Wise to refile US charter under GENIUS Act framework

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denied Wise’s application for a national trust bank charter, stating the company did not demonstrate an effective anti–money-laundering and countering the financing of terrorism program and presented “other illicit finance activity risks.” The OCC issued the rejection on Tuesday.

Following the decision, investment bank William Blair wrote in a research note that Wise plans to refile its US charter application under the GENIUS Act framework. William Blair wrote, “Wise is focused on lowering the cost of cross-border transactions, agnostic of the rail.” The firm added that Wise is expected to keep its existing stance on payment stablecoins.

The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, establishes a federal framework for payment stablecoin providers while agencies develop implementing rules. Regulators missed a deadline last week to publish guidance ahead of the law’s effective date in January 2027, leaving some technical and supervisory questions unresolved.

Since the stablecoin law passed, the OCC has granted national trust charters to several digital-asset companies, including Circle, Ripple Labs, Crypto.com and Coinbase. Wise had sought a trust charter as a step toward offering services that could use stablecoin-linked or other payment rails.

The OCC’s rejection stated Wise’s compliance controls did not meet the standards required for a national bank charter. William Blair projected the company will refile under the GENIUS Act framework while maintaining its commercial approach to cross-border payments.

Wise did not immediately respond to requests for comment.