Faisal Khan LLC
Edition 1.1 · August 2026 · 110 elements

The Periodic Table of
Cross-Border Payments

Position is the argument. Columns are what a company must bond with to function. Rows are reach. Read two cells together and you can price the partnership before anyone opens a term sheet.

Why a table, not a list

A market map ranks. A table predicts. Empty cells are the useful part: each one marks a structural role that scale should have filled and nobody has.

Home

The table is wider than this screen. Swipe it sideways to see all 18 groups.

Click any element to open it

Detached rows · digital asset infrastructure · inserted at group 3 · edition 1.1

How to read a cell

96 Bk BVNK m 20 c 2.3 Element number 1 to 110, rises with reach Symbol two or three characters Company name domain shown on click Licensing class ● own licenses ◖ some markets only ○ holds none Mass and capture m volume, 0 to 100 c economics it takes, 0.5 to 4.0 Fill colour shows the block. Position shows the argument.

Stable compounds

  • G1 + G18Sponsored access. The standard structure. Noble partner takes the compliance risk and most of the margin.
  • G1 + G1Explosive. Two unlicensed parties stacking APIs with no regulated entity in the chain.
  • G3 + G12Stablecoin app on a clearing bank. Works until the bank re-reads its risk appetite.
  • G7 + G6Global network buying last-mile reach. Durable, and the regional side rarely gets repriced upward.
  • Δc < 0.4Two firms with similar capture scores fight over the customer instead of splitting the economics.

Where the metaphor breaks

Chemistry has 118 fixed elements. Companies move between groups the moment they buy a license, and they decay: Currencycloud became Visa, Ria became Euronet. So the table carries an edition date, and the same firm can appear as isotopes, one regulated entity per jurisdiction.

The perimeter line is the payload. It bulges right at periods 2 to 4, where crypto-native firms run at regional scale without full licensing, then snaps back left at global scale. Volume forces licensing. Nothing on this chart survives period 6 unlicensed.

URLs of companies mentioned

All 110 companies on this chart, listed alphabetically. Each link opens in a new window. Inclusion is identification only, not endorsement.

faisalkhan.com
Cross-Border Payments, Access to Banking, Licensing. Faisal Khan, LLC.
Mass and capture are editorial estimates built for structural comparison, not reported financials. Group placement reflects a company's primary bonding behaviour, not its full product range. Domains shown as published at the edition date. FK-E002.

Disclaimer

This chart is published for general information only. It is not legal, regulatory, tax, investment or financial advice, and reading it creates no advisory, fiduciary or client relationship with Faisal Khan LLC. Group placements, mass figures and capture scores are editorial estimates prepared for structural comparison. They are not reported financials, they are not audited, and they may be incomplete, inaccurate or out of date. Licensing status changes often and varies by jurisdiction, so verify the current position directly with the company and the relevant regulator before you rely on any of it. Inclusion is not an endorsement or a recommendation, and it is not a statement that any company named is compliant, solvent, or suitable for your purpose. Faisal Khan LLC may hold commercial relationships with companies shown here. All company names, marks and domains belong to their respective owners and are used for identification only. Outbound links are provided for convenience; Faisal Khan LLC does not control and is not responsible for third-party sites. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Faisal Khan LLC accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on, this chart.

© 2026. All Rights Reserved. Faisal Khan, LLC. · faisalkhan.com
FK-E002 · Edition 1.1 · August 2026