Global Payments Company Wise Plans US Expansion

London-based global money transfer firm Wise will hire more than 150 new staff in 2022 as it expands its U.S. operations in Austin, Texas, relocates its New York City office to a bigger location and beefs up its staffing in Tampa, Florida, according to a Tuesday (Nov. 30) press release.  

The company’s expansion effort is fueled by a 29% year-over-year revenue increase — equating to $73 million — from its North American customer base, according to the announcement.  

In all, Wise employs 3,000 people and intends to hire an extra 1,000 staff globally within the next year. 

Wise, which was founded in 2011 as TransferWise, made waves in July when it began trading on the London Stock Exchange, according to PYMNTS. On opening day of its direct listing, the company had a valuation close to $11 billion. A direct listing process does not use underwriters or other intermediaries and floats current shares without creating new ones. 

Read more: Wise Starts Trading On London Exchange At $11B Valuation 

The Wise listing is expected to be among the largest direct listings in 2021, according to PYMNTS. 

The company became profitable in 2017, with an annual growth rate of 54%. Sales in the first half of 2021 were $589 million and the company handled cross-border transfers for 6 million users.

See also: FinTech Wise Plans Direct Listing On London Stock Exchange 

In terms of its U.S. expansion efforts, Wise has undertaken a new full-stack operation in Austin, which will house product management, engineering, operations, sales and customer support teams, according to the announcement. The company is recruiting for Austin-based jobs and will launch operations from a shared co-working space beginning in January.

Wise is planning to relocate its New York City operations to an 8,000-square-foot space on 26th Street beginning on Jan. 3. Additional staff positions will be available in product, engineering and business development. 

The company’s Tampa location, comprised of customer support teams, as well as its verification, payment operations, human resources and information technology, will also add new staff in 2022.