{
  "id": 12367875,
  "title": "UK fintech Wise in tie-up with Oaknorth as it beefs up infrastructure division",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/uk-fintech-wise-in-tie-up-with-oaknorth-as-it-beefs-up-infrastructure",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-06T11:23:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/uk-fintech-wise-in-tie-up-with-oaknorth-as-it-beefs-up-infrastructure-division/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "UK fintech Wise is in the process of announcing a partnership with small business lender Oaknorth. This collaboration aims to integrate Wise's global payments engine into Oaknorth's banking platform for small businesses. The fintech sector and challengers have gained significant traction in the small business lending market, with challenger banks now handling around 60% of gross lending to mid-sized firms, compared to the four major banks' 90% share two decades ago. Wise's head of Platform, Steve Naudé, stated that this partnership positions the infrastructure division to target a medium-term goal of capturing 10% of the group's cross-border volumes, currently sitting at 6%. In the long run, Naudé aspires for the infrastructure division to account for over 50% of the group's cross-border volumes. This shift in focus marks a pivotal moment for Wise, which initially sought to disrupt the banking sector by minimizing international transfer fees. By incorporating its infrastructure into Oaknorth's platform, Wise aims to serve its customers better through their existing banking channels. Oaknorth, which primarily serves growing mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs, recorded $1.4 billion in total volume of new loans in the previous year, more than tripling the 2024 level. The partnership comes amid Oaknorth's expansion into the US, where Wise's infrastructure is already used by a significant portion of new lending. The firm joins other entities such as Monzo, UniCredit, Morgan Stanley, and Standard Chartered in leveraging Wise's infrastructure. Naudé emphasized that small business banking remains an area with significant underserved needs, with banks offering strong retail and corporate services, leaving a gap for small businesses caught in between.",
  "summary": "UK fintech Wise is set to reveal a partnership with small business lender Oaknorth as the group looks to make its infrastructure arm a driving force. The cross-border finance firm’s tie-up with Oaknorth will see the latter adopt Wise’s international payments engine directly into its own banking platform for small businesses. Fintechs and challengers have [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}