UK fintech Wise to downgrade London listing this quarter
Money transfer firm Wise has confirmed the timeline for switching its primary listing to the US with the move expected to take place this quarter.
The UK fintech said during a fourth-quarter update that its results for the latest financial year will published in the US dollar, which it said was “reflecting the expected completion” of the dual listing.
It came as Wise revealed cross-border volumes – the total value or number of financial transactions – climbed 26 per cent in its latest quarter to just shy of £50bn.
This came as the number of active customers swelled 22 per cent year-on-year to 11.3m.
Customer holdings with the fintech jumped 37 per cent to £29.4bn, helping pave the way for a near 30 per cent increase in card revenue streams.
Wise has sought to further park its tanks on the lawns of banking incumbents with the debut of its UK current account in the last month.
Wise sets sights on ‘major US indices’
The payments firm said it is forecasting its pre-tax profit margin – a key metric for profitability – to be in the top-end range of its 13 to 16 per cent target.
This comes after Wise shouldered increased costs over the financial year related to the switch in its listing.
Marketing investment increased 59 per cent to £57m in the first half of the year whilst tech investment was up 18 per cent to £144m. Wise, at the time, also laid out plans to hire over 1,000 additional colleagues as it bulks up capacity.
“We believe that the addition of a primary US listing would bring a number of strategic and capital markets benefits to Wise and its owners, including greater visibility in the United States, the biggest market opportunity for our products today, and better access to the world’s deepest and most liquid capital market,” the firm said on Monday.
When Wise revealed plans for the listing change in June 2025, the fintech said it hoped the move would “provide a potential pathway to inclusion in major US indices,” which marked a blow to City officials after the payments firm had been speculated an eventual blue-chip candidate.
The plans triggered a major rift between founders Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, with the latter saying he was “deeply troubled” over plans to change voting rights as part of a vote on the listing change.
He accused Käärmann of a “lack of transparency,” adding it was “entirely inappropriate and unfair to wrap these distinct issues together,” referring to combining an extension on shares voting rights with the listing change.
But Käärmann was able to curb a rebellion, as more than 90 per cent of Class A shareholders and 84.6 per cent of Class B shareholders approved the deal, which also permitted a ten-year extension of the super-voting shares held by only a handful of inside investors.