Transferwise's revenue trebles as transaction volume hits £800m a month

UK money transfer service Transferwise has said the number of transactions it process on a monthly basis rose 50% over the last six months, with the total value transferred now hitting a combined £800m ($1.06bn).

The London-based group, which on Monday (5 September) publicly released its monthly transaction volumes and values for the first time, said revenue in the 12 months to March rose to £28m, almost three times the amount it recorded the previous year.

Transactions in the half-year period rose 50% year-on-year to £600,000, with an average of £1,333 being sent per transaction. However, pre-tax losses grew to £17m from £11m a year earlier as the startup, which was launched five years ago, continued to invest in a bid to expand its growth further.

"When we launched five years ago, we only offered transfers between the UK and Estonia," said chief executive and co-founder Taavet Hinrikus.

"Now we have 645 routes globally and we can send money to 90% of the world's bank accounts,"

"We've really hit our stride in the last two years as we expand beyond Europe. We're constantly working hard to improving the service for our customers, whether that's by introducing new currencies or making transfers even faster."

Earlier this year, Transferwise became the first fintech startup to be granted access to the Bank of England's Real Time Gross Settlement service, which means approximately 90% of transfers will take place on the same day by the end of the year.