Wise Is Expanding Beyond Financial Services
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
Wise is making an unusual acquisition.
The company has acquired Expatica, one of the best-known information platforms for people living and working abroad.
What makes the acquisition interesting is that Wise isn't buying another FinTech. It's buying a platform that people often discover long before they open a bank account, make a transfer, or move money internationally.
A large share of Wise users live internationally or move between countries. And long before they need to send money, they usually need answers to a lot of practical questions about life abroad.
That's what makes this acquisition interesting. Wise isn't adding another financial product. It's getting closer to the people it already serves and becoming useful much earlier in the process of moving and settling in a new country.
And if you're interested in how Wise itself is performing, keep scrolling for the company's latest results. Cross-border volume reached £49.4 billion in Q4, while customer holdings approached £30 billion.
Today's remaining Digital Banking headlines are just below. 👇 See you on Monday!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
📰 5 mobile adoption plays banks are using in 2026 by AppsFlyer. As more than 2 billion people are expected to bank via mobile in 2026, tactics such as web-to-app journeys, email deep linking, branch QR codes, SMS engagement, and onboarding recovery campaigns are helping institutions drive app adoption and strengthen customer relationships. Read the full article here
NEWS
🇩🇪 BBVA Germany launches its first credit card for customers in Germany in partnership with Mastercard. This new card is free for active users and offers an initial six-month fee-free trial period for new cardholders to experience its benefits without a fee, while delivering state-of-the-art security features and no foreign exchange fees (FX) worldwide.
🇳🇱 Wise acquires Expatica as it deepens support for people living internationally. The deal adds trusted guidance on housing, healthcare, immigration, and local administration to Wise’s ecosystem, reflecting a broader FinTech shift toward becoming a comprehensive partner throughout a customer's international journey rather than just a financial service provider.
📊 Wise ended FY26 with strong momentum, reaching 11.3 million active customers and £29.4 billion in customer holdings. Despite lowering its take rate, the company continued to grow volumes and revenue, highlighting its strategy of using lower prices to drive adoption. The quarter also marked a major milestone with Wise’s Nasdaq listing. Read the full article here
🌍 Airtel Africa faces a $515 million deadline as the Airtel Money London IPO race enters its final six weeks. If the IPO is not completed by July 31, the company could face investor put-option obligations estimated at around $515 million, increasing pressure to move forward with one of Africa’s most anticipated FinTech listings.
🌍 Revolut’s goal: 20 million retail customers by the end of 2026. Revolut has appointed Wiktor Stopa to lead Growth and Marketing across Central and Eastern Europe and to coordinate activities in Western Europe. Revolut's focus is to deepen market penetration and evolve from a daily spending app into the primary banking relationship for millions of users.
🇮🇪 FinTech platform Revolut adds 100,000 Irish customers. Revolut added 100,000 customers in Ireland during the first half of the year, bringing its total Irish customer base to 3.4 million. The company also reported growing adoption of savings and investment products.
🇵🇭 K2 Investments injects Pre-Series C Funding into Tonik Digital Bank. The investment comes after Tonik reached cash-flow profitability and surpassed a $60 million annualized revenue run rate. Read more
🇿🇦 Lesaka’s R1.1-billion and Bank Zero deal is delayed. The deal is expected to give Lesaka full banking capabilities and strengthen its position in South Africa’s digital banking market. Continue reading
🇬🇧 Klarna appoints Eamon Howard as Group Head of Financial Crime Compliance. The appointment reinforces Klarna’s focus on strengthening anti-financial crime, regulatory compliance, and risk management capabilities as it continues to expand its global financial services platform.
🇭🇰 JPMorgan Chase cuts off Anthropic access for its Hong Kong staff. The decision is linked to licensing and usage restrictions for Greater China, highlighting the growing regulatory and compliance challenges surrounding AI adoption in global financial institutions.
🇦🇺 HSBC Australia caught napping on scams. The proposed AU$35 million penalty follows findings that the bank failed to adequately address rising impersonation scams, with more than 1,000 reports of unauthorized transactions totaling AU$34.6 million and significant delays in resolving customer complaints.
🇵🇷 FV Bank expands beyond digital banking: launches a unified FinTech platform for stablecoins, payments, and programmable finance. The first launch, Stablecoin Invoicing, allows businesses to generate invoices and accept payments in USDC and PYUSD, while upcoming products will include agent-ready virtual cards, API-managed accounts, and stablecoin-powered cross-border payments.
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