Welcome to a video series I am putting together on how to start a money transfer business. It seems folks don’t have too much time to read lengthy articles or other blog posts, so I thought I’d give it a try by putting up small (read: short) videos that explain some of the nuances. Needless to say, you can argue, each video left this out or left that out. That is true. Even though as small of a subject each video discusses, it is in NO way complete. There is so much information out there, I am not sure if I or anyone else would be able to compile it together.

Nonetheless, this is a small endeavour to try to achieve just that.

Introduction – Watch This First

Starting Out? Learn the basics

• How To Start A Money Transfer Business? YouTube Series (Intro video)
• Financing – How are you getting the money to start this? Friends or Family?
• Monetary Requirement – How much money is required to start it?
• What “problem” are you trying to solve?
• Build versus Lease versus Buy – Which one is the right choice?
• Banking, License, Compliance, and Regulations!
• What Are Remittances?
• Why Are Remittances Important?
• What is an ISO and what do they do?
• What is a Flow of Funds (Time Motion Diagram)
• What is Passporting?
• What is KYC?
• What is KYB?
• Your Business Intelligence Plan?
• How to Validate your Problem & Solution Via Field Research?
• What is a Term Sheet?
• What Is Source Of Funds (SOF)?
• What is Aggregation and How does it Work in the World of Money Transfer?
• What is Liquidity?
• What Is The Travel Rule?
• Money Transfer as a Service (MTaaS) – General Presentation
• Explanation of Cross Border Money Transfer (Pre-Funded and Non-Pre-Funded)
• Example of Money Transfer from US to UK. Walk Through Description
• Currency Cross Rate! What Is It?
• What Is The Mid-Market Rate (or the Interbank rate)? Why Is It Important?
• What Are Exotic Currencies? Why Are They Called Exotic To Begin With?
• What is a UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner)?
• How To Start A Money Transfer Business? (Updated Intro Message)

Licensing

• Difference between MTL and MSB?
• What is Money Transmitter License and How Can You Get One?
• Do I Need A License To Start A Money Transfer Service?
• How many Money Transmitter Licenses do I require if I have to do business in the US?
• Licensing: Agent vs. Program Manager
• How will you operate? As a License Holder or as an ISO?
• What Is A Decent Revenue Share For Using Someone Else’s License For Regulatory Coverage?
• Why Do You Need a Money Transmitter License If You Are Licensed Outside the U.S.?
• How Much Do Money Transmitter Licenses Cost?
• What Does A Program Manager Do?
• What Is A Program Manager? (Part II)
• FinCEN Registration & Money Transmitter Licenses
• Is FinCEN Registration Free or Not?
• Why FinCEN Registration is NOT a License?
• Unlicensed Money Transfer! What to do next?
• 3rd Party Payment Apps? It Might Be Illegal To Use Them!
• Difference Between An Authorized Delegate vs Non-Authorized Delegate
• I have an idea for an app. Do I need a license to send money all over the world?
• Buying a UK SPI License? Consider this!
• Working with an EMI license and becoming an EMD Agent
• Nationwide Coverage vs. Must-Have States?
• Want To Get Your Own EMI Or Become An EMI Agent? Consider This.
• Leveraging A License
• Single-State License In the United States – What Can You Do With It?
• Difference Between EMD (Registered Agent) and Sponsorship
• Difference between an API and an EMI
• What is a Program Manager? (Updated)

Banking

• What is a Correspondent Tie-Up Agreement?
• What is a Pre-funded Account?
• What is a Payout Partner?
• What is a Good Funds Settled Model?
• What is a Payment Account?
• What is Pre-Funding and How Does it Work?
• What is a Reserve Account?
• What Is An FBO (For Benefit Of) Account?
• What is Netting Off and How Does it Work?
• What is a Correspondent Tie-up? & Why is it Necessary?
• What is a Tri-Party Correspondent Tie-Up Agreement?
• As a Licensed MTO Can You Operate A Bank Account Outside In Another Country?
• What If Banks Decide To Close My Account After The Account Has Been Active For Some Time?
• BYOB – Build Your Own Bank! (Video: 1 of 3)
• BYOB – Build Your Own Bank! (Video: 2 of 3)
• BYOB – Build Your Own Bank (Video: 3 of 3)
• Need Pre-funding Money for your Money Transfer business?
• Build Your Own Bank As A Service (BYOBaaS)
• Understanding Merchant Account Zones for Acquiring
• Flow of Funds for Correspondent Accounts (for Remittance as a Service) – USA Only
• Merchant Account! You Cannot Just Get It – You Have To Apply And Qualify For It
• Want To Build A Neo Bank?
• Card Acquiring Options for Money Transfer Operators

Remittances

• How Big is the P2P Remittance Market?
• How Big is the B2B Market?
• What is a Corridor Killer?
• Negotiating with a Financial Institution – Are You a Good Negotiator?
• Are You A Fintech That Is Going From Zero to One?
• What is Remittance-As-A-Service (RaaS)?
• What are the Pros and Cons of RaaS (Remittance-as-a-Service)?
• How Much Does Remittance-As-A-Service (RaaS) Cost?
• How Much Do I Charge For RaaS Consulting?
• What Does The Value Added Payment Stack in Remittances Look Like?
• Why Value-Added Payments In Remittances Reduces Financial Misappropriation?
• How Long Does It Take To Setup A Remittance-As-A-Service Solution?
• Is It Possible To Have Real Time Transfers in Money Transfer World?
• How Big Is The Real Time Payments Economy in the Money Transfer World?
• Is There Fraud In The Money Transfer Industry?
• What is Hawala (or Hundi)?
• What is Hawala? (Part Two)
• What are Official and Unofficial Remittances?
• The Case For Small Value Remittances
• How Does Hawala Work? How In A Few Minutes, You Can Get Money Across The World, In Your Hotel Room!
• Who Pays for the Remittance Fees Customer or MTO?
• Real-Time Payments The Trillion Dollar Opportunity
• Interoperability in Payments
• Value Addition in Money Transfers (Remittances)
• Interoperability between Wallets and Stored Value Systems
• Super APIs. What the heck are they?
• Quick Understanding of Hyperlocal Payments
• Difference between an Aggregator and a Super API
• Let’s talk about Somalia
• Where Does Your Company Need To Be Registered (For RAAS)?
• You Do Not Have To Be Afraid Of RaaS From The United States
• Let Us Talk About Turkey Versus UAE: Who Is Winning The Money-Transfer Game?
• Want to start a Money Transfer Company? Have You Considered RaaS?
• The Next Big Thing? Micropayments!
• The Brick Equation
• How Big Is The B2B Market Compared To The P2P Market?
• How Big Is The Market Size For Small Value Transfers?
• Percentage Only Transactions – Removing Network Access Charges
• Wallet vs. Remittances
• Demo of White-Label, Skin-able, Mobile App for Remittances
• World Bank Data: Average Cost of Sending Remittances
• Launching of new Remittance as a Service (RaaS) Pricing

Cryptocurrency

• Remittances 2.0 – Crypto in remittances
• USA to Nigeria: Money Transfer using Bitcoins! (or any other country in Africa)
• How Can A Traditional Money Transfer Business Get Started With Cryptocurrency For Remittances?
• Got a Cryptocurrency Project? Think you’re exempt from licensing? Think again!
• How Stable Coins Have Failed For Value Transfer In Cross Border Payments
• Five Things You Can Do To Get Started With Crypto for Your Money Transfer Business – No Fluff!
• Don’t Fall For COVID19 Token / Coins for Remittances Scam!
• What Happens When Central Bank Issued Digital Currency (CBDC) Comes Out?
• What Is A Collateralized Asset In The Digital/Crypto World?
• What I Think Of XRP
• Is XRP and RippleNet Going To Be Dominant And Be The Winner?
• Starting a Crypto-Related Money Transfer Business? Understand Regulations!

Operations

• Is There Money To Be Made In The Money Transfer Business?
• Is there Money To Be Made in the Money Transfer Business (Part II)?
• Are You A Small Money Transfer Operator? 12 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself.
• FinCEN MSB Definition for Transactions Under $1000 Per Person Per Day
• Are You A Small Independent Money Transfer Operator That Is Struggling?
• Understanding Custody of Funds in Money Transfer / Remittances
• 5 Questions Before Starting A Money Transfer Business to High-Risk Countries!
• 10 Things to know before Starting your own Money Transfer Business!
• FAQ on Money Transmitter License Sponsorship under an ISO Program for the United States
• How to Build a Small Payments (Money Transfer) Company
• 7 Steps to Starting a Cross Border Payments Company
• Card Processing for your Money Transfer Business
• As a Money Transfer Company… What are your Top 5 Problems?
• What is a Remittance Contract? …How Does It Work?
• Legal Contracts… Do You Have A Say In Them?
• Legal Opinion: Why Banks Do Not Provide Legal Opinion For Your Flow Of Funds Or Licensing?
• EMI Agents & Restriction on Correspondent Agreements
• How To Better Your Money Transfer Business During These Quarantined Times
• 5 Things To Do Today To Better Your Money Transfer Business In The US
• How Do We Charge Our fees?
• Volume Fees! What’s The Magic Number?
• Why Do Prices Vary In Different Markets?
• Architecting A Mobile Wallet That Customers Want
• So You Want To Start A Money Transfer Business?
• Shall We Test Your Knowledge On Money Transfer?
• 12-Pivot Points for Money Transfer Operators
• MLS Type Collaboration for Money Transfer Businesses
• USA to Nigeria Money Transfer Business
• Nigeria: Pre-funding Project
• MTOs as Cash Out Points App Idea
• Somali MTOs in Minnesota – The Turkey Option!
• Naira Parallel Market Rate and Money Transfer
• How Do You Defeat Or Work With A Parallel Market Rate?
• Revenue Modeling Google Sheet for Remittances – Simplex and Complex
• Financial Modeling For The Money Transfer Business
• Some hurdles to consider when starting a money transfer business to Nigeria

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This page was last updated on November 27, 2020.