OakNorth taps Wise to power global SME payments

By Divya Shah

Why does it matter: This partnership highlights how banks are increasingly relying on FinTech infrastructure providers rather than building cross-border payment capabilities in-house.

UK-based digital business bank OakNorth partnered with Wise to embed the Wise Platform into its payments infrastructure, expanding international payment capabilities for its business customers. 

The integration gives OakNorth access to Wise Platform’s technology stack and global licensing network, enabling SMEs to send and receive payments across more than 200 countries and territories in over 110 currencies. Businesses will also benefit from access to nine domestic payment systems through the platform. 

Through Wise’s infrastructure, OakNorth customers can make international payments with faster settlement times, with most transactions completed within seconds.  

The service also offers transfers at the mid-market exchange rate across more than 20 currencies, including the euro, US dollar, British pound, Indian rupee, Hong Kong dollar, and Chinese yuan. 

The partnership adds OakNorth to Wise Platform’s growing roster of banking partners, which includes Standard Chartered, Monzo, Nubank, Morgan Stanley, Raiffeisen Bank, UniCredit, and MBSB Bank. 

Founded in 2015 by Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, OakNorth provides business banking services to SMEs, including current and savings accounts, lending products, and retail deposit services.  

The bank has lent more than £15.1 billion to businesses since launch and continues to expand its digital banking capabilities through strategic technology partnerships.