How long has Wise been around

Wise has been around since 2011, when it was founded in London under its original name, TransferWise.

• Founding (2011): Estonian founders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann started the company in London, drawing on their own experience of moving money between countries.
• Profitability: TransferWise became profitable six years after it was founded.
• New products: Over time it added a multi-currency account, a debit card and a business account alongside international money transfers.
• Rebrand (2021): TransferWise changed its name to Wise to reflect that it had grown beyond money transfers.
• Scale today: Wise is a UK-based fintech that serves millions of personal and business customers worldwide and handles billions of pounds in cross-border payments each month.

If you are weighing Wise vs PayPal for international payments, this history shows Wise began as a money transfer service and later expanded into accounts and cards for both individuals and businesses.