Skip to content

Practice area 03

Banking & Payments

Access to accounts and acquiring is where many regulated businesses stall. We prepare the file, design the flows and negotiate the terms that banks and acquirers assess — the decision to onboard remains theirs.

Discuss your matter

Typical deliverables

  • Bank-ready onboarding pack
  • Merchant account application file
  • Payment flow map and regulatory analysis
  • Negotiated acquiring and PSP agreements
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Agent and distributor agreements

Dedicated services

Instructed on their own

Overview

Why it matters

A licence without a bank account or an acquirer is an expensive certificate. Financial institutions assess gaming, crypto, forex and other high-risk businesses with extra caution, and a weak onboarding file is often rejected without an explanation.

We prepare onboarding documentation the way a bank's compliance team reads it, review and negotiate account, acquiring and PSP agreements, and analyse payment flows so that the business does not unintentionally carry out regulated payment activity itself.

Scope

What we do

  1. 1.

    Bank Account Opening

    Support with corporate, operational and safeguarding accounts at banks and EMIs: institution shortlisting, onboarding files and due diligence responses.

  2. 2.

    Merchant Account Opening

    Support with merchant account applications to acquirers and PSPs, including for merchant categories that providers classify as high-risk.

  3. 3.

    Acquiring / Payment Setup

    Acquiring structure, gateways and payment methods, with agreements reviewed for reserves, rolling holds, chargeback terms and termination rights.

  4. 4.

    Payment Flow Analysis

    Mapping who holds funds at each step, whether the model triggers payment or e-money licensing, and how available exemptions apply.

  5. 5.

    Safeguarding and Client Funds

    Safeguarding arrangements, segregated accounts and the documentation auditors and regulators expect for client money.

  6. 6.

    Card Scheme and High-Risk Rules

    Working within card scheme requirements for restricted merchant categories, including registration and monitoring programmes.

  7. 7.

    Agents and Distributors

    Structuring agent, distributor and embedded-finance partnerships so that regulatory responsibility is clearly allocated.

Industries

Where we apply it

Questions

Frequently asked

Can you guarantee a bank account?

No adviser can: account opening is always the bank's decision. What we can do is make sure your file is complete, consistent and addresses the risks the bank will focus on, which materially improves how it is received.

Our PSP holds a large reserve. Can it be renegotiated?

Often, yes — particularly once you have processing history. We review the agreement, the reserve mechanics and your chargeback data, and prepare a position for renegotiation or for moving volumes to additional providers.

Related

Related practice areas

  • AML & Financial Crime Compliance

    04

    AML/CFT programmes, MLRO-as-a-Service, independent AML/CFT audits, risk assessments, monitoring, sanctions and inspection support.

  • Legal Opinions

    08

    Regulatory, business model, perimeter, payment, gaming, crypto-asset and cross-border opinions for banks, partners and investors.

  • Regulatory & Licensing

    01

    Licence strategy, applications and regulator engagement for gaming, payments, e-money, investment and crypto-asset businesses.

  • Corporate Structuring

    02

    Group architecture, incorporation, substance and governance built around your licences, banking and investors.

All 11 practice areas

Discuss your matter with a senior advisor.

Share a few details about your business and plans. We will come back to arrange a confidential initial conversation.

Request a consultation