Wise plans Nasdaq move as balances hit GBP £29.4bn

Wise reported higher transaction volumes and customer balances in its latest trading update, and outlined plans to move its primary listing to Nasdaq while keeping a secondary listing in London.

The update points to a business expanding its role in cross-border payments by adding more customers, processing more business transactions and holding a larger pool of client funds across currencies.

Active customers reached about 18.9 million during the period. Transaction volumes rose at a double-digit rate, driven by both consumers and businesses using the service for international payments.

Business customers grew by about 26 per cent, while business transaction volumes increased by roughly 35 per cent. This suggests stronger demand from companies making repeat cross-border payments, an area that has become increasingly important to the group's network.

Customer balances rose by around 37 per cent to about GBP £29.4 billion. The increase suggests more users are keeping money with Wise in multiple currencies rather than using the service only to send funds from one country to another.

That matters because larger balances can help support internal matching of inflows and outflows across currencies. For a company built around moving money through local payment systems rather than traditional correspondent banking chains, the size of that liquidity pool is a key operating measure.

Faster transfers

About 75 per cent of transfers are now completed instantly or within a short timeframe, reflecting Wise's continued push to connect directly with domestic clearing systems so payments can be handled locally at both ends of a transaction.

Direct access to local rails can eliminate some intermediary banks, reducing delays and lowering costs associated with cross-border settlement. It also gives Wise more control over routing, an increasingly important factor as banks, card networks and fintech groups compete on speed and price in international payments.

Pricing remains under pressure across the sector, and Wise's take rate remained in the low-50-basis-point range. Lower pricing has long been a feature of its model, with the company relying on higher volumes and more efficient routing to support revenue growth.

Platform push

Alongside its consumer business, Wise has continued to expand Wise Platform, which allows banks and other firms to use its cross-border payment infrastructure within their own services. This extends the network's reach without requiring Wise to acquire every end customer directly.

The model also changes how the market views the company. Rather than acting only as a retail transfer provider, Wise is supplying payment infrastructure to financial institutions seeking faster, cheaper international payments for their customers.

Its regulatory footprint remains a key part of that strategy. Operating across borders requires licences in multiple jurisdictions and compliance with safeguarding, anti-money laundering and operational resilience rules, while direct links to domestic payment systems add technical and supervisory demands in each market.

US listing

The planned move of Wise's primary listing to the US adds a separate strategic dimension. It intends to shift to a Nasdaq primary listing in May 2026, while retaining its London listing as a secondary one.

The change would align its capital markets profile more closely with the US, which Wise has identified as a significant growth market. It also points to a broader effort to match its operating expansion with deeper access to US investors.

Wise will transition to US GAAP reporting as part of that process. For investors, the move places the company within the accounting framework commonly used by large US-listed technology and financial groups.

The combination of stronger payment volumes, higher balances and a larger business customer base indicates that Wise is becoming more embedded in day-to-day money movement for both individuals and companies. It also shows how competition in cross-border payments is increasingly shaped by control over settlement routes, direct access to local systems and the ability to manage liquidity at scale.

With customer balances at GBP £29.4 billion and about three-quarters of transfers completed instantly or near instantly, Wise is building a larger network around recurring cross-border flows while reshaping its listing structure to reflect where it sees its next phase of growth.