Commercial Solutions

That could mean less time spent on custom development, less cost for banks, and faster time to market for integrated solutions.

A Real-World Example: Car IQ

Visa highlighted Car IQ, a company in the fleet and vehicle tech space, as one of its first partners in the program. Through this collaboration, Visa’s financial institution clients will be able to access Car IQ’s software and enable in-app payments using virtual cards (for example, at fuel stations) without extensive supplier onboarding or development.

Visa says this model could help partners avoid 18 to 24 months of due diligence and project management, which is a substantial gain for anyone familiar with how long these types of integrations can take.

Car IQ’s CEO, Sterling Pratz, explained that enabling vehicles to act as payment credentials opens the door for issuing banks to recapture spend that currently flows through legacy programs or closed-loop networks.

More Options for Banks, Less Development Work

By joining the program, financial institutions gain access to pre-integrated fintech partners and embedded virtual card payments across ERPs, expense platforms, and mobile apps. They also benefit from enhanced transaction data and controls, along with solutions built on consistent security and privacy standards.

Visa’s Darren Parslow, Global Head of Visa Commercial Solutions, noted that the goal is to help partners innovate faster and deliver better payment experiences while reducing their development and distribution costs.

Importantly, this initiative also enhances the commercial offerings that banks can deliver to their own clients, helping them stay competitive in a fast-moving market.

Built for Global Scale, Adapted to Local Markets

Visa is positioning the program to serve both multinational institutions and local startups. The framework supports consistent integration models across regions, while giving Visa and its partners the flexibility to meet local data, security, and compliance standards.

By working closely with regional fintechs, Visa aims to ensure that its solutions work not only globally, but also relevantly in each market.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

If you’re operating in commercial payments, fleet, ERP, or embedded finance, here’s what Visa’s new program means:

• It simplifies the path to embedding Visa commercial payment solutions into business platforms.
  
  
• Financial institutions can use integrations already built by fintechs like Car IQ, reducing the need for direct technical builds.
  
  
• The program may significantly cut down the time and cost of onboarding for both fintechs and banks.
  
  
• Visa is offering a structured way to bring commercial payment solutions to market faster, while aligning with regional requirements.

Your Fintech Story supports startups with strategy, marketing, and execution. Let’s talk about how we can help you grow.