British fintech firm Wise accused of stifling competition from rival startup | The Competition and Markets Authority

One of Britain’s fintech darlings, Wise, could face a regulatory investigation after a rival start-up accused the money transfer firm of stifling competition.

London-headquartered Atlantic Money has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to raise concerns over potential conflicts of interest and anti-competitive behavior after Wise blocked the firm from a number of its own price comparison sites.

An investigation could be a blow to Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, which became the biggest tech listing in the UK when it was valued at almost £9bn after its 2021 IPO.

However, it would not be the first controversy to hit the company, after it emerged last summer that its co-founder Kristo Käärmann was being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority for failing to pay his taxes.

The Atlantic’s own complaint concerns Wise’s price comparison sites, which the Atlantic says appear to be independent.

Wise runs a price comparison page on its own website which shows the transfer fees and exchange rates of rivals including major high street banks, as well as Western Union, Starling Bank and MoneyGram. It also owns at least six external currency conversion and money transfer comparison sites, including Exiap, Geldtransfer and Currencyshop.

Atlantic Money, which was founded by two former employees of US trading platform Robinhood, launched in the UK and EU last year. The London-headquartered start-up charges a flat fee of £3/€3 for money transfers, with MoneySavingExpert.com saying the platform could be cheaper for some customers sending more than £650.

Wise originally listed Atlantic Money on its rate comparison page on Wise.com in October 2022, but removed the firm last week. Wise told the Guardian that they “decided to remove Atlantic Money for the time being for a number of operational reasons, including inquiries received from customers about their business. We take compliance with all applicable laws very seriously.”

Atlantic was also denied access to comparison sites for Exiap and Geldtransfers, which Wise owns, with its representative claiming in November: “Atlantic Money is still in the early stages of establishing its brand and building a public footprint.”

Atlantic has dismissed concerns over its operations. The firm has yet to reveal its own profits, but said it processed €10m (£8.8m) worth of transactions between the end of July and October last year.

It also noted that Exiap’s website says it “does not investigate the soundness of companies we mention” and “there is always a risk that a company could struggle and go bankrupt”.

“Wise effectively acts as a gatekeeper to the market and creates a significant barrier to entry for cheaper and more innovative suppliers to establish,” Atlantic said in its letter to the CMA. “This behavior is damaging to competition across the UK and the EU and, we would argue, ultimately results in higher charges for end consumers.”

Should the complaint raise concerns with the CMA, the regulator can launch an investigation and ultimately impose a fine or order action from the offending firm if they are found guilty of wrongdoing.

Wise said Atlantic was not the first provider to be removed from the price comparison lists, but said this was part of regular reviews meant “to keep the list useful for our customers”.

“We’re very proud to have the comparison tool as part of our website and we’re not afraid to list cheaper competitors,” said a Wise spokesperson. “We’ve been doing it for years and still do.”

Wise said it had not been approached by the CMA. The CMA said it was unable to comment on specific matters outside of a formal investigation.