How to buy Wise shares (WISE)

By:

Max Adams

Max was the Editor of Education for Invezz from 2019-2021, overseeing the wider investment educational strategy. He has written for financial publications for over 5 years,... read more.

Updated: Jul 6, 2023

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Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise is listed on the London stock exchange. Learn how to buy Wise shares in this beginner’s guide.

Compare the best platforms to invest in Wise shares

In the table below you’ll find the top brokers for buying and selling shares. These platforms will all let you trade Wise shares after they have been listed on the London Stock Exchange, and many will also let you pre-order Wise stock. Either way, it’s a good idea to sign up now so you’re ready to buy as soon as the direct listing happens.

Most Popular

1

Min. Deposit

$ 10

Best offer

User Score

10

Up to $240 bonus!

Deposit with ACA, Wire, Pay with my bank

Invest for dividends and get payout on stocks on Ex-Dividend day

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Payment Methods:

Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer

Full Regulations:

CySEC, FCA

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

2

Min. Deposit

$ 0

Best offer

User Score

9.9

Get insights from millions of investors, creators, and analysts

Build your portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and crypto–all in one place

No minimum deposit

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Payment Methods:

Bank Wire, Check, Debit Card, Wire Transfer

Full Regulations:

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3

Min. Deposit

-

Best offer

User Score

9.4

Scope Markets is a regulated entity, following strictly the segregated accounts principal by offering a wide range of products together with Multi-Platform trading facilities.

Scope Markets offers one of the most comprehensive multimedia trading education libraries for traders all levels.

We commit to full transparency, excellence and continuous innovation.

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Payment Methods:

Full Regulations:

How to buy Wise shares, a step-by-step guide

The process of buying shares is simple, so don’t worry if you’re new to the process. These are the steps to follow in order to complete your investment:

1. Choose a broker. In order to buy stock, you will need to use an online brokerage platform. There are many different options to choose from, each with its own unique benefits and drawbacks. The comparison table above can help you select the right broker for you, and you can head to our comprehensive broker reviews if you’re still unsure.
2. Create an account. Once you’ve selected your broker, simply go to their website and create an account. The steps required for this will vary from platform to platform, but generally, you can expect to have to provide your name, email address, phone number, and some form of photo identification.
3. Deposit funds. Log into your broker account and select the option to deposit funds. Depending on your broker you’ll have a variety of payment options available; most brokers accept bank transfers and debit card payments, but not all accept e-wallets such as PayPal. Select your preferred payment method and deposit the amount of money you wish to invest, be that £1, £250 or £1,000.
4. Place an order for WISE stock. Now navigate to the broker’s buying stocks page (a link to this can be found in the menu on the website). Here you’ll be able to search for Wise’s ticker symbol (WISE) and see the current price at which the stock is trading. If you’re happy with the price, enter the number of shares you wish to buy and place your order.
5. Execute your order. Once you have placed your order, your broker will automatically execute it for you and your shares will be listed in your account. Congratulations, you’ve just bought shares in Wise!

What is Wise? And should I invest?

Wise is one of the world’s most-used online money transfer services. With a range of options for both regular and business clients, the company has over 10 million users who transfer the equivalent of over £5 billion each month.

Founded in January 2011, Wise was originally called ‘TransferWise.’ The company grew fast throughout the 2010s and rebranded as Wise in February 2021 – at which time it started offering a range of additional services such as payment cards and a multi-currency account.

The main advantage of using Wise to send money (particularly internationally) is that the company charges very low exchange rates between currencies. One of the reasons that Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann said they founded the company was, “we were both sick of losing money to our banks” – and today Wise helps millions of customers find better exchange rates than are offered by their bank.

How has Wise performed in recent years?

As Wise’s stock is not yet publicly traded, there is no previous share performance data to go on here. However, the company’s financial performance over the past decade has been impressive, which is why they’re now pursuing a listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Particularly in the last year, despite the pandemic, Wise has seen strong growth. In the 12 months before March 31st 2021, Wise’s revenue was £421 million – up 39% on 2019-2020. In spite of fears that international money payments could take a hit as the world ground to a halt, Wise remained on an upward trajectory.

A round of private funding last year saw Wise emerge with a valuation of $5 billion, and it is set to be the biggest direct listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Is it a good time to buy Wise shares now?

Wise shares cannot be bought until the direct listing has taken place, but it’s an appealing prospect once the stock is tradeable. Given the company’s recent strong performance and its plans to expand into more areas of digital finance (hence dropping the ‘Transfer’ from ‘TransferWise’), many investors see the appeal of getting in on the ground floor.

As always before making an investment, you need to do your research into Wise and see if it’s the right choice for you. With a direct listing you’re always, in a way, buying blind: the stock hasn’t traded before so it’s not 100% clear what it’s worth. Some Direct listings see prices rocket as trading opens followed by quick falls, whereas some fail to live up to the fanfare. Check out our latest analysis to determine what path you think Wise stock will follow.

Buying, selling and trading Wise shares for beginners

What to do before buying shares

You should always take the time to research a stock fully before investing your money, especially if you haven’t bought shares before. The more knowledge you have, the better your chances of making a wise investment. 

With that in mind, here’s a checklist to run through before investing in Wise shares.

1. Research the company. You should always examine the fundamentals of a company before buying its stock. What is Wise? How did the company get its start? How did it grow? Is Wise’s revenue and profit growth picking up? Is the company innovating? The more you know about Wise, the better positioned you’ll be to make smart investment decisions.
2. Make sure you understand the basics of stock investing. Before getting involved in the stock market, make sure you have an understanding of how it works. This will ensure that you have more clearly defined goals and have thought through how you will achieve them.
3. Decide between share dealing and CFD trading. Choose the type of investment strategy you want to pursue, and make sure you have carried out the necessary fundamental or technical analysis for share dealing and CFD trading respectively.
4. Set the size of your budget. The golden rule of investing is never to risk more than you can afford to lose. Not every investment you make will result in a profit, so it is important to set a budget that not only allows good potential for capital growth, but also protects against overly damaging losses.
5. Find the right broker. Individual brokers each have their own pros and cons. Some will have low fees but have a user interface you struggle to understand, whereas others may be a bit more expensive but come with a range of features that you want to take advantage of. Our broker reviews can help you find the right platform for you.
6. Examine broader market conditions. No stock exists in a vacuum, and it’s always important to analyse the general trends of the stock market as a whole before investing. If a bear market is setting in and stock prices are falling, it’s best to wait it out and invest your money later when the stock is cheaper. If, however, the market is looking bearish, you’ll want to make your investment quickly to get the maximum benefit from rising stock prices. Our news section can help you keep on top of movements in the financial markets.

What is the difference between buying, selling, and trading shares?

If you’re new to stock investing, then it’s important to understand the basics of how to buy, sell, and trade Wise shares. Here’s a quick run-through of what’s involved in each.

Buying Wise shares

This process involves finding a broker and placing an order to buy Wise stock, as outlined in the steps further up this page. Ideally you want to time your investment when the stock’s price is low so that you can profit by selling the shares after they increase in value.

Selling Wise shares

When you sell any Wise shares you have bought, you’ll want to do so at a higher price than the one at which you bought to earn a profit. 

When you sell is up to you. You might decide to hold for a long period of time, hoping to benefit from the company growing steadily throughout. Or, if you see that Wise’s stock is already up a lot compared to the price you bought it and you’ve noticed that the stock market is starting to fall, it might make sense to sell and take your profits to invest elsewhere. Equally, if the stock has fallen since you bought it and looks set to fall further, it might be a good idea to cut your losses by selling your shares.

Trading Wise shares

Trading is the same process as buying and selling shares, it’s just done over shorter periods of time with the aim to make small profits on a regular basis. This means that you can make money faster and spend your profits in your day-to-day life – however, on the other side it means you can lose money faster as well. For inexperienced investors, we generally recommend making investments for at least 6 months to a year instead of making trades in quick succession.

You can trade Wise shares through buying and selling shares, or by trading with CFDs. These allow investors to speculate on stock prices and trade with leverage in pursuit of bigger gains. CFDs trading is explained further in the next section, but it is worth noting that beginners should avoid trading with leverage. It comes with large risks and is best left to experienced investors.

Ways to buy Wise shares: share dealing and CFD trading

When it comes to investing in any stock, the two options you have are share dealing and trading. Which one of these methods to opt for largely depends on your investment timeline, with investors thinking long term tending to go for share dealing, and those looking for short term gains pursuing a more aggressive trading strategy.

Here’s a quick summary of the two approaches, and the pros and cons of each.

Share dealing 

Share dealing refers to the practice of buying and holding shares in a particular company over the long term. When investing like this, you’re seeking to profit either from dividend payments or an increase in the stock’s price over time.

When investing your money this way, it is important to do thorough fundamental analysis of the company in which you are investing. You want to put your money in a stock you believe will trend upwards over time, even if there is some market volatility along the way, rather than get distracted by shorter term peaks and troughs.

Pros

• Can build wealth over time to achieve financial goals
• Don’t need to be very reactive to short-term market movements
• Some stocks will give you an income through regular dividend payments

Cons

• Takes a long time to realise any profits
• Your capital is tied up in stocks and cannot be used for other investments

CFD Trading 

If your aim is to generate profits in the short term, then you might be better off trading shares than holding them in your portfolio. Stock trades like this are executed using CFDs (contracts for difference), which allow investors to trade against the value of a stock without having to take ownership of it. When CFD trading, investors are looking to buy and sell stocks fast to profit from short-term fluctuations in value.

One aspect of CFD trading that many investors find attractive is that they allow you to trade with leverage. This means you can place large trades while only putting up a fraction of the value yourself – for instance, if a platform offered leverage of 1:10, you could put £10 into WISE shares and be able to trade £100 worth. This can maximise profits if the market moves in your favour, but be careful as it can also lead to heavy losses.

When trading using CFDs, it is key to be skilled at technical analysis and reading stock price charts. As you’re trading stocks quickly and frequently, the fundamental strength of the company in which you’re investing isn’t as important as being able to predict how its stock price will rise and fall minute-by-minute.

Pros

• Can generate fast profits if you read the market right 
• Some platforms allow you to trade with leverage
• Prevents your capital being tied up so you can take advantage of investment opportunities

Cons

• Trading with leverage is risky and can lead to big losses
• Doesn’t necessarily generate growth over the long term

Consider which approach suits you best and craft an investment strategy that works for you. If you need more information, then simply take our stock trading course and read our guide to CFD trading to get you up to speed. 

If neither of these options appeal to you, then you can find a variety of other ways to invest in WISE stock on this page. If, however, you’re ready to buy Wise shares now, simply select one of the brokers in the table above and get started. 

How to choose a broker

With the wide variety of online brokers available these days, it can be hard to figure out which is the best service to go with. Our comparison table and in-depth reviews can help you cut through the noise, but by and large these are the aspects you should be considering when selecting a broker:

• Range of stocks available. The most important thing is that you can actually use the broker to buy the shares you’re looking for. Some brokers offer more stocks than others, and many will allow you to trade other assets, such as forex and commodities.
• Fees and commissions. You want to keep as large a chunk of your profits as you can, so it’s important to make sure your broker doesn’t charge high fees that can eat into your profits.
• Regulation. You should only use regulated brokers to place trades and buy shares. Unregulated brokers can be risky and offer little to no protection if the business were to fail while you had funds in your account.
• Payment methods available. You might want to buy Wise shares using a specific payment method, such as PayPal. Not all brokers accept every payment method, but using our comparisons you can search only the brokers that support the option you’re looking for.
• Reputation. One of the strongest indicators of a broker’s reliability is the reputation it has with the customers who have used it. Brokers are online businesses, and as such many user experiences can be found online. You can check these out in addition to our reviews to make sure you choose the right platform.
• Customer service. As you’re going to be investing your money using the platform, you want to check that the broker offers good customer service in case you have a query or something goes wrong.