Wise PLC (LSE:WISE) said revenues jumped by more than 50% in the first quarter as more and more users used its payment platform.
The international payment transfer company said five million customers transferred £24 billion of payments across international borders using its platform during the fiscal quarter.
This represented 49% growth in users compared to the equivalent part of last year and was up from the 4.6 million customers reported at the end of the fourth quarter through to March.
As a result, turnover jumped 51% year-over-year to £185.8bn in the first quarter of its fiscal 2023.
Wise claimed it saved customers money by charging them 0.61% to transfer money internationally, down from 0.67% a year earlier.
The company said 90% of all transfers were completed within 24 hours, up from 88% last quarter, and that more than half of transactions were done instantly.
In February 2022, the payment platform launched the roll-out of its Wise Account in Brazil. While it reduced fees in sending money to Mexico, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Kenya, it said this was offset by the costs of “managing risks and uncertainty” in the current macroeconomic environment.
Chief executive and co-founder Kristo Kärmann said: "Our Wise Account and Wise Business products got even better as we launched 2-step payment approvals and employee spending controls on mobile for our business customers.
“The average price that our customers paid for cross-border transactions reduced from 0.67% to 0.61% in Q1 FY23 compared with the same period last year and was unchanged compared with Q4 FY22."
While the company floated at a market value of about £8 billion last July, its share price has since lost nearly 60% of that value.
Kärmann was recently investigated by the financial regulator over a tax default after he was fined for failing to pay £720,495 of tax for the 2017-18 tax year. The company said in June that it would support its co-founder, who built the company under the name TransferWise in 2011, and that he would “cooperate fully” with the investigation.
Wise said it continues to “invest heavily” in its products and infrastructure. Its financial guidance for 2023 remains unchanged from a month ago when it reported its full-year results. It anticipates revenue growth of 30% to 35% in 2023 and an adjusted earnings margin of 20% or more over the medium term.
The start-up's shares rose 2.66% during early trades this morning.