Wise, a popular British fintech firm formerly known as TransferWise, has today announced plans to hire 150 employees to occupy its Singapore office this year. The number almost doubles its current headcount in the region.
Currently, Wise said that it has more than 200 employees working in its Singapore office. The company recently moved into larger office space in the country, which the firm regards as its Asia-Pacific hub.
Wise stated that the new hires will be made across departments such as product development, engineering, payments, compliance, design and analytics.
The hires are deemed important as they will drive the company’s product development and expansion in the Asia-Pacific region and around the globe.
Kristo Käärmann, the CEO and Founder of Wise, said: “We've come a long way from the 1-man office we were when we first launched [in] the country 5 years ago. Our Singapore office has since grown into a key hub for us, and I’m delighted by the progress we’ve made in serving our customers both here in Singapore and across the region. As our APAC hub, Singapore serves as an important base for us as we continue to invest in making our mission, to make money work without borders, a reality for more people and businesses here and around the world.”
Meanwhile, Jacqueline Poh, the Managing Director of Singapore Economic Development Board, added: “The hub will create exciting job opportunities in Singapore and is testament to our reputation as a strategic hub .”
Expanding Mobile Financial Services for the Unbanked
Wise has been developing its business to make financial service offerings easily and quickly accessible with low-cost transactions fees. In November last year, the company partnered with Fruugo, a cross-border e-commerce marketplace, to enable Fruugo merchants to use Wise Business account details to receive payments in many currencies like the US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Singaporean Dollar, Euro, British Pound, among others.
In February last year, the firm rebranded itself to ‘Wise’ to allow the company to expand its services beyond remittance. During that time, Kristo Käärmann, the Co-Founder and CEO of the London-headquartered company, stated: “Our customers now need us for more than money transfers.”
Founded in 2010, Wise gained popularity by providing mid-market foreign exchange rates to retail customers in addition to small transaction fees. The firm is directly challenging the dominance of the traditional banks and other established remittance platforms that charge big transaction fees for financial services.
