The digital payment company Wise plc became public through direct listing on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday. It was founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus as a form of dissatisfaction with high money transfer fees. A decade after its establishment, the two have become among the biggest winners from Wise plc's direct listing, which operates as a provider of digital payment services in the UK. The company began trading at a price of 800 pence in London on Wednesday, granting co-CEOs Käärmann and Hinrikus stakes worth approximately $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively.
Käärmann and Hinrikus, both 40 years old and citizens of Estonia, started the Wise platform about a decade ago after moving to London. While working in the English capital, they felt frustrated by the high fees charged by banks for sending money between the UK and their homeland. One day, during a chat, they realized they were about to send and receive equivalent amounts in opposite directions, and they understood that they could arrange the transfers between them, entirely bypassing the banks. Käärmann stated in Wise's listing prospectus, "We were both tired of losing money to the banks." Among the early supporters was Valar Ventures, an investment firm co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, along with British investor Baillie Gifford.
