Wise ISA growth stock: why the market may be mispricing a fintech disruptor

Wise (LSE: WISE) is a Wise ISA growth stock case that has frustrated patient shareholders, delivering only a 3% gain over the past 14 months despite a string of operationally strong quarterly updates. The share price has lagged well behind both the FTSE 100 and the S&P 500 over that period, and the gap between the business’s trajectory and its market rating is the central question for any investor considering a position today.

From money transfer to multi-currency banking

Wise launched in 2011 as TransferWise, built around one proposition: send money abroad more cheaply and transparently than a bank would. That core business remains, but the platform has evolved well beyond it.

In Q1 FY27, which ended 30 June, customer holdings increased 31% year on year to $41.2bn. That figure includes $10bn held in Wise Assets, the company’s money-market-fund product, which sits alongside a current-account-style interface. As Wise describes it: ‘Banks are happy to give you nothing. With us, you can turn on Wise Assets to get the convenience of a current account and the growth of an investment account all in one.’

By the full year to March 2026, Wise reported 19 million active customers, up 21% year on year, with cross-border volume of $243.4bn, also up 31%. Around one million businesses now use the platform alongside large bank partners and fintechs. In Q1 FY27, 51% of net revenue came from non-cross-border activities, a shift that illustrates how far the product has moved from its origins.

The scale-sharing model investors struggle to price as a Wise ISA growth stock

The core tension in the investment case is Wise’s deliberate policy of passing efficiency gains back to customers rather than converting them into wider margins. In Q1, the company lowered its take rate by one basis point to 0.50%, with a further two-basis-point reduction planned for Q2 and potentially more reductions in Q3 and Q4. By the first half of FY2026, the average take rate stood at 52 basis points, even as average fees were reduced by 15% and cross-border volumes rose 24% to almost £85bn.

This ‘Scale Economies Shared’ approach runs against the conventional expectation of expanding margins as a business scales. It is not what banks do, and it is not what most fintech investors are trained to reward. The result is a multiple that looks low relative to the growth rate: the stock trades at 18.5 times forward earnings.

The offsetting argument is the size of the opportunity. Wise’s own research, conducted by Edgar, Dunn and Company covering January to December 2025, puts the total addressable market at $43tn. The snippet separately cites $39trn moved annually by businesses alone; the two figures likely reflect different scopes of measurement, both sourced from Wise’s own disclosures. On either number, Wise has captured less than 1% of the market it is targeting.

Ownership structure and management

Co-founder Kristo Käärmann retains a controlling position. According to Wise’s Scheme Circular, he holds 18.15% of issued share capital and 54.65% of voting rights through a dual-class share structure, meaning day-to-day strategic decisions largely remain with the company’s founding management. Baillie Gifford holds 11.41% of issued share capital, providing a degree of institutional anchor.

On the executive side, Emmanuel Thomassin joined as Chief Financial Officer on 1 October 2024 on a salary of £500,000. He previously served as CFO at Delivery Hero SE for over ten years, taking that company public in 2017, which brings relevant scale-up and capital-markets experience to a business that has been exploring a dual listing.

Risks worth keeping in front

Regulatory exposure is real. Wise operates across more than 160 countries, each with its own licensing and compliance environment. Money-laundering concerns have surfaced in press coverage and could weigh on institutional sentiment if they develop further. Inflationary pressures in the global economy affect both operating costs and customer behaviour. The ongoing dual-listing project is generating one-off expenses in the near term.

The stock is currently trading below £10. Wise is scheduled to release its next quarterly update on 15 October, which will either confirm or challenge the volume and take-rate trajectory that underpins the bull case. That release is the near-term test: if non-cross-border revenue continues to grow as a share of the mix and customer holdings hold their growth rate, the gap between operational reality and market pricing becomes harder to ignore.