Wise touches down in India as it continues to double down on global expansion

One would expect an international remittances business such as Wise to have offices in every corner of the world and its latest expansion takes it one step closer to that.

The fintech is officially launching in India, opening an office in Mumbai in the process and making its international transfers available to both send and receive payments.

“Bringing Wise to India is a big step forward in our mission to build money without borders 一 instant, convenient, transparent and, eventually free,” Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of Wise said.

“The data shows that Indians are more international than ever, with an increasing need to send money abroad as quickly, easily and cost-effectively as possible. With this launch, we hope to make these transactions simpler and more pleasant for all Indians.”

Wise has appointed payments industry veteran Rashmi Satpute to head up its newest office.

Satpute previously held roles at Visa, running Visa Direct across India and South Asia, and also Indian payments fintech Citrus Payment Solutions.

“Sending money from India has been one of our most-requested routes globally and we’re delighted to be able to bring our fully digital and transparent money transfer service to the country today,” Venkatesh Saha, head of APAC and Middle East Expansion at Wise added.

“With Wise, you know exactly what you’re paying for a transfer, how much money your recipient is going to receive and how long it will take to complete a transfer, all from your phone or computer at home.”

From today, people in India will be able to send money to 44 countries globally, with payments nearly half the cost of other providers on average. 

Transfers through Wise are also increasingly fast, 38 per cent of payments sent through its platform arrive instantly, while the remaining 62 per cent take under an hour.

Wise’s latest expansion will have been bolstered by its latest investment from Silicon Valley Bank.

The fintech bagged a £160m capital facility to help the fintech refinance its existing line of credit, allowing Wise to realise its expansion plans.

Wise has also reportedly appointed Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as coordinators of its IPO and will opt for a dual-class share structure to keep the control of the company in the hands of its founders and early investors.

Last month the fintech also awarded 2,000 lucky customers the chance to win a ‘slice of the Wise pie’ gifting a single Wise share, or roughly 0.0000029 per cent of Wise to the winners.