Wise
Verified“Estonian-built, UK-run, now drifting to US capital markets.”
- Listing
- Nasdaq: WSE (primary)
- Active customers
- 15.6 million
- Revenue
- GBP 1.21 billion
- Employees
- ~6,500
40 = midpoint of Control 36 & Data 43
Sovereignty Quadrant
Control ↑ who owns & governs the company · Data → where your data lives. Every dot is a company — click to open it.
Every number below traces to 15 sourced facts across 4 independent sources, last verified 2026-06-12. 3 open questions hold confidence at 82% — they lower confidence, never the score.
Control ↑
Who legally and economically controls the company
Legal & Jurisdiction
38
Real EU presence via Belgium-licensed Wise Europe SA, but the group is not EU-incorporated: the ultimate parent is now a Jersey company that is UK tax resident, and the EU is reached only through a subsidiary, not the parent. EU law binds the EU entity, not the group.
Why 38? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
The new ultimate parent Wise Group plc (Wise Holdco) is incorporated in Jersey and intended to be solely UK tax resident, with registered office in St Helier, Jersey.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus (13 April 2026) · as of 2026-04-13
Wise's EU/EEA operations run through Wise Europe SA, a Payment Institution authorised by the National Bank of Belgium with passporting rights across the EEA, based in Brussels.
Wise Help Centre - How is Wise regulated · as of 2026-06-12
The principal UK operating entity Wise Payments Limited is authorised as an Electronic Money Institution by the UK FCA, registration number 900507.
Wise Help Centre / FCA · as of 2026-06-12
The group's principal place of business is 1st Floor Worship Square, 65 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4JE.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-04-13
Control & Ownership
33
Founder-controlled via a 9:1 dual-class structure (voting capped just under 50% for the CEO), and as of May 2026 the primary listing moved from London to Nasdaq with only a secondary LSE listing retained. Economic majority is now anchored to US capital markets.
Why 33? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
Wise moved its primary listing to Nasdaq via a court-approved scheme effective 8 May 2026, with Class A shares commencing trading on 11 May 2026, retaining only a secondary LSE listing.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-05-08
Class A shares carry one vote each and non-tradable Class B shares carry nine votes each; Class B shares held ~59.38% of Wise plc's voting power as of 31 March 2026 (after caps).
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-03-31
CEO and co-founder Kristo Käärmann beneficially holds 18.14% of issued share capital but 56.28% of voting rights before caps; his vote is capped at one below 50% while CEO, dropping to one below 35% if he ceases to be CEO.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-04-09
Major holders include Estonian co-founders plus Scottish asset manager Baillie Gifford & Co (10.21% voting) and Estonian vehicle Skaala Investments OU (8.55% voting); free float trades primarily on Nasdaq.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-04-09
Data →
Where your data lives and who can reach it
Data & Infrastructure
30
Primary payment processing runs in AWS Frankfurt: data physically sits in an EU region, which is better than most, but the provider is a US hyperscaler exposed to the US CLOUD Act, so this is EU-region-on-US-cloud rather than EU-owned infrastructure.
Why 30? 3 sourced facts · click to expand
Wise states its primary payment processing is hosted in Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Frankfurt region.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-04-13
AWS is a US-headquartered hyperscaler, so data hosted in its EU regions remains subject to US extraterritorial law such as the CLOUD Act regardless of physical EU location.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus (provider identity) · as of 2026-04-13
Wise relies on third-party providers for cloud hosting, information security, financial reporting and other support services, and an October 2025 AWS outage temporarily disrupted its customer-support channels.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-04-13
Operations & People
62
Operations are unusually EU-heavy for a UK-listed firm: the single largest office is Tallinn (2,200+), with major EU hubs in Budapest and Brussels, founders are Estonian, but HQ and leadership sit in London and reporting currency is shifting to USD.
Why 62? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
Wise's largest single office is in Tallinn, Estonia, redeveloped to accommodate over 2,200 employees, exceeding its London headquarters of 1,000+.
Wise Newsroom / FF News · as of 2025-03-01
Wise has over 6,500 employees across roughly 11 key locations including London, Tallinn, Budapest (800+), Brussels, Austin, Singapore and Hyderabad; founders are Estonian-British.
Wise Newsroom · as of 2025-03-01
Following the US listing, Wise's presentational (reporting) currency changed from pounds sterling to US dollars.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-04-13
The group's CEO is Kristo Käärmann and its leadership and HQ are based in London, with statutory auditors and head office functions in London.
Wise Group plc UK Prospectus · as of 2026-04-13
Aligned to the EU Commission’s official Cloud Sovereignty Framework (SEAL, Jun 2026) →
What we don’t know
3 open questions — they lower confidence, never the score
- ?
Where exactly does EU customers' personal data reside versus where payment processing runs? Wise confirms primary payment processing on AWS Frankfurt, but the full data-residency map (backups, support tooling, US-bound transfers under SCCs) is not publicly itemised.
Could move the infra score up or down 10-15 points if Wise published a complete EU data-residency commitment versus confirmed US transfers.
- ?
What share of the public free float now trades and is beneficially held in the US versus the EU/UK after the Nasdaq move?
Determines whether the economic majority has genuinely shifted to US investors, affecting the ownership score.
- ?
Does Wise use any AWS sovereign-cloud or EU-operated cloud arrangement, or standard AWS commercial regions only?
Standard commercial AWS keeps CLOUD Act exposure; an EU Sovereign Cloud arrangement would materially raise the infra score.
EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework lens
The EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework (EUCS) targets cloud service providers, not fintechs; the rows below are an analogous sovereignty mapping for Wise, not a certification or an official assessment.
Strategic
Strategic centre of gravity is shifting outward: primary listing moved to Nasdaq and reporting currency to USD in 2026, even as a large EU workforce remains.
Legal & jurisdictional
Genuine Belgium-licensed EU entity (Wise Europe SA, NBB) gives EU-law reach, but the ultimate parent is Jersey-incorporated and UK tax resident, not EU.
Data & AI
Primary payment processing sits in AWS Frankfurt (EU region), better than most, but on a US hyperscaler subject to the CLOUD Act.
Operational
Largest office is Tallinn, Estonia (2,200+); major EU hubs in Budapest and Brussels; Estonian founders. Among the most EU-rooted operations in fintech.
Supply chain
Core technology supply chain leans on US providers (AWS for hosting), with additional dependence on third-party SaaS for security and reporting.
Technological
Proprietary cross-border payments network and direct domestic-scheme participation are real EU/UK assets, but the hosting substrate is US-owned.
Security & compliance
Multi-jurisdiction regulated (FCA EMI 900507, NBB, FinCEN) with ring-fenced safeguarding; offset by a Belgian AML inquiry and dependence on US-hosted infrastructure.
Environmental sustainability
No Wise-specific sovereignty-relevant environmental data was verified for this profile.
EU alternatives
Holds an EU/ECB-supervised bank licence via Lithuania, arguably stronger EU legal anchoring than Wise; but operationally UK-centred and not yet a verified EU-controlled, EU-hosted entity.
German-incorporated, BaFin-licensed full bank headquartered in Berlin with EU ownership and EU operations; a cleaner EU-sovereign banking option, though narrower than Wise on multi-currency cross-border.
Paris-headquartered, French-incorporated business-banking/payments provider regulated by the ACPR; EU-controlled and EU-operated, strong for SMB cross-border needs.
How the method works
Methodology v2 (provisional): the score is the midpoint of two axes — Control (who owns and governs the company) and Data (where your data lives and who can reach it). Each axis is scored only on verified evidence; unknowns reduce confidence, never the score. Every input below is sourced; the weights and judgments are open to challenge.
Spotted an error? Every claim is sourced — challenge it and we correct the record.
- 2026-06-12 — Initial golden profile, authored from primary sources (human + AI review).
Report Incorrect Data
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Verified 2026-06-12 · Human + AI joint review (sources independently checked) · Methodology