# Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers on high-risk banking, licensing and payment processing, including the ones that cost us leads.

## Will this work for me

**I have been rejected everywhere. Is my case even worth checking?** Yes, and it is the case we see most. 73% of the businesses we bank arrive after being rejected by an institution. Serial rejections usually mean your file has been shown to the wrong risk appetite, not that no appetite exists.

**Do you actually work with my industry specifically?** We work with four verticals only: crypto, iGaming, forex and adult, since 2018. If your business sits outside those four, we will tell you honestly at intake rather than take a fee for a case we cannot place.

**I am on the MATCH (TMF) list. Can you still help?** Yes, with honesty required. Nobody can remove you from MATCH for a fee. What exists is a narrower set of acquirers and a sequencing strategy that accounts for the listing, with a longer timeline disclosed upfront.

**I do not have a license yet. Do I need one before I talk to you?** No. Licensing is often the first thing we advise on, not a prerequisite for the conversation.

**My business is pre-revenue. Is it too early to check?** It is the best time to check, not too early. At pre-revenue, your first application sets the file every later one gets judged against.

## What does it cost

**What does BankMyCapital actually cost?** Engagements start from 1,500 EUR plus the institution's own onboarding fees. That is the floor, not a final number: exact scope is quoted in writing after the free check.

**Do you charge me if the answer is no?** No. The pre-approval check is free regardless of outcome. If we cannot place you, you get that answer in writing, at no cost, within 48 hours.

**Are there hidden fees?** No. The published floor covers our work; the only other cost is the receiving institution's own onboarding fee, disclosed before you proceed. We never charge to remove you from a blacklist, guarantee an outcome, or rush a review.

**Who pays BankMyCapital, and does that change what you recommend?** Our fee is paid by the client. We receive no commission from any bank, EMI, payment provider or partner, and we represent the client, never the financial institution. Our fee starts from 1,500 EUR and scales with the complexity of the case, and the institution’s own onboarding fee is separate. We take a case on only when we believe we can place it, and if we cannot, we tell you so plainly.

## Can I trust you

**Why do you not publish client names or logos?** Discretion is the product. A logo wall would tell every institution and competitor who our clients are and what they needed.

**Who writes and reviews your articles?** Our guides draw on the placement patterns we see across our network, and each one is reviewed before publication by Stanley Myers, Head of Research & Editorial, whose LinkedIn profile is linked from his author page. Client details are never published: everything is generalised and anonymised, with the same discretion we apply in client work.

**What is your approval rate, and how do you count it?** 87% of the businesses we take on after our selection process pass pre-approval and are onboarded; 13% do not pass pre-approval. We select before we start, so the figure describes the cases we accept, not every enquiry we receive, which is why it is higher than an open-door success rate would be. In total, more than 300 businesses have been onboarded. Definitions: https://bankmycapital.com/about-us/#how-we-count

**What is your NDA policy?** Every engagement is confidential from the first message, not from a signed contract onward.

**Are you a bank?** No. BankMyCapital is a strategic consultancy, not a licensed financial institution. Every account, license or processing arrangement we place you with is provided by a separate, regulated third-party institution.

**How do I know you are real?** We have operated since 2018, attend the same industry expos our clients do (ICE, SiGMA, Token2049 and others), and publish our pricing floor instead of hiding it.

## Process

**How fast does this actually move?** Two to three weeks is typical from a completed assessment to a live account, when the file is pre-vetted. Applying cold typically runs three to six months if it lands at all.

**What happens right after I write to you?** A person reads your message the same day and sends a written answer within 48 hours, under NDA.

**What documents will I need to prepare?** Typically incorporation documents, proof of ownership structure, a description of your processing flow or licensed activity, and recent bank statements if you have them.

**Who actually talks to me, a person or a bot?** A person. Every message, assessment and written check is handled by our senior team directly.

## Edge cases

**Can you get me removed from the MATCH list?** No, and nobody can, for a fee or otherwise. What we can do is build a route around the listing.

**My funds are frozen. Can you help with that specifically?** Frozen funds follow the holding institution's own timeline. What usually does not have to wait is a replacement route run in parallel.

**I have already applied to every bank I could find myself. Is there anything left to try?** Almost always, yes. Self-directed applications typically go to the most visible institutions, which have the least appetite for high-risk files.

## Frozen, closed or held

**Why was my account closed or frozen with no warning and no real reason?** Most closures and freezes come from a risk review, not from something you did wrong. Institutions often exit a whole category such as crypto, iGaming, forex or adult, or a monitoring rule trips on volume, source of funds or a mismatch with the business description on file, and the notice is deliberately vague. You usually cannot get a detailed reason, but you can ask in writing for the basis, the owner of the review and the expected timeline. Then rebuild your file before applying anywhere else: a clear business description, source-of-funds evidence and consistent figures. Applying again straight away with the same file tends to repeat the outcome.

**How long can my funds be held, and what can I do while I wait?** There is no single answer. Holds depend on the institution, the country it operates in and the reason for the review, and they can run from days to several months. We do not promise a release date, and nobody outside the institution controls it. What you can do: ask in writing for the reason, the documents still needed and a review period; answer every request fully in one reply; keep a log of every contact; and start a replacement route in parallel, so that one hold cannot stop the business a second time. If the amount is large or the hold looks unlawful, speak to a lawyer in the account’s jurisdiction.

**Support only sends copy-paste replies. Who can actually decide, and how do I escalate?** Frontline support rarely decides anything. The decision sits with a compliance or risk team that customers cannot reach directly. Escalate in writing: reply in the case thread, ask for it to be passed to the compliance team, then use the institution’s formal complaints route, which regulated institutions are expected to answer. Keep messages short, factual and numbered, and attach each document once. We cannot overrule an institution, but we can tell you who is likely to read your file and how to frame it for that reader.

**I sent every document they asked for. Why is there still no answer?** A complete set of documents does not end a review. The file then goes through checks you do not see: sanctions and adverse-media screening, source-of-funds analysis, and sometimes a second reviewer or the institution’s partner bank. New questions often follow, which feels like a loop. Ask whether the review is waiting on you or on them, and request the next step and a date in writing. Send a short cover note listing what you attached, so nothing can be called missing. If nothing moves after a reasonable wait, escalate through the complaints route and prepare a backup account in parallel.

**How do I keep paying suppliers, salaries and taxes while an account is frozen?** Do not wait for the release. In the first days, set up a second operating route: a separate account or EMI that does not depend on the frozen one, even with limits. Tell suppliers and your payroll provider early, because an honest delay notice protects the relationship. For taxes and statutory payments, contact the authority directly: a frozen account is a documented reason to ask for time, but only if you ask before the deadline. Do not move money through personal accounts or third parties to get around the freeze, as that creates a worse compliance problem.

**A client payment was frozen or returned on arrival. What now?** First find out which side stopped it: your institution, the sender’s bank or an intermediary. Ask your institution for the status and the reference in writing, and ask the client to request a trace from their bank. Keep the contract, invoice and proof of service ready, because the review will usually ask for them. Tell the client early, and propose a different payment route if the delay continues. A returned payment is not always a verdict on your account, but repeated returns are a signal to review your payment flows and the business description on file.

**How do I avoid the next freeze?** You cannot remove the risk, but you can remove most surprises. Keep the business description on file identical to what you actually do. Raise volumes in steps instead of jumping, and warn the institution before known spikes such as a launch or a campaign. Keep source-of-funds and ownership documents current, answer review requests quickly, and do not add new countries, products or payment types without telling them. Most important, do not depend on a single institution: a second account, opened while the first still works, is the cheapest protection a high-risk crypto, iGaming, forex or adult business has.

**Will the same flag follow me to the next provider?** Sometimes, but less often than operators fear. A closure is usually an internal decision that the institution does not share across the industry. What does travel is a formal listing, such as the MATCH list for card acceptance, and anything you are asked to disclose on an application, such as a prior closure. Never hide a closure: undisclosed history is a common reason for a second rejection. Present the facts, the reason if known and what has changed, and choose institutions that actually accept your category. That is much of what a pre-approval check is for.