Wise plans new application for national trust bank charter under GENIUS Act
The fintech giant's OCC charter denial highlights the regulatory gauntlet facing companies trying to bridge traditional payments and crypto rails
Wise Group, the London-listed fintech formerly known as TransferWise, is heading back to the drawing board after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denied its application for a national trust bank charter on July 23, 2026.
The company says it will resubmit under the framework created by the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin law signed just days before Wise originally filed its application last year.
Investors were, predictably, not thrilled. Wise shares dropped as much as 11% on the news.
What happened and why it matters
Wise first submitted its charter application in June 2025, seeking to become a nationally chartered trust bank. For Wise, it would have meant direct access to US payment rails without relying on a patchwork of state-by-state licenses.
The denial was tied to compliance concerns stemming from a multi-state consent order on anti-money laundering protocols that surfaced in July 2025.
Wise processed over $240 billion in cross-border payment volume during FY2026, serving approximately 19 million customers. It already operates across 48 states and four territories. And it reported more than $3 billion in customer savings during the same fiscal year.
The GENIUS Act angle
The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, created the first comprehensive federal regulatory structure for payment stablecoins. Crucially, the law allows uninsured national trust banks to issue stablecoins, opening a door that didn’t previously exist.
Wise’s decision to anchor its new application to the GENIUS Act framework signals that the company sees stablecoins not as a sideshow but as a core part of its future US strategy.
The compliance elephant in the room
Consent orders are not suggestions. They’re legally binding agreements that require companies to make specific, verifiable improvements to their compliance programs.
Wise executives have signaled confidence that their compliance enhancements will position the company favorably for a second attempt. The compliance upgrades required by the consent order should, in theory, bring Wise’s AML infrastructure up to the standard the OCC expects from a nationally chartered institution.
The OCC has shown no appetite for cutting corners. The agency denied Wise’s application despite the company’s scale and market position.