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With the recent rebranding from TransferWise to just being “Wise”, the London-based fintech startup has raised a new £160M (approx €185.35M) in funding. The syndicated facility led by Silicon Valley Bank’s UK & EMEA Corporate Finance team was put in place to help refinance Wise’s existing revolving line of credit. 

Silicon Valley Bank UK Branch has arranged similar syndicated facilities for other UK fintech and corporate clients.

Thomas Easterby, Director of Corporate Finance at SVB UK & EMEA, says, “I am delighted that the Silicon Valley Bank’s UK & EMEA Corporate Finance team has been able to lead the financing for Wise as it plans its next phase of growth. This financing builds on our long-term relationship with Wise and showcases how SVB collaborates with innovation companies throughout the journey.”

Use of the raised funds

The company has reported that the raised capital will support Wise with its funds flow and ongoing working capital needs.

Speaking on the development, Rosh Wijayarathna, Head of Corporate Finance, SVB UK and EMEA, states, “Supporting innovation, innovators and their investors is in our DNA, and SVB’s Corporate Finance team is delighted to provide this facility to Wise. We are now seeing the UK create global market leaders and the UK ecosystem maturing as a world-leading innovation hub.”

Wise is a money transfer service allowing private individuals and businesses to send money abroad without hidden charges.

Matt Briers, Chief Financial Officer at Wise, comments, “Our mission is to create money without borders – instant, convenient, transparent and eventually free. The revolving loan provided by Silicon Valley Bank will offer us flexible and efficient access to working capital, meaning we can continue bringing our service to as many customers as possible, regardless of where in the world they are.”

“Cheap, fast way to send money abroad”

Wise was launched in 2011 by Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus. Both co-founders wanted to stop the global practice of banks and brokers charging extortionate hidden fees, resulting in expensive, slow international payments. Hence they launched Transferwise (now Wise.com) to help resolve this issue.

Wise platform provides customers with a lower-cost alternative to traditional means of moving money internationally. The company’s product suite includes the borderless account and debit card, its money transfer service, and its Application Programming Interface (API) for larger enterprises and bank partnerships. It launched new products across the US, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East in 2019 and supports 2500 currency routes and 54 currencies on the whole. 

In July 2020, when TransferWise launched its secondary share sale, it reached a $5B (€5.47B) valuation. As reported by the company, currently 10 million people and businesses use Wise, which processes over £4.5B (approx €5.2B) in cross-border transactions every month, saving customers over £1B (approx €1.15B) a year.

Back in December 2020, the company had announced plans to add 750 jobs over the next six months – more than a third of its current workforce.

Bank that helps build business at every stage

Silicon Valley Bank works with technology, life science, cleantech, venture capital, private equity, and premium wine businesses. It provides industry knowledge and connections, financing, treasury management, corporate investment, and international banking services to its clients worldwide through 27 US offices and 7 international operations. For nearly 40 years, SVB claims to have helped innovative businesses and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast.

SVB is authorised and regulated by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) and the United States Federal Reserve Bank.