UniCredit Partners With Wise to Revolutionize Cross-Border Payments

First Major European Bank Integration

UniCredit has made banking history by becoming the first major European financial institution to fully integrate Wise Platform’s cross-border payment infrastructure directly into its digital banking services. This groundbreaking partnership represents a significant milestone in the convergence of traditional banking and fintech innovation, setting a new standard for international money transfers in the retail banking sector.

Lightning-Fast Global Transfers With Industry-Leading Technology

Wise Platform brings its formidable technical capabilities to this collaboration, including:

• Connections to six major international payment networks

• Support for transfers to 160 countries worldwide

• Transactions available in 40+ global currencies

• Market-leading speed with 65% of transfers completing in under 20 seconds

The platform’s sophisticated routing technology ensures optimal efficiency for each transaction, automatically selecting the fastest and most cost-effective transfer path based on currency pairs and destination countries.

Initial Launch Focuses on Italian Market

The service debuted this month for UniCredit’s Italian customer base, offering:

• Seamless euro-to-foreign currency conversions

• Intuitive in-app transfer process matching domestic payment simplicity

• Initial support for five major currency corridors:

  • British Pound (GBP) for UK transfers

  • Swiss Franc (CHF) for Switzerland

  • Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)

  • Singapore Dollar (SGD)

  • Indian Rupee (INR)

Bank executives have confirmed plans to rapidly expand both the supported currencies and destination countries in coming quarters, with a broader European rollout anticipated by early 2025.

Solving Longstanding Customer Pain Points

This collaboration directly addresses three persistent challenges in cross-border payments:

1. Speed: Reducing transfer times from days to seconds

2. Transparency: Providing clear, upfront pricing without hidden fees

3. Accessibility: Offering bank-grade international transfers through familiar banking channels

Raphael Barisaac, UniCredit’s Global Head of Payments and Cash Management, emphasized the customer-centric approach: “Today’s banking clients expect sophisticated solutions that combine simplicity, speed and affordability – even for complex financial operations like international transfers. Our Wise integration delivers precisely this combination while maintaining the trust and security customers expect from their primary bank.”

Setting a New Standard for Banking Innovation

The partnership represents a strategic shift in how traditional banks approach digital transformation:

• Demonstrates the value of embedded fintech solutions

• Creates a blueprint for legacy financial institutions to modernize services

• Combines Wise’s technical expertise with UniCredit’s established customer base

• Potentially disrupts the $150 billion global remittance market

Industry analysts view this as a watershed moment that could accelerate similar collaborations across European banking, with Wise Platform well-positioned to become the infrastructure partner of choice for other major financial institutions seeking to upgrade their cross-border capabilities.

Cross-border paymentsEurope banking innovationfintech partnershipInternational Money TransferReal-Time Paymentsretail bankingUniCreditWise Platform