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
Is it possible to open multiple accounts within one bank? Mar 8, 2013 Opening Bank Accounts, Personal and Business What are the necessary requirements to establish a bank? Mar 8, 2013 Central Banks and Bank Supervision Are banks required to disclose fraud-related losses publicly, such as in call reports? Mar 7, 2013 Tax and Financial Reporting What is required to build a PayPal-like payment service that enables online payments and money transfers through the Internet or branded credit/debit cards? Mar 6, 2013 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration Which Pakistani bank is most advanced digitally and strongest in social media performance? Mar 6, 2013 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned Can a bank run occur digitally without physical withdrawals? Mar 6, 2013 Central Banks and Bank Supervision How would you explain PayPal to an 18-year-old with no prior experience in online payments? Mar 6, 2013 Digital Wallets, Mobile Money and P2P Payments What does it take to build a PayPal-like payment service that enables online payments and money transfers (and possibly branded cards)? Mar 6, 2013 US Money Transmitter Licensing and MSB Registration How can I generate income without traditional employment? Mar 5, 2013 Freelancers, Side Hustles and Getting Paid Online How does someone begin trading stocks? Mar 5, 2013 Capital Markets: Stocks, Bonds and Derivatives Which bank is ideal for managing accounts in multiple currencies? Mar 5, 2013 Personal and Consumer Finance, Budgeting and Saving Which U.S. banks provide euro-denominated bank accounts? Mar 5, 2013 Opening Bank Accounts, Personal and Business Can additional deposits be made into an existing certificate of deposit (CD)? Mar 5, 2013 Personal and Consumer Finance, Budgeting and Saving Online Payments: What is the most effective way for a startup to accept international bank transfers? Mar 5, 2013 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways How might the Visa–JPMorgan partnership affect the payments industry? Mar 4, 2013 Business Strategy, Case Studies and Lessons Learned How does a credit/debit card transaction actually function behind the scenes? Mar 4, 2013 Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards Which topics would be most engaging in an m-payment workshop for developing countries? Mar 1, 2013 Emerging Markets and Financial Inclusion Would banks invest in new payment rails if it allowed them to dominate digital payments like they dominate card networks? Mar 1, 2013 Domestic Payment Rails, National Switches and Clearing Systems How does banking transaction software interface with ACH networks? Feb 12, 2013 Banking and Payments Technology Stack Why are many institutions reluctant to partner with Bitcoin-related businesses? Feb 12, 2013 Sponsor Banks, FBO Accounts and Banking Access for Fintechs and MSBs How does the payments ecosystem function, and what is the end-to-end workflow from a merchant’s transaction to the acquirer? Feb 12, 2013 Merchant Accounts, Processors and Gateways What’s required to build a card-present payments system from scratch, and are there open-source options? Feb 12, 2013 Banking and Payments Technology Stack Do Visa and Mastercard run private processing networks, and why not use the public internet instead? Feb 12, 2013 Card Networks and Card Issuing What does it actually cost a bank to process a check? Feb 12, 2013 Payment Operations, Pricing and Fees Why are card processing fees charged to the merchant rather than the cardholder? Feb 12, 2013 Payment Operations, Pricing and Fees What is required to build a card-present payment system from scratch, and is open-source software available? Feb 12, 2013 Banking and Payments Technology Stack Do Visa and MasterCard operate private payment networks, and why don’t they rely solely on the public internet? Feb 12, 2013 Card Networks and Card Issuing What is the real cost incurred by a bank when processing a check? Feb 12, 2013 Payment Operations, Pricing and Fees Why are credit card processing fees charged to merchants instead of cardholders? Feb 12, 2013 Payment Operations, Pricing and Fees Does a bank safe deposit box function as a Faraday cage? Feb 11, 2013 General Finance Questions For an e-commerce business, what is the best method to offer users a secondary payment processor? Feb 11, 2013 E-Commerce, Marketplace and Platform Payments Which types of remittance services do you personally use? Feb 10, 2013 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad Why do card networks charge merchants a percentage of each transaction? Feb 10, 2013 Payment Operations, Pricing and Fees Why do credit card networks charge merchants a percentage-based transaction fee? Feb 10, 2013 Payment Operations, Pricing and Fees What technology enables platforms to take a commission while users sell products within a social network? Feb 9, 2013 E-Commerce, Marketplace and Platform Payments How can I launch a legally compliant online business? Feb 8, 2013 Starting and Running a Fintech or Payments Business What advantages does an American Express corporate card offer in India? Feb 8, 2013 Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards How can I find statistics on the number of bank accounts by country? Feb 8, 2013 General Finance Questions Are there banking products specifically designed for children aged 7–14? Feb 8, 2013 Personal and Consumer Finance, Budgeting and Saving Which bank has the widest global branch or ATM presence? Feb 8, 2013 General Finance Questions Do Pakistani banks maintain internal credit scores for customers? Feb 8, 2013 Lending, Credit Scores and BNPL If you could only pick one social network, which would it be and why? Feb 8, 2013 General Finance Questions What perks come with holding an American Express corporate card in India? Feb 8, 2013 Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards What inspired you to begin managing your personal finances? Feb 8, 2013 Personal and Consumer Finance, Budgeting and Saving Where can I find statistics on the number of bank accounts by country? Feb 8, 2013 General Finance Questions Do banks offer special programs or accounts for kids aged 7–14? Feb 8, 2013 Personal and Consumer Finance, Budgeting and Saving Which bank operates the largest branch network globally? Feb 8, 2013 General Finance Questions Do Pakistani banks track and maintain customer credit scores? Feb 8, 2013 Lending, Credit Scores and BNPL Which service is best for sending money to my husband in Africa? Feb 7, 2013 Sending and Receiving Money Abroad What are the key security risks of using PHP or other scripting languages for financial web apps compared to Java? Feb 7, 2013 Cybersecurity, Digital Identity and Authentication