Wise (LSE: WISE) is weighing a push into full-scale banking as it looks to obtain a UK licence, only months after pulling its primary listing from London and opting for New York.
According to The Times^, the money transfer group has been in talks with financial services heavyweights in recent months over roles tied to setting up a UK banking arm. No application has been lodged and discussions are at an early stage.
A licence would open the door for Wise to pay interest directly on customer balances rather than routing excess funds into money markets or investment portfolios. The firm is already an RTGS clearing member of the UK’s CHAPS system, and in the US it has applied for a national trust bank charter, a move that would allow it to plug directly into Federal Reserve payment rails without relying on intermediaries.
Wise has poured resources into its infrastructure with the ambition of processing more than a trillion pounds a year across global payment networks. The strategy sits alongside its controversial decision to move its main stock market listing to the US. Executives argued Wall Street offers deeper liquidity and the chance to join major indices, though the exit dented hopes in Westminster of turning London into a magnet for fintech floats.
City officials had wanted Wise to grow into a FTSE 100 mainstay. Instead, it joined a growing list of companies favouring New York, a trend that has also pulled in AstraZeneca, Arm and CRH. The shift forced Chancellor Rachel Reeves to double down on incentives for fintech listings, but for Wise the focus now seems clear: scale up globally and become a bank in its own right.