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 are the possible applications and use cases of Hyperledger? Aug 10, 2015 Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology In online payments, what does tokenization mean? Aug 9, 2015 Banking and Payments Technology Stack What is 3D Secure, how does it protect transactions, can it increase checkout drop-offs, and are there alternatives? Aug 9, 2015 E-Commerce, Marketplace and Platform Payments What advantages does Stellar offer compared with Ripple? Aug 8, 2015 Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology How common is it today for employees to receive salaries paid in Bitcoin? Aug 8, 2015 Crypto Payments, On-Ramps and Off-Ramps What are some potential disruptions that could significantly change credit card usage? Aug 7, 2015 Payments (General) What is your opinion of the BitLicense regulations proposed by Ben Lawsky? Aug 7, 2015 Crypto and VASP Licensing If a bank claims to be building a more customer-centric culture, what should customers actually experience? Aug 7, 2015 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned What is the current state of banking regulation across African countries? Aug 7, 2015 Central Banks and Bank Supervision Will virtual currencies eventually replace physical cash? Aug 6, 2015 Stablecoins and CBDCs Do P2P remittance firms like TransferWise require large amounts of capital to sustain their very low pricing? Aug 6, 2015 Payment Corridors and Remittance Economics How many Asian countries use real-time gross settlement systems similar to India’s Aadhaar-enabled payment system? Aug 6, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems Do large international companies move money globally using the same banks and tools like PayPal that individuals use? Aug 6, 2015 Treasury, Liquidity and Corporate Finance What value does a global acquiring bank bring to merchants and payment businesses? Aug 6, 2015 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways Which startups are currently active in the money transfer and remittance space? Aug 6, 2015 Money Transfer Business and MTOs Why do electronic payments get authorized in seconds but take 2–3 days for clearing and settlement? Aug 6, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems What wireless or hardware solutions exist for international money transfer agents, and are there Stripe-like platforms for payments? Aug 6, 2015 Money Transfer Business and MTOs Why do US banks typically charge around $30 for sending a wire and $12 for receiving one between businesses? Aug 6, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems Is it possible to open a US bank account remotely while living outside the United States? Aug 6, 2015 Opening Bank Accounts, Personal and Business Which payment gateways are available in Pakistan? Aug 5, 2015 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways What are the steps involved in setting up a remittance or money transfer business? Aug 5, 2015 Money Transfer Business and MTOs How can someone launch a prepaid debit or credit card program with a bank without being a resident of that country? Aug 5, 2015 Card Networks and Card Issuing What exactly are ACH fees and who charges them? Aug 5, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems What do customers typically expect from an online payment gateway? Aug 4, 2015 E-Commerce, Marketplace and Platform Payments What is the most efficient way to pay Elance freelancers from Pakistan if I don’t have PayPal or a credit card? Aug 4, 2015 Freelancers, Side Hustles and Getting Paid Online Can non-US citizens open bank accounts in the United States, and which banks are generally more foreigner-friendly? Aug 4, 2015 Opening Bank Accounts, Personal and Business Is it legally necessary to be a bank to move money, or can individuals or companies transact money if they build their own system? Aug 4, 2015 Licensing Strategy, Sponsorship and Agent Models How common is coordination or cooperation between central banks across different countries? Aug 4, 2015 Central Banks and Bank Supervision Is it possible to transfer foreign currency between two local bank accounts in another country, and if so how, or why not? Aug 4, 2015 Correspondent Banking, Nostro and Vostro, and Settlement How can we build a proof of concept for an agent-banking solution? Aug 2, 2015 Banking and Payments Technology Stack What is the best way to receive money anonymously? Jul 12, 2015 Payments (General) I’ve designed a card that could replace credit and debit cards—how can I bring it to market? Jul 12, 2015 Starting and Running a Fintech or Payments Business Why do payments like Chase QuickPay show a “pending” status? Jul 12, 2015 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments Do you need to link a credit card to Bitcoin in order to use it for payments? Jul 12, 2015 Crypto Payments, On-Ramps and Off-Ramps Do Bitcoin exchanges sell or share user data? Jul 12, 2015 Crypto Exchanges, Trading and Markets Which financial API should be used to build a free or near-free bank ACH transfer app similar to Venmo or Square Cash? Jul 11, 2015 Developer Tools, APIs, Sandboxes and Open Source What are the implications of providing personal information to Xoom when sending over $10,000 within six months? Jul 10, 2015 AML Programs, KYC and Compliance Operations Why does the U.S. have so many banks compared to many Asian countries dominated by a few large banks? Jul 10, 2015 Central Banks and Bank Supervision In Europe, what is the best way to regulate Bitcoin under financial law—fit it into existing frameworks or create dedicated regulation? Jul 10, 2015 Crypto and VASP Licensing What is Bitcoin, how does it function, is it legal, and who created it? Jul 10, 2015 Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Basics Do direct banks such as Ally Bank follow the same regulatory requirements as traditional banks? Jul 9, 2015 Regulators, Enforcement and Regulatory Change How are savings handled by Automated Savings apps like Digit insured by the FDIC? Jul 9, 2015 Personal and Consumer Finance, Budgeting and Saving If we build a ticketing platform like Eventbrite that rewards users for sharing sales, do we need an MSB license? Jul 9, 2015 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration If I beta-launch a marketplace that holds funds in escrow or for 24–48 hours, would I need a money-transmitter license? Jul 9, 2015 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration What types of companies and business models are built around Bitcoin? Jul 9, 2015 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned With BitPay, are bitcoins collected from customers deposited into a business bank account via ACH? Jul 9, 2015 Crypto Payments, On-Ramps and Off-Ramps If global GDP is around $71.83 trillion but derivatives total about $350 trillion, why is the derivatives market so much larger than the real economy? Jul 8, 2015 Capital Markets: Stocks, Bonds and Derivatives Mobile payments have launched in Pakistan, but I rarely see merchants using them—how do these systems work and who is accepting them? Jul 8, 2015 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments Given the huge compliance fines banks have paid, how can they reduce human error—perhaps with checklists—to avoid such failures? Jul 8, 2015 AML Programs, KYC and Compliance Operations How does an online money transfer actually work from a technical and process standpoint? Jul 8, 2015 Payments (General)