Wise lifts its profit guidance for the year

The London-listed fintech said in a trading update its active customer base grew by 30% to 7.5 million in the between September and December as revenues surged to £276.6 million, up 23% from £225.2 million in the same period last year

Money transfer firm Wise lifted its profit guidance for the year today after another jump in the amount of customers pinging cash overseas and a continued boost from higher interest rates.

The London-listed fintech, which offers current accounts and allows customers to send cash overseas, said in a trading update this morning its active customer base grew by 30% to 7.5 million in the between September and December as revenues surged to £276.6 million, up 23% from £225.2 million in the same period last year.

Wise’s customers sent £30.6 billion across borders in the same period, up 16% on the previous year.

I am pleased to report another quarter of progress as we work towards our mission of building the best way to move and manage the world’s money, said chief Kristo Kaarmann, who has returned to the company in January after a three month sabbatical.

This progress speaks to the strength of our fundamentals, leading to continued strong financial performance, Kaarmann said.

Wise has raked in cash over the past 12 months on the back of aggressive rate interest rates by central bankers. In its update this morning, the company said the gross yield on balances was 4.2% over the three months, up from 3.8% in the earlier quarter.

Full-year income is expected to grow between 42 and 44%, compared with its earlier forecast of 33% -38%, he added.

Bosses said they had also added a number of new partners in the final three months of the year, including fintech challenger Allica Bank and digital travel platform Agoda.