The news: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) rejected London-based money transfer company Wise's application for a US national trust bank charter, citing "long-standing" deficiencies in the fintech's anti–money laundering (AML) and counterterrorism financing systems, per the Financial Times. The regulator also faulted Wise's proposed US management team for lacking experience with the fiduciary activities of national banks. 

Zooming out: The rejection adds to a run of compliance problems for the company, which serves 19 million users globally.

• Belgian authorities opened an investigation in 2025 into roughly €500 million ($667 million) in suspicious transactions across 30 European countries, per the BBC.
• Wise's US subsidiary paid a $4.2 million fine last year for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and AML laws, per the Financial Times.

Wise said its compliance program has matured since filing the application over a year ago and that the OCC's letter addressed issues it has already been working through. The company now plans to file a new application under the Genius Act (the US stablecoin framework) to pursue similar access to the federal payments network.

Why it matters: The rejection lands despite a generally permissive OCC under the Trump administration. The regulator recently approved multiple new bank charter applications, including from crypto companies Circle and Ripple. A national trust bank charter lets a company hold customer funds like a bank without securing licenses in every state, though it stops short of permitting lending. Wise had explored a similar expansion of its regulatory footprint in the UK, where it was weighing a full banking license to use customer deposits for lending and gain direct access to payment infrastructure.

Implications for banks: For traditional banks, Wise's setback offers some breathing room against a wave of fintechs seeking direct access to US payment rails. But that reprieve looks temporary: Revolut and Klarna have US banking applications pending, and Wise is already pivoting to a Genius Act filing. Banks should compete on execution now while their direct-access advantages persist.

Meanwhile, fintechs pursuing charters should resolve management depth and AML infrastructure gaps before filing. Wise's compliance issues in the US, the UK, and Belgium demonstrate that regulators link a firm's global compliance record to its domestic charter prospects, and companies with open investigations elsewhere should expect similar scrutiny.

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