Faisal Khan
Answers by

Faisal Khan

Cross-border payments, banking access, licensing. Thirty-one years inside regulated money movement.

Founder, Faisal Khan LLC·Istanbul, working globally
3,061Questions answered
31+Years in payments
400+Companies served
72+Countries
About

Every answer on askmint is mine. I have spent more than thirty-one years in financial services, almost all of it on one problem: how money legally crosses a border, and what a regulator needs to see before it will.

My career began in technology, not banking. I moved into banking and payments, and then into cross-border payments. That is where I saw how badly companies get caught by the rules across many countries. Not because the rules are impossible, but because the wrong structure was chosen before anyone understood the flow of funds.

Since starting the consultancy in 2010, I have worked with more than four hundred companies across seventy-two countries, from early-stage startups to established financial institutions. The work is helping them obtain licences, secure banking relationships, and build compliance frameworks that hold up under examination.

Today it is mostly licensing strategy, MSB banking access and cross-border payment structures, alongside writing, speaking and the educational sites that sit around the practice. This site is one of them.

Every call I take, I take myself. Twelve thousand of them so far.

Where I work

Licensing and compliance

Money transmitter licences, payment institution registration and compliance programmes across many countries. More than fifty licence applications done.

Banking relationships

Getting and keeping bank accounts for high-risk and regulated businesses. The part most operators underestimate.

Cross-border payments

Payment corridors, settlement design, FX risk and the licensing that sits underneath international money movement.

What I am not
  • A bank, money transmitter or money services business
  • A law firm. Nothing here is legal advice
  • In the flow of funds. I never hold client money

Answers

3,061 answers · newest first
What would be the process for imposing a tax on remittances sent from the United States? Dec 8, 2018 Tax and Financial Reporting If an app only connects people to hawaladars but never touches funds, does it need FCA or HMRC registration in the UK? Dec 8, 2018 UK and EU Licensing, EMIs and Payment Institutions Can someone identify my bank account details using only my SWIFT code? Dec 8, 2018 International Wire Transfers and Large Transfers Is there a global authority that oversees and regulates international wire transfers? Dec 6, 2018 Correspondent Banking, Nostro and Vostro, and Settlement How long does a domestic wire from Union Bank (a US community bank) typically take to show up in a Chase account? Dec 5, 2018 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems Why do we still use expensive payment processors like PayPal and Western Union when cheaper alternatives exist? Dec 5, 2018 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad Is there any equivalent of a Social Security Number for people in Pakistan? Dec 5, 2018 Cybersecurity, Digital Identity and Authentication Can I pick up a MoneyGram transfer that was sent to me via Western Union? Dec 3, 2018 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad Is it standard practice to pay remittance charges upfront? Dec 3, 2018 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad If Ripple is a first mover in bank-based international transfers, how can competitors survive? Nov 7, 2018 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned How do traditional banks respond to the rise of challenger banks? Nov 6, 2018 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned If TransferWise/Wise can send money to Indonesia but can’t send money from Indonesia, why is that—doesn’t sending money there imply they already have local banking rails? Nov 5, 2018 Licensing in Other Countries What factors make remittance systems complicated? Nov 4, 2018 Money Transfer Business and MTOs Can you receive a Western Union transfer without the tracking number? Nov 4, 2018 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad What are the best blockchain guides or books for product managers, and which blogs/articles do you recommend? Oct 7, 2018 Learning and Certifications: Guides, Calculators, Quizzes and Courses Which cryptocurrency is the best alternative to Bitcoin? Oct 1, 2018 Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Basics Are international banks as strict as US banks when it comes to compliance and onboarding? Sep 8, 2018 AML Programs, KYC and Compliance Operations How do I start a money remittance agency in the UK? Sep 5, 2018 Money Transfer Business and MTOs Is Apple Pay considered a successful mobile payments app? Sep 5, 2018 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments Why do people collectively have such strong faith in fiat currency? Sep 5, 2018 Economics, Inflation and Monetary Policy If the petrodollar loses reserve currency status, what’s most likely to replace it (other than cryptocurrency)? Sep 5, 2018 Geopolitics of Money and the International Monetary System What is “float” in a banking system? Aug 12, 2018 How Banks Work When a new currency is created, how does it move from the central bank into circulation among people? Aug 12, 2018 Central Banks and Bank Supervision Why do many places in Portugal reject “international credit cards”? Aug 12, 2018 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways Could an app that enables users to exchange currencies with each other (so they become their own “money transmitters”) be disruptive for international remittances? Aug 10, 2018 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration What do you think of a peer-to-peer FX platform where users directly exchange currencies without a middleman—can it reach enough liquidity to work? Aug 10, 2018 FX Rates, Spreads and Currency Markets What’s the safest way to transfer money from the Philippines to the US (wire, online services, or banks)? Aug 10, 2018 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad Will mobile payments ever replace credit cards in the US, and what are the main obstacles? Aug 7, 2018 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments As a traveler in Denmark, where should I exchange money to get a relatively good exchange rate? Aug 7, 2018 FX Rates, Spreads and Currency Markets If a money services business is exempt from state money transmitter licensing, is FinCEN registration alone sufficient, or do they still need state licenses? Aug 6, 2018 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration Are payroll service providers considered money transmitters/MSBs—and if not, why not? Aug 6, 2018 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration What conditions does a society need before it can successfully implement fiat currency? Aug 6, 2018 History of Money, Banking and Finance What could replace paper currency in the future? Aug 5, 2018 Stablecoins and CBDCs Can RTGS be used to transfer funds from overseas into a US bank? Aug 5, 2018 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems Which banks are willing to provide accounts and payments services to crypto exchanges (for deposits and transfers)? Aug 5, 2018 Sponsor Banks, FBO Accounts and Banking Access for Fintechs and MSBs How can I replenish a forex account when my central bank heavily restricts foreign currency transfers? Aug 5, 2018 Hawala, Informal Value Transfer and Shadow Finance If someone hides money offshore, how do they actually spend it back home without getting caught? Aug 5, 2018 Money Laundering and Financial Crime Is it smart for a fintech startup to build a blockchain product if its main customers are banks—would requiring banks to run nodes create security concerns? Aug 1, 2018 Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology How do remittances physically move money (as opposed to just account balances)? Aug 1, 2018 Correspondent Banking, Nostro and Vostro, and Settlement Before credit cards and global banks, how did travelers (like aristocrats on continental tours) access funds safely without ATMs? Jul 6, 2018 History of Money, Banking and Finance How can I set up multiple payment gateways on my e-commerce site so payments route based on the customer’s location to the nearest branch? Jun 1, 2018 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways Why do ultra-wealthy people invest in second passports? May 11, 2018 Wealth Management, Private Banking and Family Offices How can I transfer money from Pakistan to the US if my funds are in a USD foreign currency account in Pakistan? May 10, 2018 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad Is there a currency called “Dahra”? May 10, 2018 General Finance Questions Will Ripple face serious regulatory risks (as of 2018)? May 6, 2018 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration Which companies provide global payment services besides Payoneer? May 6, 2018 Freelancers, Side Hustles and Getting Paid Online International wires are supposed to take a few days—if a wire is delayed for weeks or a month, where is the money during that time? May 6, 2018 International Wire Transfers and Large Transfers Is it illegal in the US to offer remittances using cryptocurrency, and can crypto remittance services avoid the fees that regulated remittance providers pay? May 6, 2018 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration Why did my USD transfer to a USD-denominated foreign account get converted? I sent $1,000 USD to Europe; the recipient got €820, which was then converted back to $970—why did this happen if their account is in USD? May 4, 2018 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad Where do currency exchange businesses get the currency they sell? May 4, 2018 Correspondent Banking, Nostro and Vostro, and Settlement