Report: Wise Implements Regulator’s Recommendations to Bolster AML Programs

FinTech Wise reportedly has implemented a European regulator’s recommendations to bolster its anti-money laundering (AML) programs.

Wise was forced into a formal remediation plan after the National Bank of Belgium found in 2022 that there was a shortcoming in its AML controls, the Financial Times (FT) reported Thursday (Nov. 28).

The National Bank of Belgium supervises the London-listed FinTech in Europe and determined that Wise lacked proof of address for hundreds of thousands of customers, according to the report.

Wise told the FT: “In 2021, the National Bank of Belgium carried out a routine review of Wise Europe as part of a marketwide exercise in the wake of Brexit. We worked closely with our regulator in Belgium and have fully implemented their recommendations.”

Under a remediation plan developed by the FinTech and approved by the regulator, Wise was required to contact all the customers to request their proof of address and to freeze the accounts of those who did not do so in time, according to the report.

The company bolstered its anti-crime staff with customer service staff, per the report.

Wise said in the report that one-third of its global team is now dedicated to fighting financial crime and maintaining compliance.

Wise was known as TransferWise until rebranding in February 2021. Wise said at the time that the name change reflected the broader change of the company beyond its original roots as a money transfer company.

In August 2022, the firm was fined $360,000 in Abu Dhabi for violating AML regulations, with the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) saying at the time in a statement that it “found that Wise did not establish and maintain adequate AML systems and controls to ensure full compliance with its AML obligations.”

A Wise spokesperson told PYMNTS at the time that the company takes its responsibility to protect its customers and prevent money laundering seriously, noting that it had worked with the FSRA and neither the company nor the authority found instances of money laundering or any financial crime.

Today, Wise maintains more than 65 regulatory licenses around the world, according to the Thursday FT report.