Three decades inside regulated money movement
I help companies decide whether they need a license, which one, and how to get it — before they build the wrong thing.
From Technology to Global Financial Consulting
Est. 2010 · Sixteen years advisingOver thirty-one years in financial services, spent almost entirely 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 in banking. I moved into banking and payments, and then increasingly into cross-border payments, where I saw at first hand how badly companies get caught by regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions — not because the rules are impossible, but because the wrong structure was chosen before anyone understood the flow of funds.
Since establishing 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 — helping them obtain licenses, secure banking relationships, and build compliance frameworks that hold up under examination.
Today the work is mostly licensing strategy, MSB banking access, and cross-border payment structures, alongside publications, speaking, and the educational platforms that sit around the practice.
Every call I take, I take myself. Twelve thousand of them so far.
Faisal Khan · Founder
In financial services, most of it on cross-border movement.
Startups through to established financial institutions.
Jurisdictions where we have placed or advised on licensing.
Engagements reaching the outcome the client came for.
Three areas, thirty years
Licensing & compliance
Money transmitter licensing, payment institution registration, and compliance frameworks across multiple jurisdictions.
50+ successful license applicationsMulti-state licensing strategiesRegulatory exam preparationCompliance programme developmentBanking relationships
Securing and keeping banking relationships for high-risk and regulated businesses — the thing most operators underestimate.
MSB-friendly bank introductionsDue diligence package preparationCorrespondent banking solutionsAccount maintenance strategiesCross-border payments
Optimising international payment infrastructure, partnerships, and the regulatory position underneath them.
Payment corridor optimisationSettlement mechanism designFX risk managementInternational licensing strategiesThe approach
Tailored, not templated
There is no one-size-fits-all answer in licensing. Every engagement starts with your business model, target markets, and specific regulatory position — then the strategy follows from that, not from a playbook.
A long-term partner
Compliance is not a one-time project. Regulations change, businesses grow, and new problems arrive. Most of my client relationships outlast the engagement that started them.
Compliance that enables
Compliance should let the business grow, not stall it. The aim is a practical, risk-based framework that satisfies the regulator without creating operational friction you will resent in a year.
What I do
Advise on regulatory strategy and pathway selectionIntroduce you to licensed principals, banks, and solution providersPrepare applications, business plans, and financial modelsStructure sponsorship, delegate, and acquisition arrangementsLiaise with regulators, sponsors, and sellers through to grantWhat I am not
A bank, money transmitter, or money services businessA law firm — and nothing here is legal adviceIn the flow of funds, ever; we do not hold client moneyA filer of applications on your behalf without engagementA source of shortcuts around licensing requirementsBring me the problem before you build around it
Licensing, banking access, payments, remittances, compliance, or stablecoin settlement. Describe the situation and I will tell you what is actually required.