Wise shareholders approve move to US exchange

The company said it expects the transfer to become effective in the second quarter of 2026

Shareholders of British fintech Wise Plc on Monday approved plans to shift the company’s primary stock market listing to the U.S. from the London Stock Exchange.

The shareholders’ vote at an extraordinary general meeting clears a key hurdle in Wise’s plan to pursue a U.S. primary listing, which will improve its access to capital and boost its profile among global investors.

Wise has a dual share structure, in which shareholders with Class B stocks have more voting power than those with Class A stocks.

A total of 77.12% and 81.82% of Wise Class A and Class B shareholders, respectively, voted for the transfer of the company’s primary listing to a U.S. stock exchange and maintain a secondary listing on the LSE.

Wise said 91% of Class A shares and 85% of Class B shares were voted in favour of the resolution.

The company said it expects the transfer to become effective in the second quarter of 2026.

A chief beneficiary of this is the co-founder and chief executive, Kristo Käärmann, with his 18% economic interest in Wise becoming 55%, although his voting power is capped at 50%.

The company has said that moving its main listing would “drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today, and enabling better access to the world’s deepest and most liquid capital market”.

However, the co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, who has 5.1% of the shares and controls 11.8% of the votes, had publicly disagreed with the “all or nothing” vote.

Hinrikus, who left the company soon after the listing in 2021, has said the two issues should have been the subject of separate votes and that “Wise owners deserve governance structures that enhance value, not entrench power”.

The arrangement was set at the listing in 2021 and was scheduled to expire next summer under a “sunset” clause Wise wanted to extend by 10 years.