Business Wise issues, Advice needed !

Greetings!

Dear community, this is my first topic on the forum. I want to ask for your advice, as I've run into trouble with WISE. I've been using their services for over a year and was impressed with the incredible level of service. There was only one instance when my payments were delayed ”“ documents were verified, and everything started working again as usual, splendidly. It took 3 business days. But this last time, I encountered a situation where the balances in my WISE account stopped displaying, and I couldn't use the funds that were in the account. I tried calling them, and as I was told over the phone, my account is being reviewed by the Sanctions Team, and it shouldn't take more than 10 business days. As of today, it's been 14 business days, and I have no updates or explanations. The support team members can't help me with anything substantial or provide any information. So, there is communication, but no information. No emails have been received.

Now, onto my actual question: Is there any solution? Is it worthwhile to send them physical letters? Perhaps someone in the community has faced a similar situation and resolved it? I would be genuinely grateful for any advice.

Regarding the business: We are a British LTD with a director who is an EU citizen (Poland). The essence of the business involves purchasing vehicles and equipment at auctions in the US and selling them in Ukraine, Poland, and Hungary. The goods are physically transported, and there are all the necessary documentary confirmations of the legality of their purchase and sale. We also buy agricultural products in Ukraine and send them to customers in the EU and third countries. These goods are also physically transported, and there are all documentary confirmations of the acquisition and realization of the goods.

I'll appreciate any advice you can provide.

Thanks for Reply! Sad situation . Arround 120 k $ Stuck there .

Thank you for answering me !

Sols said:

You are unfortunately in for a very long waiting time if sanctions are involved. Something in their system has detected a potential match involving a sanctioned person or territory. Since you mention Ukraine, my guess is there is a potential/partial match of someone's name on sanctions lists against Russia.

Yep , i guessed that match is possible , but if they really want to check it - we can help them to do it fast, but no body was requiring nothing . Also , i know that some territories of Ukraine are under the Sanctions , but all my partners are from the safe places, i`ve checked evryone before started to work.
Today i`ve been told by Customers Support , thats Sanctions Team finished and transfered my case to department, they call Verification . Very difficult to get some explenation from Wise support.

Martin Everson said:

@AlexCustoms Are you also working with USD? If so then kiss goodbye to your account.

yep , its primary currency i use. I`m affraid you right . I`ve worked for about one year in the same way, and it was nothing unusuall , since this time they were checking me only once, maybe twice.

Martin Everson said:

In any case its likely its cautionary actions by Wise as parts of Ukraine are under sanctions and they need to be cautious. To be honest they may have no way of checking where the goods final destination is once landing in Ukraine so they will play it safe and close your account is my guess.

P.S You can find a list of EU dual use prohibited items below. You need to lookup UK and US lists yourself.

Thanks for help comrade ! equipement i supply used mostly in agricultural production , i`ve checked links you`ve sent , and there is nothing about what i`m doing. Hope you wrong , but sure you right . Sad prospects for my business.

Thanks to all for your answers !

Martin Everson said:

Let us know what happens. As an outsider USD + Ukraine to me equals high risk client i.e war zone, sanctions, high corruption etc. But maybe Wise thinks differently and have a higher risk appetite now. But if everything checks out you could survive until your volumes become an issue. However if they have any sympathy over current Ukraine situation you may be ok.

Hope I am wrong too.

Dear colleague,

I truly appreciate your words of support. It's a challenging time for my case. Your predictions are not comforting to me, but very logical. Nonetheless, I still hope that things will turn out better than we expect. On the other hand, I understand that out of all the multitude of choices, I have only two of them. The first - to wait, and the second, to wait a little longer and then hire a lawyer and send a claim to WISE. I will definitely share here how my adventure concludes.

Best regards, Alex

jafo said:

Look into stablecoins e.g. USDt! I've been doing it successfully for a long time. Saved my business! Wise also closed my account. Good luck!

I'm fairly confident that this option is not a lifesaver for me, as mostly my model is B2B (about 90%), and those clients, as a rule, are companies from 'Crypto-Unfriendly' jurisdictions. I want to point out - we deal with physical goods that are physically moved and also fall under currency control in different countries. Nevertheless, I appreciate the advice. Wishing everyone successful work!

Last edited: Aug 30, 2023

jafo said:

Look at my bio! That is EXACTLY what I do! I deal with some "countries" that are a NO-NO with banks in countries that are delusional thinking they own others. Have a read at my BIO.

ok , lets move to private messages.