In the last months, a few of my FinTech clients have asked me to review their application forms for bank account opening.

Here are examples of SUPER IMPORTANT questions (that look very innocent and almost boring) where I felt the original answers were completely misleading, out of context, and would have triggered rejection:

• Describe your target market and the types of customers you serve.
• Describe how many people work in your compliance function and their responsibilities.
• Provide a list of your top 5-10 clients and describe their activity.
• Provide the flow of funds for each service you offer.

Funnily enough, corrections and adjustments I had to make in most cases had nothing to do with AML risks. Each of the answers above, if not well thought-through can trigger a rejection if you don’t provide appropriate context around your answer. Just sharing your AML Policy or even your latest AML audit report will NOT be sufficient in most cases.

You need to know what you are doing and how your answers will be interpreted.

In fact, the success of your bank account application for about 50% depends on the quality of your website, corporate documents, and policies and for another 50% on your ability to present your business and compliance case for the bank by telling a coherent, aligned, and substantiated story about what is it that you want to do with this bank and how your business model fits into this banks risk tolerance.

Not every bank is equipped or interested to serve startups or open segregated accounts. Some banks are interested in facilitating small amounts of many retails clients while other banks are only interested in larger accounts with large volumes. Some banks don’t serve certain industries or segments. Some banks offer sub-IBAN services or multi-currency accounts, while others don’t. Some banks only accept business customers from a certain country while others accept clients from other countries. It’s important to do your homework and understand the bank’s profile before reaching out to them.

This is exactly why I’m inviting you to join my brand new workshop on HOW TO OPEN BANK ACCOUNTS FOR FINTECH STARTUPS – on August 24th, at 12 PM CET.

After completing this 90-minute workshop, you will have a crystal clear plan to approaching banking partners and will know exactly what to expect, what to say, and what to submit to successfully secure banking relationships, complete regulatory due diligence, and even reverse the previous rejection. 

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AGENDA

• Before you go to the bank (website, trade register, corporate structure)
• Standard documentation package (special attention given to the business model description, flow of funds examples, source of funds evidence, and customer target market description)
• List of FinTech-friendly banks and their expectations 
• How to approach the bank and prepare your documentation 
• How to answer due diligence questions during your application review
• How to reverse the (initial) rejection

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The new business season is around the corner and it’s about time for you to secure more partnerships and accounts with banks and other financial partners!

Sign up here!