Top two Wise execs leave firm in good shape as profit triples before both step aside

(Wise)

The two leading executives of top London fintech Wise appear to be leaving the firm in good condition as profits tripled, after more than £11 billion was deposited with the unicorn’s new bank account offering.

The group made £146.5 million in profit, up 234%, as total revenue from transfers and interest came to £964.2 million. That included £118.2 million in account interest income, after bank accounts were launched late last year. The group has started paying interest on its bank accounts.

“This is particularly relevant today, given how the interest rate environment has changed over the last year,” CEO Kristo Käärmann said.

Both Käärmann and finance boss Matt Briers are set to exit, as founder Käärmann announced in May that he would take a temporary sabbatical while Briers revealed just days later that he will also leave as he recovers from a bicycle accident that occured last year.

Briers said: “I will be leaving behind a world class team. This team is building excellent products for customers as well as building a company, or a machine, with all the processes, principles and frameworks needed to invest and grow sustainably and profitably over many years to come.”

Briers is set to receive a payout of as much as £3.6 million for the year to end March 2023, according to the firm’s 2022 annual report, while Kaarman could make up to £2.1 million.

Käärmann added:”We are building Wise to be a generational company. There are two specific ingredients which set us on a different trajectory to everyone else serving international customers. First we build products that turn customers evangelical, and second, we do the hard work to replace the very infrastructure needed to build the products customers expect; we are building a network for the world’s money”

The total number of Wise customers rose to 10 million.

Personal accounts made up most  of Wise’s  transfer revenue, at £656.3 million, while business accounts brought in £189.3 million.

Wise shares jumped 19% to 625.8p today. According to an Evening Standard analysis, this pushes Käärmann back into billionaire status.