The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently denied Wise's application for a national trust bank charter. Wise, a London-based fintech company specializing in cross-border payments, had initially applied for the charter over a year ago. The OCC cited historical compliance issues that the company has been addressing, as well as changes in the US payments regulatory landscape, including the GENIUS Act and evolving Federal Reserve policy on master account access.
Wise acknowledged that its original application had become non-viable due to the Federal Reserve's proposed change in policy regarding payment system access, particularly for uninsured trust banks. The company stated that direct access to master accounts at the Federal Reserve was a condition of its original application. Wise plans to submit a new application under a GENIUS Act framework, maintaining a positive relationship with the OCC.
This denial comes after Wise faced a multi-state consent order in July 2025, which included a $4.3 million fine from six state financial regulators. The consent order, stemming from a 2022-2023 examination, highlighted numerous deficiencies in Wise US's Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (BSA/AML/CFT) programs. These issues included failures in independent review of AML programs, deficiencies in investigating and reporting suspicious activity, transaction monitoring data integrity issues, and a failure to timely correct past deficiencies.
Wise has since invested significantly in enhancing its compliance processes and controls globally and in the US. The OCC's decision does not impact Wise's current operations in the US or elsewhere, as it continues to operate under its existing money transmitter licenses across 48 states and four territories, in addition to over 80 global licenses. In fiscal year 2026, Wise supported approximately 19 million customers and processed over $240 billion in cross-border transactions.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) had opposed Wise's application, arguing that facilitating cross-border payments was too far removed from the primary purpose of a national trust bank charter, which is custodial services. The ICBA also emphasized Wise's BSA/AML/CFT failures as reasons to deny the application, questioning the company's ability to maintain a safe and sound banking system and comply with regulations.
