London-based money transfer firm TransferWise has revealed that has been profitable for the second year in a row.
One of Europe’s largest FinTech startups, TransferWise reported an annual post-tax net profit of £6.2 million ($8 million USD) for the fiscal year ending March 2018, according to CNBC. Its annual revenue nearly doubled to £117 million during the period, while operating profit came in at £9.5 million. Founded six years ago by Estonian entrepreneurs Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann, TransferWise became profitable for the first time in March 2017.
“We’ve proven that FinTech can offer consumers an unbelievable experience at a low price, all whilst creating a solid business that can be trusted long-term,” said Käärmann, TransferWise’s CEO, in a statement. “Looking forward, sustained growth and our healthy financial position means we can continue to drive down costs whilst investing in developing our product.”
In 2016, TransferWise became one of Europe’s unicorn startups, with a reported valuation of $1.6 billion. It has raised $397 million since it was founded, with investors including asset management giant Old Mutual, Silicon Valley firms Institutional Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, and billionaire Richard Branson.
In June, the company entered into its first major bank partnership with Groupe BPCE, giving customers of the European banking group the use of TransferWise’s international money transfer service directly through the company’s app. In addition, TransferWise will have access to the banking group’s 15 million retail clients.
“TransferWise has a mission to make money move around the world as fast and as cheaply as email,” said Käärmann at the time. “This partnership is a momentous step on that journey.”
That announcement came a little more than a year after TransferWise brought a new service to market, which allowed its customers to use Facebook to send money around the world via its chat application. In addition, TransferWise developed a chatbot that can help users both communicate with businesses and complete transactions with them.