Let me tell you about a huge business opportunity worth $43 trillion. That's how much money people and companies send across borders every year.
The Problem with Traditional Banks
When you send money to another country, banks make it complicated and expensive:
High fees: Banks charge 3-7% of your money
Slow transfers: It can take up to 5 days to arrive
Hidden costs: You never know the real exchange rate they're using
One company is fixing this problem: Wise (it used to be called TransferWise).
Why Wise is Special
Wise has everything investors look for:
Strong profits and smart use of money
Led by its founder, who still owns about 18.5% of the company
A business model that gets better as it grows
Products that customers love with huge room to grow
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How Wise Started
Great companies often start with someone frustrated by a problem. That's exactly what happened here.
In 2011, two friends from Estonia were living in London. Kristo worked at Deloitte and got paid in British pounds, but he needed euros for his mortgage back home. Taavet had worked at Skype and got paid in euros, but needed pounds for life in London.
Both friends were angry about bank fees and bad exchange rates. So they came up with a clever solution.
Every week, they'd check Google for the real exchange rate. Then Kristo would put pounds into Taavet's UK bank account, while Taavet put euros into Kristo's Estonian account. No fees. No hidden charges. Just simple transfers between local accounts.
That workaround became Wise.
Today, Wise does the same thing but for millions of people. They have local bank accounts in over 100 countries.
How Wise Works
Here's the simple version: When you send money through Wise, you transfer it locally to their account in your country. Then Wise pays your recipient from their local account in the destination country. Inside their system, they convert your money using the real Google exchange rate.
This avoids the old SWIFT network that banks use, making transfers cheaper and faster.
What Wise Does (and Doesn't Do)
Let's clear up what Wise is NOT:
It's not a regular bank (though it's licensed and legal)
It's not for paying foreign websites with your credit card
It's not for sending physical cash like Western Union
Wise is a digital platform that helps people and businesses send money internationally in the cheapest, fastest, and most honest way possible.
Wise offers three main services:
Wise Account - for regular people
Wise Business - for small and medium companies
Wise Platform - for big corporations
Even major banks are starting to use Wise. Morgan Stanley started using it in December 2024, and Standard Chartered began in November 2024. The CEO is very excited about more big banks joining.
Today, Wise has 15.6 million customers in over 160 countries and handles more than 40 different currencies.
The Massive Opportunity
The global market for cross-border payments is huge. In 2024, about $43 trillion was sent across borders. By 2029, this will grow to $58 trillion.
In 2025, Wise processed $145 billion. That's less than 0.5% of the total market. There's enormous room to grow.
Wise's Competitive Advantage
Wise has what investors call "Scale Economies Shared." It's a simple but powerful idea.
As Wise grows bigger, they can lower prices. Lower prices attract more customers. More customers mean they can lower prices even more. This cycle keeps repeating.
Over the years, Wise has dropped its fees from 1.19% to just 0.47%. That's a 60% reduction! Customers save money, and more people join Wise.
Wise has other advantages too:
Network effects: 25% of Wise users now send money to other Wise users, making the platform stickier
Regulatory barriers: Getting licenses in dozens of countries is extremely difficult for competitors
Trust: Being transparent and fair has built customer loyalty
Is Wise a Good Investment?
Wise's stock price suggests it's trading at about 29 times its expected earnings. That might sound expensive, but for a fast-growing company like Wise, it could be a bargain.
If we assume Wise grows 20% per year for the next 5 years, then 15% for another 5 years, the fair value is around £14.20 per share. The current price is £10.39.
That means Wise might be undervalued by about 27%.
Two Things to Watch
Before you invest, consider these points:
1. Interest Income Confusion Customers are keeping more money in their Wise accounts (currently £21.5 billion). Wise earns interest on this money, but the company doesn't want to profit from it. They want to give most of it back to customers. However, since Wise isn't a regular bank, they're still figuring out how to do this. This makes their financial statements a bit confusing.
2. Possible U.S. Stock Listing Wise might list its shares in New York by 2026. This would make it easier for American investors to buy the stock and could increase trading volume. It's an exciting development to watch.
Bottom Line
Wise checks all the boxes for a high-quality investment:
Strong fundamentals: Healthy finances, founder-led, solving a real problem, and a massive market
Getting better with scale: As Wise grows, it can offer better prices, which attracts more customers, creating a powerful cycle
Strong defenses: Network effects, regulatory barriers, and customer trust make it hard for competitors to catch up
Wise is taking on a $43 trillion market and has captured less than 0.5% so far. The company is growing fast, lowering prices for customers, and building trust with both individuals and major banks.
For investors looking for a quality growth company, Wise deserves serious consideration.