The amended order, issued May 15, 2025, drops the civil penalty from $2.025 million to approximately $45,000, according to the bureau. The order supersedes the CFPB's original January 30, 2025 settlement, which alleged that Wise misled U.S. customers about ATM fees, failed to properly disclose exchange rates and other costs, and violated requirements to refund remittance fees when transfers did not arrive on time.
Wise operates in the U.S. through its subsidiary Wise US, headquartered in New York and incorporated in Delaware, the bureau said. The company serves more than three million customers across 48 states, D.C., and U.S. territories through its mobile app and Wise Account prepaid product, which allows customers to store and send money in multiple currencies. The company has no physical storefronts.
The CFPB said Wise's prepaid card violations "resulted in at least 16,000 consumers being overcharged." Under both the original and amended orders, Wise must provide approximately $450,000 to those consumers.
The bureau said the penalty reduction reflects the CFPB's alignment with "applicable provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, relevant precedents for the conduct and cooperation at issue, the terms of Executive Order 14219, and the Bureau's rescission of certain guidance" including a 2024 circular on deceptive remittance marketing practices.
The enforcement action was brought under the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, including the Prepaid Rule and Remittance Transfer Rule, according to the CFPB. Wise PLC is a publicly traded global electronic money services provider headquartered in the United Kingdom.