Wise PLC said it has started its financial year ‘on a positive note’, with income rising along with customer numbers, and still expects ‘strong growth’ for the full year.

Shares in Wise were trading 5.1% higher at 785.00 pence on Tuesday afternoon in London.

The London-based money transfer service provider said cross-border volumes increased 18% in the three months that ended on June 30, to £33.2 billion from £28.2 billion.

Wise said this was thanks to ‘continued growth in active customers’, with numbers jumping 26% to 8.4 million, ‘driven by strong customer retention and new customers joining as a result of recommendation’.

Personal customers rose 26% to 8.0 million, while business customers rose 13% to 412,000.

Underlying income, meanwhile, rose 22% to £325.4 million from £266.9 million.

Cross-border revenue rose 12% to £211.2 million, with personal revenue rising 12% to £167.1 million and business revenue climbing 14% to £44.1 million. Card & other revenue surged 55% to £80.0 million from the prior year’s £51.6 million.

Wise’s cross-border take rate meanwhile declined to 0.64% from 0.67%.

‘We’re pleased to start the new financial year on a positive note, with strong momentum in active customer and volume growth,’ commented Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer Kristo Kaarmann. ‘We remain committed to offering the lowest possible price for moving and managing money internationally, a key pillar of our mission and a significant driver of business growth.

‘In Q1, we reduced fees for customers with our cross border take rate at 64 [basis points] in Q1 FY25, [around] 5% lower fees on average compared to last quarter. This reduction was made possible through our efforts to improve efficiency and represents another investment into our long term growth.’

Kaarmann continued: ‘This quarter, we were thrilled to announce our first Wise Platform partnership in Brazil with Nubank, one of the world’s largest digital banking platforms.

‘Meanwhile, our partnership with Qonto in Europe is simplifying international payments for over 500,000 [small & medium-sized enterprises] and freelancers.’

Looking ahead, Wise continues to anticipate ‘strong growth in FY25’, with underlying income rising by between 15% and 20% compared with the year that ended on March 31.

Wise added that its focus ‘remains on the long term opportunity to grow cross border volumes while targeting an underlying profit before tax margin of [13% to 16%]’.

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