Shares in Wise plc have risen today after it revealed a plan to move its primary listing to the US.
The London-headquartered and -listed FinTech says it expects to begin trading on New York’s Nasdaq exchange on 11th May.
The money transfer service will maintain a public listing on the London Stock Exchange but shift its primary listing to the US to “accelerate” its path “to become ‘the’ network for the world’s money”.
Wise pointed to “greater visibility” in the US, where it employs more than 750 people. Shareholders backed the decision to adopt a dual listing last year.
Its shares are up 4% today (writing at 2.30pm), up 16% in the year-to-date and 5% higher than at IPO in 2021.
The float was mired in controversy as co-founder and CEO Kristo Käärmann (pictured) had insisted on a dual-class share structure which effectively meant that his shares, and those of other early investors, were each worth nine times that of more recent shareholders. Despite holding just 18.1% of Wise, he controlled 40.75% of the votes.
The controversy ramped up further last year when Käärmann proposed an extension of this approach and rolled the shareholder vote for this into that of the US listing.
That led co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, who left the firm shortly after the London IPO, to publicly slam Käärmann and call for two separate votes to be held. He said: “Wise owners deserve governance structures that enhance value, not entrench power.”
Wise, which from now on will report results in dollars, has also reported a 24% increase in underlying income to £435.3 million, exceeding analyst expectations, for the fourth quarter of 2026 (ending 31st March).
Cross-border transaction volumes for the period rose 26% to £49.4 billion, while active customer numbers jumped 22% to 11.3m.
Wise said it expects annual profit margins to be at the top end of its 13-16% forecast.
Wise stated: “We believe that the addition of a primary US listing would bring a number of strategic and capital markets benefits to Wise and its owners.”
Käärmann said: “We are making good progress on building the network for the world’s money.
“Our infrastructure makes cross-border transactions cheaper and faster and, in January, we became one of the first payment institutions to be granted membership to Payments Canada, paving the way to direct access there.
“More and more people are using Wise at home or abroad for their everyday spending, for paying bills, for savings and investments. That’s why last month we formally launched our UK current account with a physical branch concept on Oxford Street in London.”