Wise Platform, Wise’s global payments infrastructure for banks and enterprises, announced a partnership with Upwork Inc. (Nasdaq: UPWK), the world’s leading human and AI-powered work marketplace. This collaboration strengthens Upwork’s payment capabilities by adding Wise Platform as an infrastructure partner, supporting rapid international transfers for freelancers to select markets.
As part of the integration, freelancers transferring their earnings to certain South American, APAC and European currencies via Upwork’s “Direct to Local Bank” method will now benefit from Wise’s powerful and unique infrastructure. Freelancers on Upwork are able to easily manage their earnings by navigating to “Get Paid” in their account settings, allowing them to withdraw funds to their local bank accounts. Payments to select markets will now be routed through Wise’s reliable network to enable quick and cost-efficient cross-border transactions.
“Integrating with Wise Platform is helping us provide freelancers on Upwork in select regions with more seamless, flexible and faster payment transfers,” said Mohit Kumar, General Manager of Payments & Trust at Upwork. “We are excited to start this relationship and look forward to exploring potential expansion of our partnership to continue improving our payment capabilities for the customers we serve in more than 180 countries around the world.”
“Partnering with Upwork is an exciting opportunity to enhance the speed, reach, and convenience of international payments for freelancers,” Lauren Langbridge, Commercial Director for Americas at Wise Platform, said. “Through Wise Platform, we’re delivering faster, more secure ways to transact across borders, supporting the Upwork global freelance workforce as it continues to grow.”
According to recent research from Upwork, more than one in four (28%) U.S. knowledge workers (i.e. skilled workers) are now freelancing or operating independently. Globally, freelancers on Upwork collectively earn nearly $4 billion each year. As freelancing becomes an even more sophisticated and intentional career path, these workers require more financial control and advanced resources. By working with Wise Platform, Upwork is meeting the evolving needs of these independent professionals to ensure the solutions they rely on are innovating as quickly as they are.
Wise’s infrastructure connects directly to 6 payment systems and holds 70+ licenses around the world, enabling 70% of payments to be instant (i.e. arrive in under 20 seconds). Alongside Morgan Stanley, Google, Brex and Ramp, Upwork joins a growing roster of partners choosing Wise Platform to make international payments more efficient and secure for their customers.