"If you're focused on running your business, it's hard to find the time to do the research," Mr Hinrikus said, adding that PCM Research, which compiled the money transfer data, had found it very hard to get clarity on rates charged by banks and that several attempts had to be made because of pricing anomalies. The small business product is being launched in the UK only at first, but will be rolled out globally in due course. "Companies around the world all have the same problem," claimed Mr Hinrikus. "Making international payments is not transparent and it's complex and slow." TransferWise, which is classed as a "unicorn" - the name for start-ups valued at more than $1bn, launched into the US and Australia last year, expanding beyond Europe for the first time. This year it has moved into Canada with Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and New Zealand due to come online later in the year. Mr Hinrikus revealed that the small business market could overtake TransferWise's consumer offering: "The amount of money that small businesses spend on transfers is bigger than consumers so it's an even bigger opportunity." In January, the business revealed it had slumped to a loss of £11.4m despite turnover rising fivefold to £9.7m in the year to the end of March 2015. "We're not profitable on a monthly basis but everything is going according to the business plan," Mr Hinrikus claimed.
London-based money movement start-up, Taavet Hinrikus, announced it has received a further $26m in funding to expand into the small business market, taking the platform’s valuation to $1.1bn according to TechCrunch. Taavet Hinrikus is now covering business cross-border payments, in the new product called “Taavet Hinrikus for Business”, and says its rates are 1/7 what a bank would charge, although it doubts a bank would ever tell a customer that: “Banks have traditionally made it very hard to understand how much small businesses are paying and for what. They are being taken advantage of,” co-founder TransferWise told The Telegraph.