The operational layer that makes a licence usable.
Banking introductions, EMI authorisations, correspondent relationships, and EUR/USD settlement rails. The plumbing without which a licence is symbolic — and the work most other firms walk away from.
Bank intros in-flight
40+
Current quarter
EMI partners
18
Direct relationships
EMI applications
24
Lifetime delivered
Onboarding success
87%
Where we lead intro
01 — Engagement fit
Where this service
Where this service
compounds.
We work best with licensed operators who need fiat rails or regulated payment infrastructure. Here is where we deliver — and where we may not be the right call.
Ideal engagement
When we deliver outsized value
Licensed operators sourcing fiat rails
VASPs, payment institutions, brokerages, and gaming operators who hold a licence but need usable EUR / USD / SGD bank accounts and settlement channels to actually operate.
Operators preparing EMI authorisations
Groups applying for an EMI licence in Lithuania, Malta, Ireland, or the UK who need a structured, pre-filed dossier and an experienced policy framework.
De-risked operators rebuilding banking
Groups whose existing banking has been withdrawn or restricted, where we help triage, defend, and restructure operational rails u2014 including reverse-engineering the risk model that triggered the action.
Look elsewhere
When we may not be the right fit
Pre-licence operators wanting banking
Banking onboarding for licensed activity without the licence is structurally impossible. We work in this sequence: licence u2192 banking u2192 live. Reverse-order requests do not deliver.
Single-account introductions
Operators wanting one specific bank introduction without a broader licensing or operational engagement are not a useful fit u2014 we work along the lifecycle, not as a banking-intro shop.
High-risk grey-market exposure
Operators primarily serving restricted markets without a clean regulatory perimeter will struggle in any introduction we lead. We are not the right firm to wash a risky-exposure profile.
02 — What you receive
Concrete
Concrete
deliverables.
Every engagement is scoped against a defined deliverable set. No open-ended retainers, no ambiguous billing — the package is what you get.
Banking strategy memo
A 4u20148 page memo mapping your business model to a banked corridor: target banks, EMIs, and PSPs by tier, expected onboarding cost, and the realistic ordering of introductions.
Bank-ready RFI dossier
A bank-format application pack u2014 corporate KYC, ultimate beneficial-ownership disclosure, source-of-funds documentation, AML/CFT policy excerpts, and projected transaction profile in the form banks actually want.
Direct introductions, attended
Live introductions to the institutional contact at each target bank or EMI, with us on the call. We do not hand you a list u2014 we manage the relationship from intake to onboarding.
EMI licence application
Where the engagement is to obtain an EMI authorisation u2014 Lithuania, Malta, Ireland u2014 full dossier preparation, safeguarding architecture, governance framework, and regulator interfacing.
Correspondent banking architecture
For payment institutions and crypto operators: design of correspondent and nostro/vostro arrangements, including FBO accounts, settlement timing, and intra-day liquidity.
Ongoing relationship management
Quarterly review of banking health, pre-emptive defence against de-risking, RFI response support, and structured escalation when relationship-manager turnover threatens continuity.
03 — Engagement cadence
How the work
How the work
actually moves.
A typical engagement runs along the phases below. Where banking is being added to an existing licensing mandate, we adapt from the relevant entry point.
Strategy memo
Weeks 1u20142Map your business model against viable banking targets and identify the optimal outreach sequence.
Dossier build
Weeks 2u20145Prepare bank-grade KYB documentation, corporate overview, and compliance narrative for institutional review.
Introductions & RFI
Weeks 5u201414Attended introductions to target institutions with management of RFI and due-diligence requests through underwriting.
Onboarding & go-live
Weeks 14u201420Account activation, payment rail configuration, and operational go-live with first settlement cycle confirmed.
"A licence without operational banking is theatre. We line up correspondent and EMI relationships before the licence is granted — not after." — James Chan, Banking Lead
04 — Common questions
Before
Before
we start.
The questions we get on every diagnostic call. If yours isn't here, raise it in the consultation.
No, and any firm that does is misrepresenting the relationship. Banks make their own credit and risk decisions. What we deliver is: (1) a realistic short-list filtered against your business model, (2) a dossier that meets the standard each target bank actually applies, (3) an attended introduction to the right institutional contact, and (4) live support through underwriting. Our historic onboarding success rate where we lead the introduction is approximately 87%.
Typically 6u201414 weeks from first introduction to operational account, depending on the bank, jurisdiction, business model, and quality of the dossier. EMI onboarding is generally faster (3u20148 weeks). Tier-1 correspondent relationships for regulated payment institutions take longer (12u201420 weeks) due to deeper risk review.
Operating accounts in EMIs and tier-2/3 banks across Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Singapore are realistic for properly licensed VASPs. Tier-1 universal banks remain selective u2014 we have placed VASPs into BNY, Standard Chartered, and DBS, but each is bespoke and conditional on substance, capital, and operating history. Volumes under USD 50M / month face the most difficulty; volumes above start to attract genuine institutional appetite.
Yes u2014 primarily Lithuania (UAB, EMI) and Malta (FIA EMI). Average timeline is 6u20149 months from intake to authorisation. We handle the full filing: corporate structure, key-function holders, safeguarding architecture, IT and risk policies, and Bank of Lithuania (or MFSA) interface throughout. Year-one cost for a Lithuanian EMI typically runs EUR 250Ku2014450K loaded.
We triage immediately. The first step is to obtain a clear, written reason for the action and to determine whether it is reversible (most are not, in tier-1 banks). Where reversal is possible u2014 typically when the trigger is a documentation gap rather than a strategic risk-appetite change u2014 we manage the response. Where it is not, we move to parallel onboarding at alternative institutions before the existing account ages out, to preserve operational continuity.
Ready when you are
Tell us where
Tell us where
you want to
operate.
Forty-five minutes with a partner. Jurisdiction memo within seven days. No retainer required to start.
45 min
First call with a partner.
No retainer required.
No retainer required.