Partner Readiness for FinTechs
We make FinTechs bankable, partner-ready and growth-ready – from account opening to investor due diligence.
Partner Readiness
Our modular services are designed for FinTechs and smaller financial services firms, both regulated and non-regulated, that work, or plan to work, with banks, payment service providers, partners, investors or enterprise clients.
We support you with opening bank accounts or completing partner onboarding with banks, EMIs or PSPs; with scaling products, transaction volumes or geographic markets; with addressing requirements arising from due‑diligence, procurement, or investor processes — and with establishing lean yet robust compliance and governance structures.
Whether you are at an early stage of development or already scaling, our modules are designed to address the specific points where concrete action is required.
Our Modules – Support for Every Stage of Your Growth
We want to get started
What this module helps you achieve
We quickly establish clarity on your current position, identify potential red flags that banks or partners may see, and define the next steps required to prepare successfully for account, partner or client onboarding.
Typical situations
- •Uncertainty whether bank account or partner onboarding is realistic
- Conflicting feedback from banks or PSPs
- The founding team wants to move forward quickly, but requirements remain unclear
What this module helps you achieve
We establish a clear regulatory classification and decision framework regarding whether and when a license may be required — and how your business model can be structured appropriately in a license-free, license-adjacent or licensed setup.
Typical situations
- A licensing or regulatory question arises around the business model
- Uncertainty whether the activities trigger licensing requirements
- Banks or partners raise regulatory or licensing questions
- Investors request a clear regulatory roadmap
- Risk of making incorrect product or go-to-market decisions due to regulatory uncertainty
What this module helps you achieve
We prepare your organization to become bank- and onboarding-ready, enabling you to open a business account and successfully complete initial onboarding with banks, EMIs or PSPs.
Typical situations
- Bank account opening or partner onboarding processes are stalled
- A bank requests structured “compliance documentation”
- A partner requires a clear description of your business model, transaction flows and control environment
What this module helps you achieve
We establish a lean and practical AML/KYC operating model that is regulatorily credible, partner-ready and manageable in day-to-day operations with minimal operational overhead.
Typical situations
- A partner requires evidence of AML/KYC processes
- The first real customers are being onboarded
- Transaction volumes begin to increase
- AML considerations become critical (e.g., suspicious activity reporting, screening or transaction monitoring)
What this module helps you achieve
We establish a structured and auditable complaints management process and clear customer communication framework, enabling your organization to meet partner expectations and handle customer issues reliably.
Typical situations
- A B2C product is live and customer complaints are increasing
- Negative app store reviews or social media escalation begin to appear
- Regulatory minimum standards or partner requirements for customer communication must be met
We want to scale
What this module helps you achieve
We prepare your organization to become partner due diligence–ready, enabling you to successfully pass professional reviews by partner banks, EMIs, PSPs or BIN sponsors and be accepted as a reliable long-term partner.
Typical situations
- Due diligence questionnaires (DDQs) are recurring and becoming more complex
- Several partners are reviewing your organization at the same time
- New partner relationships or RFP processes require structured documentation
- Audit, vendor risk or compliance questions from partners are increasing
What this module helps you achieve
We support the selection and structured implementation of appropriate compliance tools to ensure that screening, transaction monitoring and identity verification operate in a scalable, efficient and partner-ready manner.
Typical situations
- Manual workarounds no longer scale with growing operations
- Lack of audit trail or evidence for compliance processes
- The team is growing and multiple systems are emerging
- Partners require demonstrable and traceable control processes
- Structured reporting capabilities become necessary
What this module helps you achieve
We reduce sales friction and accelerate commercial processes by structuring and standardizing your compliance and security responses for use in client due diligence, procurement and enterprise sales processes.
Typical situations
- Sales processes stall due to recurring compliance or security questions
- Enterprise clients or partners request formal security and compliance statements
- Increasing numbers of RFI or RFP processes require structured responses
- Deal cycles become longer due to unstructured compliance communication
What this module helps you achieve
We stabilize your payments and product business by controlling fraud risks, reducing chargebacks and ensuring alignment with partner and card scheme requirements.
Typical situations
- Fraud levels or chargeback rates begin to increase
- Payment flows are being misused or exploited
- A partner threatens limits, restrictions or termination
- Key KPIs and unit economics are negatively affected
Building trust with investors and partners
What this module helps you achieve
We prepare your organization to become investor- and transaction-ready by structuring regulatory, compliance and risk aspects in a clear, defensible and review-ready format.
Typical situations
- Fundraising processes or investor due diligence are approaching
- M&A transactions or strategic investments are being considered
- The board requests a clear view of the organization’s compliance posture
- A structured due diligence data room and well-supported responses are required
What this module helps you achieve
We establish a structured outsourcing and cloud governance framework that is regulatorily robust and meets the expectations of partners, auditors and investors.
Typical situations
- Dependence on cloud providers or external vendors is increasing
- Critical service providers become operationally significant
- Partners request evidence of outsourcing controls
- The board asks for clearer oversight and governance of external providers
- Enterprise clients require demonstrable governance structures
What this module helps you achieve
We provide a pragmatic entry point into DORA requirements, helping you address regulatory expectations around IT resilience, third-party oversight and incident management in a structured and proportionate way.
Typical situations
- DORA becomes relevant due to partners, organizational scale or operating setup
- Uncertainty whether your organization falls within the scope of DORA
- Initial DORA-related questions arise during due diligence processes
- The need to prioritize key actions rather than reacting with unstructured initiatives
How We Support FinTechs Throughout Their Growth Journey
Phase 1
Orientation & Getting Started
Typical situations
- The business model is defined, but regulatory requirements remain unclear
- Bank account opening or partner onboarding processes are stalled
- Limited transparency on what banks or partners expect
Relevant modules: GS-01 , GS-02
Outcome
- Clear classification of the business model
- Transparency on potential red flags and next steps
- A structured basis for decision-making instead of assumptions
Phase 2
Becoming Operationally Ready
Typical situations
- A bank, EMI or PSP requests documentation
- Operational processes must be established before launch
- First customers arrive and support and KYC processes must function
Relevant modules: GS-03, GS-04, GS-05
Outcome
- Bank account and initial partner onboarding become feasible
- Lean and functional AML/KYC operating setup
- Customer- and partner-ready operational environment
Phase 3
Enabling Partnerships & Scaling
Typical situations
- Strategic partners, PSPs or EMIs perform deeper reviews
- Transaction volumes increase and risk exposure grows
- Existing tools and processes reach operational limits
Relevant modules: SC-01, SC-02, SC-04
Outcome
- Successful partner onboarding and DDQ completion
- Scalable compliance and monitoring structures
- Reduced fraud, chargeback and partner risk
Phase 4
Accelerating Revenue
Typical situations
- Enterprise clients submit extensive questionnaires
- Procurement and security reviews delay deals
- Sales teams lose time responding to compliance requests
Relevant modules: SC-03
Outcome
- Faster deal cycles
- Standardized and consistent responses
- Higher conversion with reduced friction
Phase 5
Building Trust & Institutional Credibility
Phase 6
Licensing & Regulatory Target Architecture
Typical triggers
- The business model becomes license-relevant (e.g. payments or e-money)
- Dependence on a partner bank should be reduced
- Investors request regulatory clarity
- Expansion into additional markets
What we provide
- Support throughout licensing and authorization processes (e.g. payment services, e-money or comparable regulatory frameworks)
- Development of the regulatory target architecture (organization, governance and processes)
- Structured preparation and interaction with supervisors and auditors
Further details are available here: : EU Financial Services License | msg for banking
Your contact person
has many years of experience in compliance, regulatory consulting, and the optimization of control processes for financial institutions, and heads the Governance & Regulatory Advisory division.