The Wise logo is displayed on the smartphone screen.
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Wise was accused by a rival fintech company of undermining competition in the remittance market.
Atlantic Money, a smaller forex service, made the allegation in a letter to the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority.
Shares in Wise, to debut on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, were worth £5.14 per share at 10:30am London time, 2% below their closing price on Thursday of the market.
Wise has a market capitalization of £5.3 billion ($6.6 billion).
In the letter that Atlantic Money shared with CNBC, the company said Wise unfairly removed it from the price comparison section of its website and refused to include it in Exiap — a foreign fee comparison website. Repentance also belongs to Wise.
Wise owns two other currency transfer comparison sites, Geldtransfer and Currencyshop.
Atlantic Money said in the letter that it was initially listed on its website by Wise on October 14, 2022. It was subsequently delisted on January 20, 2023, with Wise allegedly delisted. told Atlantic Money it was “no longer considered a legitimate competitor.”
In the letter, Atlantic Money said it believes Wise’s conduct is “harmful to competition across the UK and EU and, we will submit, ultimately results in higher fees for consumers.” final.”
Atlantic Money offers a flat £3 fee for all currency conversions up to £1 million. Its fees are lower than Wise’s for transfers of £1,000 or more.
Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise has long touted itself as a consumer advocate, promoting transparency around the fees banks charge to move money across borders.
“We have decided to remove Atlantic Money at this time for a number of operational reasons, including queries received from customers about their business. We take any complaints very seriously.” A Wise spokesman told CNBC by email, in response to a request for comment on the Pre-Atlantic letter.
“We’re really proud to have a comparison tool on our site, and we don’t mind listing cheaper competitors. We’ve been doing that for years and still do.”
The letter could be the basis for an investigation into whether Wise’s conduct violated competition law.
A spokesman for the CMA said that the regulator could not comment on specific cases beyond a formal investigation.
