Wise, the London-based company that has made a name for itself in international money transfers and is reportedly planning an IPO, has accused its former banking partner in Brazil of a “smear campaign” after it was accused of fraud – allegations that Wise referred to as ” false and false “denotes unfounded”.
The war of words between the Brazilian MS Bank and Wise appears to stem from the fact that Wise received its own FX broker license from the Brazilian central bank in January, which means the partnership with MS Bank would soon end. The following month, MS Bank canceled its contract with Wise without notice and informed customers that it was launching its own transfer service called CloudBreak.
Without a banking partner and before it had time to test transfers under its own FX broker license, Wise was forced to temporarily suspend its Brazil corridor. On March 12, Wise was able to reopen its Brazilian real (BRL) to US dollar (USD) corridor under its own license, and then it turned hostile.
In an email sent to customers the same day and passed on to TechCrunch earlier this week, MS Bank claims that Wise committed fraud on customer accounts. These claims were also repeated in a YouTube video and text posted on MS Bank’s own website and focused on a mismatch in the registration of transactions on a client’s account and with the Central Bank of Brazil.
In a subsequent blog post, Wise gives a detailed and meaningful explanation of the discrepancy in the recording of transactions, categorically denying any wrongdoing, and calls on MS Bank to start an alleged “defamation campaign”.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Wise said the allegations were “timed to raise awareness of this ex-partner’s rival product launch.” “We are not aware of any investigations or allegations against Wise by any regulator or other agency, either in Brazil or anywhere else,” added the fintech company. “We are confident that we are not responsible for any fraudulent or inappropriate activity involving customer data and / or funds. Wise is taking legal action to address this matter. “
Full explanation from Wise:
In the past few weeks, Wise has been the subject of a smear campaign by a former business partner in Brazil. The allegations were timed to raise awareness of this ex-partner’s rival product launch. We are not aware of any investigations or allegations against Wise by any regulator or other agency, in Brazil or anywhere else.
Wise continues to be committed to the transparency and security of our business operations for our more than 10 million customers around the world. We are sure that we are not responsible for any fraudulent or inappropriate activity involving customer data and / or funds. Wise is taking legal action to address this matter.