Wise

History

Founded by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann, TransferWise rebranded to Wise and listed in London. Local account details in multiple currencies became a core growth product beyond simple remittances.

Founders

Kristo Käärmann is co-founder and chief executive officer of Wise (formerly TransferWise). An Estonian entrepreneur previously at Deloitte, Käärmann co-founded the company in London in 2011 after personally experiencing expensive bank FX markups when paying a mortgage abroad. He has led Wise as it pioneered mid-market rate transfers, multi-currency accounts and a public listing, becoming a reference brand for transparent cross-border finance.

Taavet Hinrikus is co-founder of Wise and served as the company's first employee/executive chairman in early years. Also Estonian—and Skype's early employee number one—Hinrikus partnered with Käärmann on the peer-matching transfer model that undercut traditional banks and helped define the modern multi-currency account category overlapping with business neobanks.

Reception

Wise (formerly TransferWise) popularised transparent mid-market FX and multi-currency accounts for people and businesses. It is a frequent comparison point for Airwallex and business neobanks that compete on cross-border pricing.

Products

Wise Account with local account details, debit cards, business accounts, batch payouts and the Wise Platform API for banks and enterprises embedding cross-border payments.