The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has rejected Wise’s application for a banking licence in the country, citing “longstanding deficiencies” in its anti-money laundering checks and a lack of familiarity with banking law.

The OCC said in a letter that the British FinTech’s US business had not demonstrated adequate understanding of anti-money laundering rules or US banking law in general to warrant a licence.

“Wise US has no historical experience with fiduciary activities, and proposed management and directors failed to demonstrate sufficient experience with the fiduciary activities of national banks,” the regulator said.

Wise submitted its application last year and said that its previous application is now out of date due to new legislation. It now intends to submit a new application under the Trump administration’s GENIUS act, which regulates cryptocurrency providers.

Wise added: “Since submitting this original application over a year ago, our business and compliance maturity have evolved significantly. This includes changes we have made in response to OCC feedback throughout the application process, and the OCC’s letter published today refers to these historical issues with our original application that we have been addressing.”

The company’s shares fell as much as nine per cent when the market opened, and are down around six per cent at the time of writing.

Wise, predominantly known for its low-cost international money transfers, is working towards expanding its provision of traditional banking services, having launched a current account in the UK for the first time earlier this year.

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