TransferWise rebrands to Wise, enters new phase of growth in Malaysia

• The tech company has created a cross-border network that works to meet international banking needs for people, businesses and banks
• Bolstering of local team with appointment of country manager, Ms Lim Paik Wan
• Money transfer availability expanded to foreign workers in Malaysia

TransferWise today announces its rebranding to Wise ^[1], and the appointment of local country manager Ms Lim Paik Wan.

Originally launched in 2011 as a money transfer service for people, the company has expanded to build a cross-border payments network helping to make international banking cheaper, faster and more pleasant for its 10 million customers.

The company processes £4.5 billion (RM25.2 billion) in cross-border transactions every month, with customers saving themselves a total of approximately £1 billion (RM5.6 billion) a year compared to making the same transaction with their bank.

The money transfer service, now a feature of the Wise account, is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to send and receive money around the world at up to 4x cheaper than banks.

Lim Paik Wan

The company also announces the bolstering of its Malaysia presence with the appointment of Ms Lim Paik Wan as the Malaysia country manager for Wise — who will be responsible for leading and expanding Wise ’s presence and growth in the country.

Foreign workers in Malaysia can now also use Wise to send remittances back home ^[2] to their family members’ bank accounts and e-wallets without paying costly fees and markups by other service providers — saving money which can stay in their pockets or go towards sending a bigger remittance volume.

As a profitable, sustainable company with a long history, Wise is here to serve Malaysian consumers for years to come.

Ms Lim Paik Wan, Malaysia Country manager, Wise, said: “I am excited to be a part of the team working towards the Wise mission — to make cross-currency payments as fast, easy, transparent and cheap as possible. Based on a recent survey ^[3] that we commissioned, we know that 50% of Malaysians are keen to save on remittance costs and 57% would appreciate transfers reaching its recipients more quickly, and we are determined to meet their concerns.

“We are also thrilled to expand the availability of international money transfer services to foreign workers, who can also benefit from a low-cost, secure and completely online option for their remittance needs.”

Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder, Wise said: “Today our name catches up with who we’re already building for - a community of people and businesses with multi-currency lives. That community now even includes the banks themselves. We’ve evolved to fix more than just money transfer, but the core experience of using Wise will remain faster, cheaper, and more convenient than anything else. Our mission remains the same. We’re still making — and always will be making — money work without borders.”

From today, customers can opt into the website in its new home: Wise.com. The final switchover for all customers to the Wise brand will take place in March 2021.

[1] Wise is the trading name of TransferWise Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
[2] Total transaction limit of RM5,000 per month, with funds remitted to the individual’s home country only and with a limit of 5 beneficiaries.
[3] Independent survey conducted by Ipsos from 27 Nov to 3 Dec 2020, collecting 1,000 respondents targeting both citizens and expatriates living in Malaysia who have sent an overseas remittance in the past 12 months.