Shift Away from Traditional Banking Routes with Wise’s Fintech Solutions

With cross-border payments increasingly moving away from traditional banking channels, the fintech company Wise highlighted its expanding infrastructure business during its U.S. public market debut. The segment allows banks and tech firms to connect to Wise’s global payment network.

This product area is experiencing rapid growth, mirroring increased demand for alternative solutions to correspondent banking. Wise collaborates with financial institutions such as Standard Chartered, UniCredit, Itaú, and Morgan Stanley, with these partnerships often developed through long-term agreements as banks integrate the platform into their payment systems.

Migrating from Correspondent Banking

Traditional correspondent banking involves a chain of intermediary banks for international payments. This process can add both fees and delays.

“The world’s estimated annual loss in hidden fees due to cross-border payments is over $250 billion,” stated Kristo Käärmann, Co-Founder and CEO at Wise, in a press release. “In the U.S., this figure could rise to $43 billion by 2026.”

Wise operates directly with domestic payment systems in various countries such as the UK Faster Payments System, Singapore’s FAST, Australia’s NPP, Brazil’s Pix, and others in Hungary, the Philippines, and Japan. The company also integrates with SWIFT and holds over 80 regulatory licenses globally, working with more than 90 banking and payments partners.

U.S. Market Focus for Wise

As Wise completed its U.S. Initial Public Offering (IPO) on Nasdaq, the company is intensifying its presence in the U.S. market to gain wider access to capital. In 2025, Wise processed nearly $250 billion in cross-border transactions, a 31% increase from the previous year. Despite this growth, shares declined by nearly 8% on the first day of trading.