Wise has accused a rival fintech company of undermining competition in the money transfer market. Atlantic Money, a small foreign exchange service, made this allegation in a letter to the U.K. competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority. The share price of Wise, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, was £5.14 apiece as of 10:30 a.m. London time, 2% below the Thursday market close. Wise has a market capitalization of £5.3 billion ($6.6 billion). A letter shared by Atlantic Money states that Wise unfairly removed it from its website’s price comparison section. It also refused to include it on Exiap, a foreign exchange fee comparison website. Wise owns two other currency transfer comparison sites, Geldtransfer and Currencyshop.
Atlantic Money said in the letter that Wise initially listed it on its website on Oct. 14, 2022. It was later delisted on Jan. 20, 2023, with Wise allegedly telling Atlantic Money it was “no longer deemed a legitimate competitor.” In the letter, Atlantic Money said it believed Wise’s conduct was “harmful to competition across the UK and EU and, we would submit, ultimately results in higher fees for end consumers.” Atlantic Money offers a flat £3 fee on all currency conversions up to £1 million. Its fees are lower than Wise for transfers of £1,000 or more. Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise has long touted itself as a champion of consumer rights, pushing for transparency around the fees charged by banks to move money across borders. “We decided to remove Atlantic Money for the time being for a number of operational reasons, including queries received from customers about their business. We take any complaints very seriously,” a Wise spokesperson told CNBC via email in response to a request for comment on the Atlantic Money letter. “We’re really proud to have the comparison tool as part of our website, and we’re not afraid to list cheaper competitors. We’ve done that for years and still do.”