Wise Responds to CFPB Claims, Penalty

Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement pertaining to an enforcement action against global Fintech Wise. The action arrived with a $2.5 million penalty for the firm. The CFPB claims that Wise failed to serve consumers sufficiently as it misled US customers about its ATM fees and did not disclose other fees adequately while failing to refund remittance fees for delayed transfers.

Wise responded to the CFPB’s claims, and a spokesperson commented on the penalty. Wise said it is a customer-first Fintech committed to the best experience possible. Apparently between June 2020 and May 2021, the CFPB conducted a routine examination of Wise US for compliance with various US laws pertaining to financial providers. Wise explained:

“In February 2022, the CFPB highlighted certain issues where Wise had inadvertently been operating in ways the Bureau deemed necessary to address. These were mainly technical issues such as having certain materials downloadable as PDFs, updating wording choices like “Amount We’ll Convert” to “Transfer Amount,” displaying exchange rates rounded up to 4 decimal points instead of 6 decimal points (which was more accurate), and having full disclaimer text available in-page rather than through a hyperlink. In limited cases, some US customers saw slightly incorrect fees, which, upon receiving the findings in February 2022, Wise proactively and voluntarily compensated in full, totaling $450,000 across the affected customers.”

Wise stated that it fully cooperated with the CFPB and immediately sought to resolve any issues with most addressed by November 2022.

Wise said that on January 30, 2025, Wise reached an agreement with the CFPB to bring the matter to a close.

While Wise strongly disagrees with the CFPB’s characterization of Wise’s conduct, including that Wise’s mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees was somehow ‘misleading’ by disclosing a more accurate rate of 6 decimal places instead of 4 decimal places, we worked with the CFPB in good faith to conclude the matter and enable Wise to continue focusing on saving customers money. In 2024, Wise saved the almost 13 million customers it served, nearly $2.2 billion (c.£1.8 billion) compared to banks.”

Wise noted that it keeps investing in its compliance program, and they have boosted its compliance team in the US, seeking to ensure the best outcomes for its users and “unparalleled customer experience.”



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