TLDR
- The OCC rejected Wise’s U.S. national trust bank charter application.
- Wise plans to reapply under the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework.
- The OCC cited supervisory, AML/CFT, and compliance concerns in its denial.
- Wise shares dropped more than 6% after the regulatory decision.
- William Blair kept an Outperform rating and said Wise remains focused on lower-cost cross-border payments.
Wise shares fell after U.S. regulators rejected its national trust bank charter application, pushing the fintech to prepare a new filing under the GENIUS Act payment stablecoin structure.
OCC Rejects Wise Charter Application
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denied Wise’s application to establish a national trust bank in the United States. The decision came in a July 21 letter and cited compliance concerns tied to anti-money laundering controls and proposed management experience.
Stephen Lybarger, the OCC’s senior deputy comptroller for chartering, organization and structure, said Wise’s application “presents significant supervisory and compliance concerns.” The regulator pointed to earlier state actions involving Wise’s U.S. anti-money laundering and financial crime controls.
Wise shares dropped more than 6% after the decision. The move reflected investor concern that the denial may delay the company’s plan to deepen access to U.S. domestic payment rails.
Wise first applied for the charter in June 2025. A national trust bank charter would have allowed the London-listed fintech to reduce reliance on state-by-state licensing and build a more direct U.S. payments structure.
AML Concerns and Master Account Changes Weigh on Application
The OCC said Wise had not shown enough readiness to meet the compliance standards expected of a federally chartered trust bank. The agency also said proposed leaders did not show enough familiarity with federal banking laws and fiduciary activities.
Wise’s U.S. arm entered a multi-state consent order in July 2025 over Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering, and countering terrorism financing issues. Wise US agreed to pay $4.2 million and strengthen compliance investments under that order.
The regulator said those earlier enforcement matters did not automatically decide the outcome. However, the OCC said Wise still needed to address existing weaknesses and build a stronger enterprise-wide AML and CFT program.
Wise said its business and compliance maturity have improved since the original application was prepared. The company said,
“We look forward to submitting a viable application to the OCC in due course.”
Federal Reserve policy changes also affected the first application. Wise said its earlier approach became “non-viable” after the Fed proposed changes around payment accounts and master account access in May 2026.
William Blair analysts Cristopher Kennedy and Marc Feldman said the Fed has effectively paused some master account approvals while developing new policies. They said Wise’s original plan depended partly on direct access to U.S. payment systems.
Wise Plans GENIUS Act Refile
Wise now plans to submit a new national trust bank application under the GENIUS Act framework. The law created federal rules for payment stablecoins and allows certain uninsured national trust banks to support payment stablecoin activity.
The company said its infrastructure can work with both blockchain and traditional payment rails. Wise added that its role in connecting payment systems, managing treasury operations, and controlling risk is becoming more relevant as digital assets develop.
William Blair said the planned refiling does not signal a major shift in Wise’s position on stablecoins. The analysts wrote that Wise remains focused on lowering cross-border payment costs and stays “agnostic of the rail.”
Wise processed more than $240 billion in cross-border payment volume during fiscal 2026 and served around 19 million customers. The company operates across 48 states and four U.S. territories.
The OCC has granted conditional approvals to several digital asset and stablecoin-focused firms since late 2025. Entities linked to BitGo, Circle, Fidelity, Paxos, Ripple, Coinbase, Crypto.com, and others have advanced through parts of the process.
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