What led you to joining Wise?

Joining a finance company wasn’t even on my radar—until two weeks into my first semester. Someone from Wise came to our campus and gave a presentation. They spoke about the mission of ‘money without borders’, transparent fees, and a long-term ambition to make financial services accessible to everyone. Coming from the non-profit sector, I had always been driven by creating opportunities for the many, not the few. Hearing Wise’s mission, I realised that what Wise was doing aligned perfectly with my own values. It wasn’t just about moving money; it was about removing global barriers and increasing financial inclusion.

That presentation stayed with me for two years. I told myself that if I decided to stay in Estonia after my studies and pivot my career, Wise was one of my first choices. As I was finishing my degree, I decided to give it a try and applied—and that’s how the journey began.

Tell us about your learning journey and how it brought you back to Wise 

I originally joined in 2018 as a Customer Support (CS) agent. Like many people at Wise, I started on the front line, speaking to customers and learning how everything works behind the scenes. CS is truly one of the best places to learn about a business; you see how products behave, where they break, and that’s when things really opened up for me. I had the opportunity to work on projects that pushed my thinking and helped me build a solid foundation in fintech.

After about a year and a half, I made the difficult decision to leave Wise to pursue my Master’s degree in Sweden. However, I didn’t stay away for long. While finishing my studies, a conversation with another Wiser (employee) about my future plans made me realise how much I wanted to come back. The first 1.5 years I spent at Wise initially taught me more than the previous ten years of my career combined. It’s an environment that continuously challenges your comfort zone and brings out the best version of you, so returning felt like the best choice. 

Tell us about your role as a FinCrime Operations Team Lead

When I came back, I relocated to Budapest and moved into a few different roles and fast forward to today, I’m now a FinCrime Operations Team Lead. 

I lead a team of 12 Senior Investigators. Our day-to-day work involves analysing internal escalations and system-identified cases to spot suspicious activity, such as tax evasion, trade-based money laundering, or illegal employment. We act quickly to help minimise these risks. I’m now embarking on a new challenge as an Interim Senior Lead.

We’ve expanded our team globally—from Tallinn, Budapest , Austin,  São Paulo, Kuala Lumpur and Hyderabad—ensuring we have "always-on" coverage. This global collaboration minimises wait times for our customers while keeping the platform secure.

In FinCrime, the mission is about safety. We aim to keep "bad actors" away and ensure Wise stays compliant with global regulations. Every process we build and every case we investigate is designed with the ultimate goal of keeping Wise safe for the people who rely on us. And we ensure we have different teams within FinCrime operations to achieve this–Sanctions, Fraud, AML Investigations, etc. 

How would you describe the culture at Wise?

I say this to everyone I speak to and it’s one of the main reasons I came back – the culture here is incredibly empowering. Whether you are a Customer Support agent or a Senior Lead, every voice is heard, and you are encouraged to challenge ideas regardless of seniority. Wise truly sees potential in people; they don’t just look at your current role, they look at what you’re capable of becoming.

What’s something that would surprise people about working in FinCrime?

One thing I’ve learned along the way is that working in FinCrime isn’t about having a perfect background in financial crime.We have people in the team from all sorts of backgrounds—teachers, lawyers, accountants, bartenders, airport security, customer support, non-profits, and of course, experienced analysts. What makes someone successful here is curiosity, critical thinking, the ability to connect dots, and a collaborative attitude. And that’s something I wish more people knew.

Do you have advice for anyone looking to join Wise?

Do it! Be open-minded and comfortable with high-speed change. You need a growth mindset and the courage to bring your own ideas to the table.