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Gusto and Wise Platform: Empowering SMEs through fast, transparent global payments

Wise

20.11.25 (last updated)

Read time 1 minute

Wise Platform spoke with Samant Nagpal, Head of Payments and Risk at Gusto, to discuss the current state of the SME market and how the business is using fast, transparent global payments to economically empower their customers.

Today, payroll accounts for 30–40% of all payments and is central to people's lives. Late payments can have devastating consequences – preventing people from covering their mortgage, tuition or even basic necessities like food.

And while many have experienced a late payment or two when sending money domestically, delays are more commonplace with cross-border payments, where transactions often take 3-5 business days to reach the recipient. This simply isn't good enough for small businesses who operate on limited working capital, their employees, or suppliers. That’s where Gusto comes in.

Gusto, a US-based payroll, HR, and benefits provider trusted by more than 400,000 small and mid-sized businesses, is changing this narrative.

Samant Nagpal, Head of Payments and Risk at Gusto explains: "63% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. And when we talk about international payments, this is exacerbated by the fact that when you're moving money internationally and paying someone for their services, these individuals don't know how much of their paycheck they'll receive. So we needed to figure out how we can make these payments more transparent and whole - so people can live their lives with peace of mind."

The faster Gusto processes payments, the more cash flow small businesses have to invest in their growth, and the more certainty recipients – whether employees or suppliers – have of getting their money on time.

Gusto knew it wanted to solve this problem for SMEs and found that a partnership was the best way to help their customers who were paying contractors internationally.

Customer demand drives partnership

"Gusto saw that there were a lot of international contractors who used Wise and they could see a demand for money being sent to Wise wallets. Through a partnership with Wise Platform, we knew we would be able to meet the needs of these individuals by moving money instantly into their wallets," Nagpal shares.

Wise Platform enables partners to leverage our direct participation in faster domestic payments systems across multiple markets. Leveraging our global payments infrastructure, Gusto can now deliver fast, convenient cross-border payouts in 21 currencies including USD, ZAR, and RON.

Impact: Empowering SMEs

Gusto is now able to provide the speed and reliability their SME customers need most.

"The partnership with Wise Platform helps us deliver on our promise to ensure that small businesses and international contractors feel economically empowered," Nagpal says. "We are all part of an ecosystem where we need to deliver on that promise. And that only happens when you work with partners who can help you deliver payments on time, because money is deeply personal."

Watch the full interview to discover how providers are leveraging our global payments infrastructure to deliver fast, transparent payouts.

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