Wise Eyes Revised U.S. Charter Bid Under GENIUS Framework

Wise's bid for a U.S. banking charter has taken a hit after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) rejected its application to establish a national trust bank. The OCC cited insufficient Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism measures, as well as other illicit finance risks.

The payments company plans to resubmit its application under the GENIUS Act framework for stablecoins, which could align it more closely with federal regulations ahead of the law's January 2027 effective date. The GENIUS Act provides a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin providers in the United States, although final regulations are still pending.

The OCC rejected Wise's application on Tuesday, despite its previous approvals of national trust charter applications from digital asset companies such as Circle, Ripple Labs, Crypto.com, and Coinbase under the same GENIUS Act framework. The company remains focused on lowering cross-border transaction costs regardless of the underlying payment rail, according to investment banking group William Blair.