As globalization continues to advance, cross-border payments and overseas life services have ushered in an important integration.
On June 18, cross-border payment service provider Wise announced the completion of the acquisition of overseas life information platform Expatica. This move further improved its cross-border user service matrix and enabled Wise to continue to extend from a single cross-border payment tool to a comprehensive cross-border life service ecosystem.
Cross-border migration is now a common phenomenon in the context of globalization.
United Nations data shows that the global number of international migrants will reach 304 million in 2024, accounting for 3.7% of the world’s total population.
Cross-border migration involves a series of complex matters such as relocation, housing and medical care, immigration procedures, and cross-border financial planning.
Information that is accurate, reliable, and in line with local policies and living environments plays a vital supporting role for overseas people to efficiently adapt to cross-border life and make rational decisions.
Expatica was founded in 2000 and has been serving cross-border travelers for more than 20 years.
The platform focuses on providing localized and implementable overseas life guidance. Its content covers immigration policies, house rentals, medical security, cross-border finance, landing resettlement and other all-scenario content.
Throughout 2025, the number of visits to the Expatica platform exceeded 7 million. Its core user groups are concentrated in European countries such as France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain, and it has a solid overseas user base and industry credibility.
Currently, Wise services cover approximately 19 million individual and corporate users around the world, a large number of whom are foreigners who live and work cross-border for a long time. They have continuous financial needs such as cross-border receipts and payments, foreign exchange, fund management, and cross-border remittances.
After this acquisition, Expatica’s content ecosystem will be deeply complementary to Wise’s financial products.
Relying on authoritative localized information, Wise can help cross-border users better adapt to overseas life, while strengthening its user reach and service stickiness in cross-border financial scenarios.
From the perspective of industry development, Wise’s acquisition has important strategic significance.
It is not only business expansion, but also an in-depth exploration of the cross-border service market.
By integrating resources, Wise is expected to provide cross-border users with more comprehensive and convenient one-stop services to meet their various needs in cross-border life.
This has a positive role in improving user experience and enhancing market competitiveness.
With the deepening development of globalization, the demand for cross-border payment and overseas life service markets will continue to grow.
The cooperation between Wise and Expatica provides new ideas and models for the development of this field.
In the future, we have reason to expect that Wise can achieve greater breakthroughs in the field of cross-border life comprehensive service ecology and bring more value to global cross-border users.
