U.K. money transfer company TransferWise secured unicorn status earlier this year, and now, the peer-to-peer FinTech firm has a new goal on the horizon.
Tuesday (Aug. 16) reports said TransferWise is entering the corporate payments space with the rollout of TransferWise for Business. The platform enables companies to conduct cross-border transfers via the firm’s network of bank accounts, keeping costs down by moving as little cash as possible outside of national borders.
While the business solutions are new, TransferWise said it has already transferred more than $1.3 billion through the platform, which is geared towards SMEs.
“SMEs make up 99 percent of all U.K. businesses; they’re the engine of the U.K. economy. Despite the banks saying that they support these companies and their growth, the reality is that, behind the scenes, they’re happy to give SMEs a poor deal with hidden exchange rate charges,” stated TransferWise VP of Growth Nilan Peiris. “That just isn’t fair, and we wanted to do something about it.”
The announcement of TransferWise for Business came the same day that research from Covercy found thousands of dollars worth of fees paid by SMEs for their cross-border transactions.
TransferWise touted its new service as one without signup or monthly fees.
Last May, the firm announced a $26 million funding round led by investment management company Baillie Gifford and other backers. That investment valued the firm at about $1.1 billion.
In January, the company published a report on the potential for the FinTech industry to gain traction within the personal banking space in the U.S.