Finding a bank that understands and accepts money service businesses is difficult. Most financial institutions view MSBs as high-risk, even when the business is properly licensed, well-capitalized, and operating with a strong compliance program.
Faisal Khan LLC helps qualified money service businesses, money transmitters, remittance companies, foreign exchange operators, and payment companies identify and connect with banks and regulated financial institutions that have an appetite for their business model.
We assist with both US and international banking requirements, including operating accounts, settlement accounts, safeguarding arrangements, virtual accounts, payment accounts, ACH access, domestic and international wires, and SWIFT connectivity.
Tell us about your licenses, ownership, countries, transaction flows, currencies, expected volumes, and required banking capabilities. We will assess whether there is a suitable banking route within our network.
Why MSB-Friendly Banks Are Difficult to Find
Most banks do not actively seek money service business clients.
Banking an MSB requires additional compliance resources, specialized transaction monitoring, detailed understanding of payment flows, and greater regulatory oversight. Many banks do not have the internal expertise or risk appetite to manage these relationships.
As a result, MSBs frequently experience:
Rejected account applications
Unexpected account closures
Restrictions on international payments
Limits on ACH or wire activity
Requests to conceal or simplify the nature of the business
Long onboarding processes that end without approval
Banking relationships that cannot support actual transaction volumes
This is not always a reflection of the quality of the MSB. It is often a structural problem within the banking market.
The solution is not to apply to more banks indiscriminately. The solution is to approach institutions that understand regulated payment businesses and are willing to evaluate them properly.
What Is an MSB-Friendly Bank?
An MSB-friendly bank is a financial institution that has the compliance infrastructure, operational capabilities, and risk appetite required to serve money service businesses.
A genuinely MSB-friendly institution should be willing to:
Review FinCEN-registered MSBs and licensed money transmitters
Understand domestic and international remittance activity
Evaluate payment corridors and transaction patterns appropriately
Review your AML, BSA, sanctions, KYC, and transaction-monitoring controls
Accept your MSB status as part of the application rather than discovering it later
Support the payment rails required by your business
Maintain an ongoing compliance relationship with your company
Not every institution that describes itself as MSB-friendly can support every type of MSB.
A bank may accept check cashers but not international remittance companies. Another may accept domestic payment companies but not crypto-related activity. Some banks only support specific states, currencies, customer types, or payment corridors.
The correct banking relationship depends on your licensing, business model, ownership, transaction flows, geography, and compliance profile.
Banking Solutions We Help Identify
Depending on your requirements, we may evaluate several types of banking and payment relationships.
US MSB Bank Accounts
We work with banks, community banks, credit unions, banking program managers, and financial infrastructure providers that may consider properly licensed and compliant US money service businesses.
Potential services may include:
Business operating accounts
Customer funds or settlement accounts
ACH origination and receipt
Domestic wire transfers
International wire transfers
SWIFT access
Check processing
API-enabled banking services
Multi-account or program structures
Availability depends on your state licenses, registration status, transaction profile, ownership, countries, and compliance controls.
International MSB Banking
For MSBs operating outside the United States, we assess banking and payment-account options in jurisdictions where institutions have experience serving regulated payment companies.
These relationships may include:
International business accounts
Multi-currency accounts
Local collection accounts
Cross-border settlement accounts
Foreign exchange capabilities
SWIFT payments
Virtual IBANs
Named or pooled account structures
Safeguarding or segregated account arrangements
International banking is highly dependent on the applicant’s jurisdiction, ownership, operating history, customer base, payment corridors, and source of funds.
Banking-as-a-Service and Embedded Banking
Some licensed MSBs require more than a standard corporate bank account.
Depending on the business model, a Banking-as-a-Service or embedded-finance provider may offer:
Virtual accounts
Sub-accounts
Payment APIs
ACH and wire functionality
Ledger infrastructure
Customer payment accounts
Card-program support
Programmatic reconciliation
Segregated or custodial structures
These arrangements are subject to detailed underwriting and generally require a mature compliance program, technical readiness, operational controls, and sufficient projected transaction volume.
EMI and Payment Institution Accounts
In some jurisdictions, an electronic money institution, payment institution, or regulated non-bank financial institution may provide services that resemble banking.
These may include:
Named payment accounts
Virtual IBANs
Local and international transfers
Currency conversion
Customer collections
Merchant settlements
Safeguarded funds arrangements
An EMI or payment-institution account is not necessarily the same as a bank account. The legal structure, deposit protection, safeguarding model, account ownership, and permitted use must be reviewed carefully.
Crypto-Adjacent MSB Banking
Crypto-related MSBs face additional scrutiny, but banking may still be possible for properly structured and compliant businesses.
We may assess banking routes for:
Crypto-to-fiat on-ramp providers
Fiat-to-crypto off-ramp providers
OTC trading desks
Licensed virtual asset businesses
Stablecoin settlement companies
Payment companies using blockchain infrastructure
Regulated exchanges and brokers
Banks will examine wallet controls, blockchain analytics, source-of-funds procedures, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, customer eligibility, exposure to restricted jurisdictions, and the role of third-party counterparties.
Who We Assist
Our MSB banking work is relevant to businesses such as:
Licensed money transmitters
FinCEN-registered money service businesses
Remittance companies
International money transfer operators
Foreign exchange companies
Currency exchanges
Check-cashing businesses
Payment processors
Payment aggregators
Prepaid and stored-value programs
Card-program managers
Merchant settlement companies
Cross-border payment platforms
Crypto on-ramp and off-ramp providers
Regulated virtual asset businesses
Fintech companies entering regulated payments
Foreign-owned MSBs seeking US banking
MSBs that have experienced previous account closures
What Banks Will Review
A banking introduction is not a guarantee of account approval.
Every bank or financial institution will conduct its own compliance, risk, credit, and commercial review. A weak or incomplete application can damage the opportunity, even when the institution has an appetite for MSBs.
Before making an introduction, we may review the following areas.
Licensing and Registration
FinCEN MSB registration
State money transmitter licenses
Foreign regulatory licenses
Exemptions or licensing opinions
Authorized business activities
Regulatory examination history
Pending license applications
Ownership and Corporate Structure
Shareholders and beneficial owners
Directors and senior management
Group structure
Parent and subsidiary companies
Foreign ownership
Source of capital
Related companies and affiliates
Compliance Program
AML and BSA policies
Customer identification procedures
Know Your Customer controls
Know Your Business controls
Sanctions screening
Politically exposed person screening
Transaction monitoring
Suspicious activity reporting
Compliance testing
Independent AML audit
Compliance officer experience
Business and Transaction Profile
Products and services
Customer types
Countries served
Payment corridors
Expected monthly volume
Average transaction size
Maximum transaction size
Number of monthly transactions
Source and destination of funds
Use of third-party processors
Cash exposure
Crypto exposure
Anticipated account balances
Banking Requirements
Operating account
Settlement account
Customer funds account
ACH access
Domestic wires
International wires
SWIFT access
Check processing
Virtual accounts
Multi-currency capability
API connectivity
Foreign exchange services
Historical Issues
Previous bank-account closures
Regulatory inquiries
Consent orders
Enforcement actions
Material complaints
Fraud losses
Suspicious activity concerns
Processing interruptions
Previous rejected applications
Prior banking problems are not automatically disqualifying. They must, however, be disclosed accurately and explained properly.
Our MSB Banking Process
1. Initial Assessment
We begin by reviewing your business model, licenses, ownership, banking history, transaction profile, target countries, expected volumes, and required banking services.
This allows us to determine whether the request is commercially and operationally realistic.
2. Banking Strategy
We identify the type of relationship most suitable for your business.
This may be a US bank account, an international bank account, an EMI payment account, a safeguarding relationship, a BaaS arrangement, or a combination of providers.
3. Readiness Review
We assess whether your compliance and corporate documentation are strong enough to support an introduction.
Where there are material gaps, we explain what should be corrected before the application is presented.
4. Institution Selection
We identify suitable institutions based on factors such as:
Jurisdiction
Licensing
Ownership
Transaction corridors
Customer profile
Currencies
Payment rails
Compliance maturity
Expected volume
Crypto exposure
Required account structure
5. Supported Introduction
Where a suitable route exists, we introduce the client to the relevant bank, financial institution, program manager, or banking partner.
The introduction includes the context required for the institution to understand the business before reviewing the formal application.
6. Onboarding Support
We remain involved during the onboarding process to assist with clarification, documentation, positioning, and communication where appropriate.
The final approval decision always rests with the bank or financial institution.
What We Do and Do Not Do
Faisal Khan LLC is not a bank.
We do not:
Accept deposits
Hold client funds
Issue bank accounts
Process payments
Make account-approval decisions
Guarantee banking approval
Conceal the nature of an applicant’s business
Introduce businesses that are unwilling to disclose material information
Our role is to provide banking strategy, application preparation guidance, institutional identification, and supported introductions to banks and regulated financial institutions that may have an appetite for the applicant.
MSB Banking Resources
The following resources provide additional information about banking for money service businesses:
List of MSB-Friendly Banks
How to Open a US MSB Bank Account
How to Open a Non-US MSB Bank Account
US or Non-US MSB Banking: Which Is Better?
Documents Required to Open an MSB Bank Account
Why Banks Close MSB Accounts
How Foreign-Owned MSBs Can Apply for US Banking
Frequently Asked Questions
Which banks accept money service businesses?
There is no single bank that accepts every MSB.
Banking appetite varies by business model, licenses, ownership, geography, transaction volume, customer type, payment corridor, and product. Institutions that accept domestic money transmitters may not accept international remittance businesses, crypto-related MSBs, check cashers, or foreign-owned companies.
The objective is to identify institutions whose risk appetite matches the applicant’s specific profile.
How long does it take to open an MSB bank account?
Timelines vary significantly.
A well-prepared US MSB application may take several weeks, while complex, foreign-owned, international, offshore, safeguarding, or BaaS structures can take several months.
The quality and completeness of the compliance file usually have a direct impact on the timeline.
Can a foreign-owned MSB obtain a US bank account?
Yes, but foreign ownership generally results in enhanced due diligence.
The bank will review beneficial ownership, source of wealth, source of capital, US operations, regulatory status, transaction flows, countries, customers, and the commercial reason for requiring a US account.
Foreign ownership is not necessarily disqualifying, but it must be presented transparently.
Do we need to be licensed before applying?
In most cases, the business should have the registrations and licenses required for its activities.
FinCEN registration alone may not be sufficient when state money transmitter licenses are required. Some banks may consider an applicant while licensing is in progress, but the availability of such arrangements is limited.
Can a newly formed MSB obtain banking?
It is possible, but more difficult.
A newly formed MSB must compensate for the lack of operating history by presenting strong capitalization, experienced management, clear transaction projections, credible counterparties, detailed compliance controls, and a realistic go-to-market plan.
Can a crypto MSB obtain a bank account?
Potentially, yes.
The business must be able to demonstrate strong wallet-risk controls, blockchain analytics, sanctions screening, customer due diligence, source-of-funds procedures, transaction monitoring, and restrictions on prohibited jurisdictions and activities.
The exact crypto activity must be disclosed from the beginning.
What happens if our previous bank account was closed?
The closure should be disclosed.
The applicant should explain when the account was closed, why it was closed, whether funds were frozen, whether regulators were involved, and what corrective actions were taken.
A clear explanation supported by evidence is stronger than allowing the new bank to discover the closure independently.
Is an EMI account the same as a bank account?
Not necessarily.
An EMI may provide an account number, IBAN, payment services, currency conversion, and international transfers. However, the funds may be held under a safeguarding arrangement rather than as a conventional bank deposit.
The legal structure and protections should be reviewed before treating the account as equivalent to a bank account.
Do you guarantee account approval?
No.
No consultant, broker, or introducer can legitimately guarantee approval by a regulated financial institution.
We improve the process by identifying suitable institutions, preparing the applicant properly, providing context, and supporting the introduction. The bank retains full discretion over onboarding and approval.
How much does an MSB banking introduction cost?
Fees depend on the complexity of the assignment, jurisdiction, required banking capabilities, compliance readiness, and level of support required.
Pricing is discussed after the initial assessment of the business and banking requirement.
Request an MSB Banking Assessment
If you are a licensed or regulated payment business seeking banking, provide us with the following information:
Company name and jurisdiction
Licenses and registrations held
Ownership and management structure
Products and services
Countries and payment corridors
Customer types
Expected monthly transaction volume
Average transaction size
Required currencies
Required banking services
Crypto exposure, if any
Current and previous banking relationships
Any previous account closures or regulatory issues
We will review the information and determine whether there is a realistic banking route within our network.
Complete the banking assessment form. Qualified inquiries will be reviewed based on licensing, compliance readiness, transaction profile, jurisdiction, and required banking capabilities.