Wise Denied US Bank Charter Over Compliance Concerns, Seeks GENIUS Act Path

Wise, a Nasdaq-listed payment giant, faced a rare public rejection from US banking regulators this week. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) denied Wise's application for a national trust bank charter on July 23, citing 'significant supervisory and compliance concerns.' The regulator concluded that Wise's management had demonstrated a persistent inability to manage money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks.

The same day, Wise filed a disclosure with the SEC announcing plans to resubmit its application under the framework created by the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), America's first comprehensive federal stablecoin law. The GENIUS Act addresses structural problems that made the original path unviable, allowing entities to issue US dollar-backed digital assets fully backed by cash and short-term Treasury securities.

Wise has denied wrongdoing in various regulatory matters described below, saying it is cooperating with relevant authorities. The company said its compliance programs have 'evolved significantly' since the original application. Wise's payment infrastructure works on a model that holds pooled accounts in each country it operates in and settles transactions locally.