Wise FY25 Results

Wise has reported its financial year 2025 (FY25) results, detailing growth in active customers, cross-border volume, and underlying income. The company also announced a proposal for a dual listing, adding a primary listing in the United States while retaining its United Kingdom listing.

For the financial year ending 31 March 2025, Wise served 15.6 million active customers, a 21 per cent increase year-on-year. Cross-border volume rose by 23 per cent to £145 billion. Customer holdings saw a significant 33 per cent increase, reaching £21.6 billion, with £4.5 billion of this in Assets under Management, itself up 55 per cent.

Underlying income for FY25 reached £1.4 billion, up 19 per cent compared to the previous year. Reported profit before tax was £565 million, a 17 per cent increase. The company highlighted that its infrastructure, built "from scratch to replace the outdated correspondent banking networks," underpins its service speed and pricing. Christo Kärmann, CEO and Co-Founder, stated, "Our infrastructure is also the reason why payments on Wise are so much faster and served at a lower price than any competitor can really match sustainably."

The cross-border take rate for Q4 FY25 was 0.53 per cent (53 basis points), a reduction of 14 basis points compared to Q4 FY24. Kärmann commented, "This strategy of continuously lowering our fees makes it harder for anyone to compete, and it will underwrite the long term success and growth of ours." Currently, 65% of Wise transactions are reported to arrive in less than twenty seconds.

Strategic Implications

Wise's proposal for a primary listing in the US is aimed at long-term benefits. "It also strategically lifts our profile in the US, gives us greater access to the growth opportunities that we see there, especially our kind of single-out-wise platform and the business space," Kärmann explained. He added that the move is intended to make the stock "much more liquid, giving our owners flexibility, giving access to people who people and funds who didn't have access today." The company affirmed its commitment to the UK, stating the US listing is "additive."

Spotlight On: Wise Platform and Account Services

Wise Platform, which facilitates cross-border payments for banks, now represents 4 per cent of Wise's total cross-border volume, up from 3 per cent in FY24. Recent additions to its client roster include Itau, described as the largest bank in Latin America, and Raiffeisen. Kärmann noted, "the largest leverage to our infrastructure will be serving this volume through the banks, through Wise platform." CFO Emmanuel Thomasson confirmed Wise Platform revenue targets of 10 per cent in the mid-term and a long-term forecast of 50 per cent of total revenues.

The Wise Account continues to see increased adoption, with features such as interest on AUD and USD holdings for Australian customers and a rollout in the Philippines. Customer holdings in the Wise Account reached £17 billion. The Wise Assets product, allowing customers to invest in money market funds, is now live in Singapore, Australia, and Europe, including the UK. Thomasson stated that the Asset product had nearly 10% of "Other revenue" in FY25.

Innovation Watch

Wise has detailed ongoing enhancements to its infrastructure, including live integrations into two payment systems in the Philippines. Work is continuing on integrations with Zengen in Japan and PIX in Brazil. Kärmann mentioned Wise is "already by far the largest institution moving money in and out of Brazil by transaction count."

For business customers, Wise launched QuickPay, enabling businesses to receive payments online via cards or QR codes from other Wise customers. This builds on the observation that "25% of the businesses who are using Wise to get paid, they're actually getting paid by other Wise customers," Kärmann said.

Key Metrics (FY25 YoY)

• Active Customers: 15.6 million, +21% (Personal: 15m, +22%; Business: c.700k, +11%)

• Cross-Border Volume: £145 billion, +23%

• Customer Holdings: £21.6 billion, +33%

• Underlying Income: £1.4 billion, +19%

• Reported Profit Before Tax: £565 million, +17%

• Underlying PBT Margin: 21% (flat YoY)

• Cross-Border Take Rate (Q4 FY25): 0.53% (-14 bps vs Q4 FY24)

Client Focus

The company reiterated its commitment to passing on efficiencies to customers. "We expect to continue to investing in gradual, but also sustainable price reductions as we continue to share the benefit of the economy of scale to the customers," Thomasson stated. The ability for customers to earn interest on balances via Wise Assets was highlighted as a key benefit, with Kärmann suggesting the proposition for security and interest "is actually better than any bank can offer."

On the Horizon

Wise anticipates its underlying income to grow at a 15-20 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the mid-term, with an underlying profit before tax margin of 13-16 per cent, expected to be around the top of this range in FY26. The proposed US dual listing process involves a circular to shareholders in June, an Extraordinary General Meeting in July, with the listing itself anticipated "around a year or so" according to Thomasson. Continued investments in product development, marketing, and direct payment integrations are planned.