Upwork Partners with Wise Platform to Enhance International Payment Infrastructure for Global Freelancers
Innovative integration will power faster transfers to select South American, APAC and European currencies
NEW YORK, NY, September 10, 2025 — Wise Platform, Wise’s global payments infrastructure for banks and enterprises, today 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.
Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money. Over the last decade, Wise has built an entirely new network for the world’s money.
Thanks to Wise Platform, banks and large companies can leverage Wise’s technology and embed the best way to send, receive, and manage money internationally into their existing infrastructure. With a wide variety of partners worldwide, Wise Platform saves banks and businesses time and money by allowing them to seamlessly bring fast, cheap, transparent and convenient cross-border payments to their customers.
Upwork Inc. is the parent company of the Upwork Marketplace and Lifted, its enterprise-focused subsidiary. Through its family of businesses, Upwork Inc. connects companies with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent work model.
The Upwork Marketplace is the world’s human and AI-powered work marketplace that connects businesses with highly skilled, AI-enabled independent talent from across the globe. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, companies rely on the trusted Upwork Marketplace platform and its mindful AI companion, Uma™, to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With on-demand access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, the Upwork Marketplace enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond.