Partnership Announcement: UniCredit and Wise Platform Unite in Transforming Cross-Border Banking Landscape
UniCredit Partners with Wise Platform to Revolutionize Cross-Border Payments
UniCredit, a leading bank for payments and cash management in Europe, has announced a strategic partnership with Wise Platform to transform its cross-border payments offerings. This collaboration will enable UniCredit to focus specifically on retail and low-value payments, offering fast, secure, and transparent international money transfers directly through UniCredit's mobile banking app.
Starting from July 21, 2025, UniCredit retail customers in Italy will be able to send euros abroad into multiple foreign currencies—such as GBP, CHF, HKD, SGD, and INR—with funds typically arriving within seconds, at clear and competitive prices comparable to domestic payments [1][2][3][4].
The partnership with Wise Platform makes UniCredit the first major European bank to integrate Wise’s technology, leveraging Wise's direct connections to local payment systems worldwide. This approach bypasses traditional correspondent banking networks, which are slower, less transparent, and often costlier.
UniCredit's Payments Solutions division, a key aspect of its cross-border payments strategy, will help clients manage cross-border payments and end-to-end services. The partnership is part of a broader trend of banks collaborating with fintech companies to improve cross-border payments offerings [1][2][3].
Last year, UniCredit enhanced its cross-border payments services for retail clients, SMEs, and corporates by adding Swift GPI, which allows tracking of international payments in progress. This focus on integrating innovative solutions such as Swift GPI for tracking international payments in progress is a key part of UniCredit's cross-border payments strategy [1][2][3].
UniCredit's UC PayFX service, which enables automated conversion in over 120 currencies, will also be a part of this new offering. This service allows Italian UniCredit customers to send and receive payments from selected countries, including the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India [1][2][3].
Wise Platform, with a user base of 15.6 million customers according to its most recent annual report, aims to account for roughly half of UniCredit's cross-border volumes in the future [1][2][3]. This competitor-to-partner relationship between UniCredit and Wise Platform is a strategy to improve cross-border payments services and digitally transform the payments experience across Europe [1][2][3].
Expansion plans are in place to roll out the service beyond Italy to additional European countries, further broadening access to this low-value cross-border payments solution [1][4]. With this partnership, UniCredit continues to position itself as a leader in cross-border payment services by improving ease of use, speed, and pricing transparency for retail international transfers.
[1] UniCredit Press Release: UniCredit Partners with Wise Platform to Offer Fast, Secure, and Transparent International Money Transfers [2] Wise Platform Annual Report 2023: User Base and Growth Strategy [3] Swift GPI: UniCredit's Strategy for Tracking International Payments [4] UniCredit's UC PayFX: Automated Conversion in Over 120 Currencies
UniCredit's collaboration with Wise Platform, a technology-driven fintech company, is set to revolutionize its business within the finance sector. This strategic partnership will help UniCredit focus on retail and low-value payments, integrating Wise's technology for faster, secure, and transparent international transactions.
By leveraging Wise Platform's technology, UniCredit aims to bypass traditional correspondent banking networks, offering a more efficient, affordable, and technologically advanced cross-border payments service.
