Wise acquires Expatica for $250 million to integrate European move guides

What Wise is buying with Expatica

Wise has acquired Expatica, the relocation guide publisher founded in 2000 and plans to fold its country guides into the Wise app alongside transfers, multi-currency accounts and cards. The deal was announced June 18, with deal-tracking outlet Windsor Drake pegging the price at roughly $250 million, though Wise hasn't confirmed a figure.

Expatica pulled more than 7 million visits in 2025, concentrated in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and other European destinations heavy with internationals. Its guides cover housing, healthcare, immigration, schooling and tax registration, country by country. Wise framed the purchase as a step toward becoming an ecosystem for people living across borders rather than a pure payments app, per its newsroom release.

No precise date has been published for when Expatica content lands inside the Wise app. Integration will roll out over time.

Who stands to gain

The combined offering targets anyone whose life crosses borders: long-term expats, digital nomads, international students, cross-border freelancers and people on extended working stays. Expatica's audience skews toward Europe-bound movers, so guides for Spain, Germany, France, Portugal and the Netherlands carry the deepest coverage.

Short-term tourists see little benefit. The pitch is sharper for someone signing a Lisbon lease, registering for German health insurance or sorting out a French tax number while also opening a euro account and moving a deposit.

Existing Wise customers don't lose features. Expatica's site has historically been free to read and Wise hasn't signaled a paywall or a new subscription tier tied to the content.

What it costs and what to do

Nothing changes today for users of either platform. Wise hasn't introduced a fee for Expatica access and the guides remain free on Expatica's website while integration is built.

Standard Wise onboarding still applies for the financial side: identity verification, proof of address and compliance with the rules of the user's country of residence. Anyone planning a move can keep using Expatica's country pages directly for now and watch for in-app integration to surface inside Wise account flows.

For visa, tax and residency steps, confirm details with the relevant national immigration or tax authority before acting on any guide.

Check our country guides for destination-specific details and follow our nomad news for ongoing coverage.