The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has formally rejected Wise's application to establish Wise National Trust, a proposed non-depository national trust bank that would have been headquartered in Austin, Texas, citing anti-money-laundering (AML) failures.
The decision letter was signed on 21 July 2026 by Stephen Lybarger, Senior Deputy Comptroller for Chartering. The rejection became public on 24 July, triggering an immediate market reaction. Wise's Nasdaq-listed shares fell roughly 6%, while its London-listed stock dropped as much as 10 to 11% intraday before partially recovering.
According to the report, the market response was not linked to any threat to Wise's existing day-to-day operations. The company continues to hold money transmitter licences across 48 US states and four territories, and it serves 18.9 million active users globally.
The OCC charter would have allowed Wise to operate under a single national framework rather than maintaining separate state-by-state money transmitter licences. Its rejection means the company must continue operating under its current, more fragmented regulatory structure in the United States.
For more details, see the original report from The Fintech Times.
