Wise Seeks Second Chance at US Bank Charter Amid Stablecoin Frenzy

Wise, a UK-headquartered cross-border remittance and foreign-exchange services company, is reapplying for a federal trust bank charter in the US. The move comes after its initial proposal was rejected by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) due to not fitting with new Federal Reserve policy related to access to payment system master accounts.

The OCC had previously granted conditional approvals to several applicants, including BitGo, Circle, Fidelity, Paxos, and Ripple affiliates. However, Wise's application did not meet the new requirements.

William Blair analysts Christopher Kennedy and Mark Feldman noted that if Wise had been approved, it would have provided a foothold for connecting to the US domestic payments network. However, the Fed has effectively stopped issuing master accounts while setting a 'payments account' policy.