Wise payments across borders

Wise gives its mission as "money without borders". The company launched in 2011 as TransferWise and later renamed itself Wise (Wise); its founders are Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann (Wikipedia). Its products are the Wise Account for people, Wise Business and Wise Platform, which in Wise's words is where "banks, financial institutions and enterprises can plug into our network".

For customers in the EEA, Wise Europe SA is the provider: a payment institution authorized by the National Bank of Belgium, with passporting rights across the EEA (Wise). In the United Kingdom, Wise is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations. A customer in Germany therefore holds the account with a Belgian company. The e-money license explains how a non-bank safeguards customer money.

Wise Platform is an API through which a bank offers international transfers on Wise's infrastructure. Standard Chartered uses it for its SC Remit service, so that customers in Asia and the Middle East send money in 21 currencies at the mid-market rate (Wise). In the same announcement Wise names more than 65 licenses and six direct connections to payment systems, and states that 63 percent of its cross-border payments arrive in under 20 seconds. The classic route for a bank is a chain of correspondent banks, which correspondent banking explains.

Wise Europe SA, a payment institution authorized by the National Bank of Belgium. Its license is passported across the EEA, Germany included.

Wise Platform is Wise's offer for banks and companies: an API that lets them send international payments over Wise's network and licenses. Standard Chartered uses it for SC Remit.

Wise states that 63 percent of its cross-border payments arrive in under 20 seconds. It credits its own licenses and direct connections to national payment systems. Cross-border payments in Europe covers how long a transfer takes on the bank route.