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
Are online payment services regulated by governments and financial authorities? Mar 9, 2015 Regulators, Enforcement and Regulatory Change Is PCI compliance still required if a system uses tokenization? Mar 9, 2015 Cybersecurity, Digital Identity and Authentication In simple terms, why do banks maintain nostro accounts with other banks? Mar 9, 2015 Correspondent Banking, Nostro and Vostro, and Settlement Which banks received emergency loans from the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis? Mar 9, 2015 Central Banks and Bank Supervision From a payments perspective, what challenges do multinational companies face when paying for employees’ travel or corporate expenses abroad? Mar 8, 2015 Treasury, Liquidity and Corporate Finance How does a weak rupee against the U.S. dollar impact the Indian economy? Mar 8, 2015 Economics, Inflation and Monetary Policy Are paperless checks as insecure as they appear? Mar 8, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems Why do banks charge monthly account fees? Mar 8, 2015 How Banks Work After exchanging currency on CurrencyFair, how can you access your funds? Mar 8, 2015 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad How do offshore bank accounts function? Mar 8, 2015 Opening Bank Accounts, Personal and Business If money moves electronically between bank accounts, how is physical cash “settled” or accounted for? Mar 8, 2015 How Banks Work Are there risks that France might retaliate against U.S. banks operating there after the large fine imposed on BNP? Mar 7, 2015 Regulators, Enforcement and Regulatory Change Why did Visa advertise during the 2014 World Cup final when most people choose cards based on factors other than the network brand? Mar 7, 2015 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned How difficult is it to legally transfer $800,000 (or any large amount over $100,000) from Pakistan to another country such as Australia, and what is the process? Mar 7, 2015 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad What types of organizations are authorized to issue credit cards? Mar 6, 2015 Card Networks and Card Issuing Do we actually need cents anymore, and why not price everything purely in whole dollars? Mar 6, 2015 Payments (General) How disruptive could Facebook be in the payments industry? Mar 6, 2015 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned Will Facebook ever introduce a PayPal-like service? Mar 6, 2015 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments What is the best way to ensure international clients pay on time? Mar 6, 2015 Trade Finance, Letters of Credit and B2B Payments How do you connect a website with a payment system? Mar 6, 2015 Developer Tools, APIs, Sandboxes and Open Source Was Liberty Reserve’s shutdown an attempt by the U.S. to control digital or e-currencies, and how severely did it impact Bitcoin? Mar 5, 2015 Regulators, Enforcement and Regulatory Change Do banks hire consultants to help review and process loan applications? Mar 5, 2015 Lending, Credit Scores and BNPL Which Basel Accord requirements must be reflected in Philippine banking regulations? Mar 5, 2015 Central Banks and Bank Supervision What features would persuade you to use a new alternative or mobile payment system from Apple, Facebook, or Google? Mar 4, 2015 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments What security advantage is gained when a bank mails your credit card separately from the letter containing your PIN—couldn’t a thief just steal both anyway? Mar 3, 2015 Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards Who are some of the top lawyers and law firms specializing in money-transmitter licensing for both startups and established companies? Mar 3, 2015 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration Can peer-to-peer payment platforms transfer money across state lines without obtaining money-transfer licenses? Mar 3, 2015 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration Can an individual legally create their own currency? Mar 3, 2015 Law, Contracts, Terms of Service and Legal Structures Mobile Commerce: What is the smoothest way to redeem coupons without relying on a POS device? Mar 3, 2015 Payments (General) What were the early phone-based credit card readers before Square? Mar 3, 2015 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways Why haven’t banks implemented fingerprint identity checks at point-of-sale terminals? Mar 2, 2015 Cybersecurity, Digital Identity and Authentication How much could PayPal earn from interest on funds stored in user accounts? Mar 1, 2015 Treasury, Liquidity and Corporate Finance What are the major challenges and emerging trends in international payment systems? Mar 1, 2015 Starting and Running a Fintech or Payments Business How does a remittance agent make money when send and receive amounts differ? For example, sending AUD 1,000 to the US from Australia, and when $100,000 USD is sent from US to Australia? Mar 1, 2015 Money Transfer Business and MTOs Why does the banking sector require regulation? Feb 12, 2015 Central Banks and Bank Supervision For web-based payment processors, what key pieces are still missing in today’s payments infrastructure? Feb 12, 2015 Banking and Payments Technology Stack Can TransferWise’s P2P matching model work only in two-way corridors, or can it also work in one-way remittance corridors from developed to developing countries? Feb 12, 2015 Payment Corridors and Remittance Economics In what ways have banks lobbied to reduce or remove financial education from public school curricula? Feb 12, 2015 General Finance Questions Economics: At what oil price level would Saudi Arabia be forced to respond to falling crude prices? Feb 12, 2015 Economics, Inflation and Monetary Policy Can Bitcoin exchanges trade on their own platforms and gain an unfair advantage over normal users? Feb 12, 2015 Crypto Exchanges, Trading and Markets What is the usual process for closing a bank account in Pakistan? Feb 12, 2015 How Banks Work How do Chinese exporters handle customs, taxes, and related costs when shipping goods to the U.S., and how much do these add to prices? Feb 11, 2015 Trade Finance, Letters of Credit and B2B Payments What is the lowest-cost way to transfer money between countries? Feb 11, 2015 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad How can I buy Bitcoin while living in Canada? Feb 11, 2015 Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Basics Why do Bitcoin exchanges show so many very small BTC trades? Feb 11, 2015 Crypto Exchanges, Trading and Markets How do you obtain ISO status through a bank relationship? Feb 11, 2015 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways How do international bank-to-bank transfers function end to end? Feb 11, 2015 Correspondent Banking, Nostro and Vostro, and Settlement As of February 2015, had Visa officially rolled out its P2PE solution? Feb 11, 2015 Card Networks and Card Issuing Which Bitcoin startups in 2015 were considered the most exciting and genuinely innovative? Feb 11, 2015 Money Transfer Business and MTOs How does ACH work in practice, how are payments processed, and how does ACH differ from RTGS and other local payment switches? Feb 11, 2015 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems