Shares in Wise plunged on Friday after the firm was denied a US banking licence by regulators, setting back the payments giant in its biggest growth market just months after it switched its primary stock market listing to New York.
The London-founded fintech said the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had rejected its application for a national trust bank licence.
Wise said the decision would not affect its existing US business and that it plans to submit a new application. Shares in the company tumbled more than seven per cent in early trading in London.
The regulator’s decision related to its original application which was submitted more than a year ago, Wise said. It pointed to changes it has since made to its compliance systems, customer checks and financial crime controls.
“We have invested significantly in enhancing our processes and controls globally and in the U.S. since the original application for the trust charter was prepared, including those to prevent financial crime alongside other forms of risk,” the company said, adding that changes to US payment rules meant the original application was no longer the right route to securing a licence.
