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
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Jul 5, 2015 Banking and Payments Technology Stack In a world of smart tech, Faster Payments (UK), ACH, and EPN (US), why can’t bank accounts show truly real-time balances based on all posted transactions? Jul 5, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems How can I start and operate an acquiring bank? Jul 5, 2015 Licensing in Other Countries How does PayPal Here compare to Square? Jul 5, 2015 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways Will Facebook eventually introduce its own person-to-person money-transfer feature? Jul 5, 2015 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments Are Bitcoins likely to become the future of currency? Jul 5, 2015 Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Basics What will money look like 35 years from now? Jul 5, 2015 Payments (General) What is the difference between a SWIFT transfer and a wire transfer? Jul 5, 2015 International Wire Transfers and Large Transfers Can MCB Lite or UBL Wiz cards be used for purchases on AliExpress in Pakistan? Jul 5, 2015 E-Commerce, Marketplace and Platform Payments Which technology companies around the world are building tools to help customers switch their primary bank? Jul 4, 2015 Fintech, BaaS and Embedded Finance What is the best way to start an online business? Jul 4, 2015 Starting and Running a Fintech or Payments Business What are the top five consumer problems that mobile POS systems help solve? Jul 4, 2015 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways What are the strongest arguments for and against treating Coinbase as a true exchange? Jul 4, 2015 Crypto Exchanges, Trading and Markets Which mobile payments startups map phone numbers to underlying Visa card numbers or IBANs? Jul 3, 2015 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments Can you walk through the full credit-card payment flow from the payment terminal and swipe to the issuing bank returning an authorization code? Jul 3, 2015 Card Networks and Card Issuing What monthly income would I need to comfortably buy a $5 coffee daily in the U.S.? Jul 3, 2015 Personal and Consumer Finance, Budgeting and Saving Since many people have debit cards but not credit cards, is there or could there be a debit-based online payment option in Pakistan? Jul 3, 2015 Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards Which bank in Pakistan is the best option for opening a personal account? Jul 3, 2015 Opening Bank Accounts, Personal and Business Is online credit-card shopping in Pakistan truly risky, or is the fear mainly due to perception and lack of awareness? Jul 3, 2015 Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards How do employers pay freelance writers located in other countries? Jul 3, 2015 Freelancers, Side Hustles and Getting Paid Online Where are national bank accounts actually held? Jul 3, 2015 Correspondent Banking, Nostro and Vostro, and Settlement For global B2C transfers, what banking details are needed to send winnings from a European gaming bank to users in 190+ countries? Jul 3, 2015 High-Risk Industries Which payment gateways are best in the Middle East, and is a local company required for approval? Jul 3, 2015 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways What is the next major fintech disruption expected in the payments industry? Jul 3, 2015 Fintech, BaaS and Embedded Finance How can I track an international wire transfer if I am not a bank employee but have the SWIFT copy? Jul 3, 2015 International Wire Transfers and Large Transfers Which APIs exist for transferring funds between accounts? Jul 3, 2015 Developer Tools, APIs, Sandboxes and Open Source What is the best international address verification service? Jul 2, 2015 Developer Tools, APIs, Sandboxes and Open Source What revenue layers exist between a U.S. institution holding an MSB license and the end customer? Jul 2, 2015 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration Where can I find information about Greece’s anti–money laundering laws related to money-transfer services? Jul 2, 2015 AML Programs, KYC and Compliance Operations Why does Dwolla require users to provide a Social Security Number? Jul 2, 2015 AML Programs, KYC and Compliance Operations How can someone start a business that provides payment processing like Stripe, WePay, or Square? Jul 1, 2015 Starting and Running a Fintech or Payments Business Does Xoom provide next-day credit for transfers to India? Jul 1, 2015 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad What are common compliance-related reasons banks reject wire transfers? Jul 1, 2015 International Wire Transfers and Large Transfers What does a domestic wire transfer actually cost a bank to execute behind the scenes? Jun 12, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems Would Cuba’s economy improve significantly if the U.S. embargo were lifted? Jun 12, 2015 Sanctions, Embargoes and Screening If the SWIFT code is entered incorrectly, how long does it usually take for an international wire to bounce back? Jun 12, 2015 International Wire Transfers and Large Transfers How would you convince a government to accept Bitcoin and recognize it as a legal commodity? Jun 12, 2015 Regulators, Enforcement and Regulatory Change Many Wall Street figures face pending cases for fraud or money laundering but remain free—is this due to their power, and would jailing them do more harm than good? Jun 11, 2015 Money Laundering and Financial Crime What advantages does using Bitcoin provide compared with holding funds in a Swiss bank account? Jun 11, 2015 Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Basics How do countries repay debts worth millions, and is the money moved electronically or physically? 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