Wise has partnered with digital bank OakNorth to power international payments for UK businesses, the companies announced on 7 October 2026. The integration gives OakNorth customers, scaling businesses with annual turnover between £1 million and £100 million, access to instant cross-border payments across more than 20 currencies at mid-market exchange rates, with 77% of transactions completing in under 20 seconds.
- Currencies supported: Euros, US dollars, British pounds, Indian rupees, Hong Kong dollars, Chinese yuan, and 15+ others
- Transaction speed: 77% of payments settle in under 20 seconds
- UK SME overseas payment volume (2027 forecast): £615.5 billion
- Hidden fee losses to UK SMEs (2027 estimate): £7.5 billion
- Projected growth in SME cross-border payments (2026-2029): 22%
The partnership addresses rising cross-border payment costs for UK SMEs. Research commissioned by Wise and independently conducted by Edgar, Dunn & Company found that hidden fees, including exchange-rate margins, are estimated to drain £7.5 billion from UK SMEs in 2027. OakNorth joins a roster of global financial institutions using Wise Platform, including Monzo, UniCredit, N26, Morgan Stanley, and Standard Chartered.
UK businesses are increasingly operating across borders, but moving money internationally can still be unnecessarily complex and expensive. For small businesses in particular, every pound lost to hidden fees is money that could otherwise be invested back into growth. Wise Platform is built to make cross-border payments fast, transparent and low-cost and we’re excited to work with OakNorth to help their customers maximise the value of every transaction they make.
– Manuel Sandhofer, EMEA General Manager, Wise Platform
Our customers are ambitious businesses with increasingly global needs and they need banking services that can keep up with the pace of their growth. Whether they’re paying suppliers overseas, entering new markets or working with international partners, knowing what their payments will cost and when their money will arrive are non-negotiable. By integrating Wise Platform, we can give our customers a better and more transparent way to move money internationally, helping them spend less time managing cross-border payments and more time focused on growing their businesses.
– Peter King, Director of Business Banking, OakNorth
Wise Platform operates via more than 80 licenses and direct access to domestic payment systems in nine markets, enabling coverage across 200+ countries and territories in 110+ currencies. OakNorth, founded in September 2015, has provided over $22 billion in lending to entrepreneur-led businesses across the UK and US, supporting the creation of more than 70,000 jobs.
Manuel Sandhofer, EMEA General Manager at Wise Platform. Source: LinkedIn
Peter King, Director of Business Banking at OakNorth. Source: LinkedIn
