Wise (WISE), the UK money transfer company that specializes in low-cost international payments, fell 6.34% on the London Stock Exchange after the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rejected its application for a national trust bank charter. The regulator cited "longstanding deficiencies" in the company's anti-money laundering checks and said Wise had not demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of US banking law.

The OCC also found that Wise's US business has no historical experience with fiduciary activities and that its proposed management and directors failed to show sufficient experience running them. Wise said its compliance has developed significantly since the application was filed more than a year ago, and it has been addressing the issues raised. Wise also argued the application is now outdated given the Genius Act, which regulates cryptocurrency firms. It plans to file again under that framework to access the federal payments network.

This is not the first problem Wise has faced. Last month, its shares dropped as much as 20% in a single day on Belgian investigations into potential money laundering and possible use of its accounts by criminal groups. Its US subsidiary was fined $4.2 million last year for breaching the Bank Secrecy Act.