Wise shares boosted by Standard Chartered FX deal

Wise has struck a deal with Standard Chartered for the lender to use its foreign exchange infrastructure for multi-currency money transfers in Asia and the Middle East.

The partnership will see the emerging markets-focused bank integrate Wise’s tech to offer money transfers in 21 currencies.

Wise’s share price rose as much as 8.7 per cent in London on Monday following the news.

Standard Chartered previously entered into a partnership with Wise in March through Mox, its digital bank based in Hong Kong.

The fintech has more than 65 licences worldwide and over 90 banking partners, including Britain’s Monzo, HSBC partner Saudi Awwal Bank and Brazil’s Nubank.

Wise also has six direct connections to payment systems globally, allowing most of its cross-border payments to be settled instantly.

The firm, which reports its half-year results on Wednesday, said last month that it had moved £35.2bn across borders for customers between July and September.

That marked a 20 per cent increase compared to a year earlier, with the firm earning a small fee on each customer transaction.

Wise launched its platform arm to disrupt banks’ existing foreign exchange services, which it argues are slow and costly.

“The partnership with Standard Chartered, one of the biggest global banks, marks a significant milestone in financial institutions investing in building better international payment experiences for customers,” said Steve Naudé, managing director of Wise Platform.

“Wise and Standard Chartered share the same vision for creating frictionless payment experiences for customers, and we are thrilled to be working together to help SC Remit customers access fast, secure and low-cost international payments.”

Wise has around 500 staff at its Singapore office and has deals with some of the biggest banks in the Asia Pacific region.