Wise Intros Flexible Assets Investment Feature to UK Users

Global money transfer firm Wise is now offering Assets, a multi-currency investment feature that works across 54 currencies, to individuals and businesses in the U.K.

Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of Wise, said in a press release emailed to PYMNTS that holding assets in multiple currencies can be “hard to manage efficiently” and people worldwide are “holding billions in their Wise and Wise Business accounts for the long-term.”

The Assets solution aims to offer customers a “return on their money” in various currencies, across a single platform, Käärmann added.

“It’s not a standard current account, or a savings account, or a stock-picking investment platform. It’s something new we’ve built to give our customers a balance between the convenience, reliability and potential returns of all three,” he said.

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As the first asset, Wise is offering a wide portfolio of 1,557 stocks from some of the biggest businesses worldwide included in the MSCI World Equity index — including Apple, Amazon, and Google — collectively valued in excess of 40 trillion pounds ($54.6 trillion). BlackRock provides the tracking fund for the index.

Customers will always have instant access to most of the funds, which differs from legacy investment accounts. This benefit enables people to hold their money in Assets while still spending and sending money in real-time. Some £4.3 billion is held in Wise accounts worldwide.

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“People are increasingly turning to a single app to manage their financial lives and improve their wellbeing,” said Joe Parkin, Head of Banks and Digital Channels in the U.K. at BlackRock.

He added that products like Assets from Wise are “bringing financial services into the digital age” and giving people the necessary tools to meet their goals.

Launched in London in 2011, Wise serves over 10 million individuals and businesses with its multi-currency accounts and moves more than £5 billion every month, according to its website. The company now has 17 offices employs more than 2,700 people.