Wise, the cross-border payments platform, has announced plans to submit a new application for a U.S. national trust bank charter, following a rejection from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) over a year ago. The OCC's decision to deny Wise US Holdings' initial application was primarily due to deficiencies in its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) program, which the regulator deemed inadequate. The OCC's scrutiny was compounded by a multistate consent order issued in July 2025, which highlighted further compliance issues within Wise's operations. The regulator emphasized that the proposed bank's organizers failed to demonstrate sufficient experience in managing AML/CFT risks, raising significant concerns about supervisory compliance and governance structures.
Source: PYMNTS
