Wise’s shares fell by 9% on Friday morning after the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) rejected its application for a national trust bank charter, delivering a severe setback to the cross-border payments firm in its primary growth market.
As major fintech firms, including Revolut, have sought national trust bank charters in the US, Wise’s rejection marks the first high-profile denial under the Trump administration, which has so far maintained a lighter touch.
In its decision, the OCC stated that Wise’s application, submitted a year ago, presented “significant supervisory and compliance concerns.”
The regulator highlighted that the company’s proposed management and board had “demonstrated a persistent inability” to manage money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks.
The GENIUS Act Pivot
In response, Wise released a letter, pushing back against the ruling, arguing that the regulator was judging an outdated snapshot of its operations.
“Since submitting this original application over a year ago, our business and compliance maturity have evolved significantly,” the company said. “This includes changes we have made in response to OCC feedback throughout the application process, and the OCC’s letter published today refers to these historical issues with our original application that we have been addressing.”
Wise also noted that its original filing had been rendered out of date by the GENIUS Act, which established the first US regulatory framework for crypto.
The company confirmed that it now intends to submit a fresh application under the Act to achieve its objective of accessing the US federal payments network directly.
A Pattern of Regulatory Scrutiny
The OCC’s refusal adds to a trail of similar regulatory hurdles for Wise on both sides of the Atlantic.
Just last month, the group’s shares dropped nearly 20% in a single day following news of an investigation by Belgian authorities into potential money laundering and the alleged misuse of accounts by international criminal groups.
In the US, the group’s American subsidiary was fined some US$4 million last year after federal regulators found that it flouted the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering rules under the Countering the Financing of Terrorism programme.
The Broader Impact of OCC’s Decision
The rejection lands at a delicate moment for Wise.
The company orchestrated its high-profile move to Nasdaq to boost its visibility and capture what executives described as “the biggest market opportunity for our products in the world today.”
Direct access to Federal Reserve payment rails via a US trust bank charter would have allowed Wise, or any fintech for that matter, to route US dollar flows through its own Fed master account, reducing reliance on correspondent banks and potentially improving margins.
Without the charter, the fintech will continue to serve US customers under its existing patchwork of state money‑transmitter licences, but the denial limits its ability to move closer to the vertically integrated, bank‑like operating model enjoyed by traditional institutions.
This article was written by Adonis Adoni at www.financemagnates.com.
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