01/31/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today ordered the international remittance company Wise to pay nearly $2.5 million for a series of illegal actions, including advertising inaccurate fees and failing to properly disclose exchange rates and other costs. Wise allows customers to send, receive, and store remittances through a mobile app and prepaid accounts and debit cards. The CFPB found the company misled customers in the United States about its ATM fees and failed to properly disclose other fees. When people sent money that did not arrive on time, Wise failed to refund the remittance fees in the timeframe required by law. Overall, the company’s actions led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in harm to consumers. The CFPB is ordering Wise to pay approximately $450,000 in redress to harmed consumers and to pay a $2.025 million civil money penalty.
“By deceiving customers, Wise gave itself an unfair advantage over other competitors in the remittances market,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “New technology can help make money transfers cheaper and more convenient, but companies must be truthful and live up to longstanding law.”
