Atlantic Money Says Wise Delisted It From Price Comparison Website

Atlantic Money has accused international money transfer service Wise of stifling competition.

In a statement on its website on Friday (Jan. 27), the foreign exchange (FX) startup expressed its frustration at being delisted from Wise’s price comparison service, which allows consumers to compare the cost of cross-border transfers from different providers.

The company also claimed Wise has removed its services from other comparison sights it owns, including Exiap.com and Geldtransfer.

While prices for money transfer services are dynamic, with no single provider always able to offer the cheapest overall cost, since its launch last year, Atlantic Money has made in-roads in the space with its fixed-fee model, which charges a flat 3-pound fee (about $4) for international transfers.

Arguing that the delisting “represents a move by Wise towards less transparency,” Atlantic Money said it has formally raised its concerns in a letter to the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

In Friday’s statement, Atlantic Money said Wise delisted its services for “not being legitimate enough,” before going on to point out that both firms are regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and even backed by the same venture capital firm, Index Ventures.

It went on to argue that Wise’s decision not to list Atlantic Money on its comparison sites contradicts its commitment to price transparency.

Furthermore, it stated that any claim of illegitimacy is undermined by the fact that several independent comparison sites, such as Monito, MoneyTransfers and Money Saving Expert, continue to list both options.

Commenting on the situation, Neeraj Baid, co-founder of Atlantic Money, said in the company’s statement: “Wise’s foundation is built on the promise of trust, transparency and doing the best for the people. It’s disappointing to see now that they become what they have always fought against. We are even more convinced now that we are on the right track. People deserve to have a fixed price on their international transfers instead of paying more the more they send.”

In response to Atlantic Money’s claim, a Wise spokesperson told PYMNTS, “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. 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.”

While Wise is best-known as a money transfer business, in recent times the London-based company has sought to diversify its offering and branch out into other services.

For example, in December Wise announced the launch of a new multicurrency savings product that allows customers in the U.K. to earn interest on their pounds, euros and dollars.

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