Rise In Interest Rates And Expanding Client Base Lift Wise

Money transfer company Wise reports a successful first quarter, led by increased interest income and a 33% year-over-year increase in active clients to 6.7 million.

Volumes passed across the platform climbed by 16% to £28.2 billion as more consumers joined. The quarter’s revenue increased by 28% to £240 million, while income increased by 66% year over year to £311 million.

As customer account balances increased to £11.5 billion at the end of the quarter, Wise benefited from the influence of higher interest rates, which gave the company a gross interest income return of 3.4% in Q1 FY24.

One of the main drivers of growth, according to CEO and co-founder Kristo Kaarmann, is the expansion of the infrastructure and the introduction of new goods.

“We made our payments faster in Brazil, Australia and across a number of routes in Asia,” he says. “Now 57% of payments on Wise are delivered in under 20 seconds. Our Assets ‘Interest’ feature is now available to customers in 11 countries, after launching in Germany, Sweden and Norway this quarter.”

With expected income growth of 28-33% and an adjusted Ebitda margin that is still higher than the medium-term guidance for a 20% increase, the outlook for FY24 is unchanged.

Wise said this month that its financial results for the year ending March 2023 tripled from £43.9 million to £146.5 million.

Says Kaarman: “As our customer proposition continues to improve, more people and businesses are choosing Wise, and it is this growth in customer adoption that will underpin our long-term success.”