7 Steps to Starting a Cross Border Payments Company

So you have decided you would like to start a cross border payments company, whether this is a wallet, a money transfer company like a remittance business or a business to business company, whatever the path you choose, here are the 7 needed steps to make your idea go live.

1. Speak the Language

There are various nuances and terminologies used in the money transfer / cross-border payments space. You are expected to know of it. It is the equivalent of going to a restaurant and asking what are fries. Okay, what do they taste like? Okay, can I buy one fry? What is Pepsi? or what is a burger? What do you mean with cheese? I’m sure you get the point. Questions like these will frustrate everyone. Spend time learning the terminologies, definitions and a bit of how it works.

I’m on a quest to put out 500-750 videos over the next 1-2 years to explain all these things, but till then, Youtube and Google are your friends.

Here’s a link to my list of explainer videos: How To Setup A Money Transfer Business Playlist

2. Fill out the Regulatory Coverage Form

This form basically is a one-pager on your business idea. It captures:

  • Who you are?
  • What you are trying to achieve?
  • Type of Business you indent to carry out
  • What geographies do you intend to work with?
  • How ready (or not) are you?
  • Some information on your transactions and,
  • A bit of information on your compliance.

You can fill in the form here: Licensing Regulatory Coverage Questionnaire (takes about 10-15 minutes to completely fill it out)

3. Set up a call & Quote

I’ll include a method on how to schedule a call (it is in the description below). On the call, we go over your application. It takes 30 minutes.

We may have questions and/or require clarifications from you.

4. Term Sheet Consideration

The next step is to understand what you are willing to pay for a solution and if there is indeed a provider out there for you This is called a term sheet consideration.

Here’s the link to the form: Term Sheet Consideration

Watch these two videos to understand what is a term sheet.

5. Quote

Once that is done, we will most likely go a project readiness evaluation and provide a quote to you.

6. Referral Agreement & Deposit

Once you have decided to forge ahead, sign the referral agreement and place the appropriate deposit payment as required by the referral agreement.

7. Introduction to Program Manager & License Holder

The last step is the introduction. We will introduce you to the Program Manager and the License Holder.

Here you will sign an NDA with them and then 5 (or 6) things will run in parallel:

  • Due diligence
  • Sandbox API Access / Technology understanding and access
  • Contract Draft (assess the legal binding)
  • The flow of funds/transaction set / KYC / compliance questions
  • Correspondent tie-ups, processing & delivery networks
  • Commercials.

All of this from start to finish takes about 6-to-8 weeks.

Ready to launch your money transfer business? Schedule a call with us by using the link below.

This page was last updated on September 1, 2022.

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