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Insights and Expertise

The gatekeepers you How banks think

Businesses often assume that if something is legal, it will
forgot about: How automatically be accepted. But legality doesn't guarantee
viability. Even when the business model follows every
banks decide if your regulation, banks and payment providers can still refuse
to support it. Their decision isn't based on whether some-
thing is allowed by law but whether they are comfortable
business succeeds taking the risk.

To understand how banks think
we need to see how banks work.
Banks have two main responsibilities: making sure no
crime is committed and that everyone pays their taxes.
They act as semi-governmental gatekeepers because they
help maintain the stability of the entire financial system,
not just for their own clients but for the global economy.

Every transaction is reviewed, filtered and assessed
against these two goals, and if something slips through
that shouldn't have, the bank can face serious penalties
and even lose its license.

Banks and payment providers are expected to assess what
could go wrong before anything actually does. Their re-
sponsibility is to prevent issues, not react to them after the
fact. This means they often reject anything that doesn't
clearly fit into their risk framework, even if the business
is fully legal. Their job is to protect the financial system,
not to ensure that every business idea gets a chance to suc-
By Viktoria Soltesz ceed.
PSP Angels
By focusing on risk, they end up holding far more influ-
tartups spend weeks perfecting their pitch ence over a company's ability to operate than most found-
decks, filled with growth plans, financial pro- ers or even experienced investors realize.
jections, and product roadmaps designed to
S impress investors and prove the business will The importance of payment and banking
soon be worth millions. Founders focus on raising funds, Payment and banking today impact customer experience,
building teams and planning to scale, believing that once
the money is in place, everything else will follow. risk management, technology, product development, data
security, compliance, finance and more. It should be con-
sidered a standalone function, an essential element of the
But the decision that truly determines whether the busi- business strategy, not just a part of finance.
ness can operate doesn't come from the investor, the tax
advisor, or the product team. It comes from the payment Understanding how funds are held, received or sent is vi-
and banking provider.
tal to plan for success, and it is not something that can be
The one piece that truly enables a business to operate is fixed after launch or left to a junior team member. Any
the one who allows it to receive funds, process payments, mismatch between the business plan and the financial
structure can block the entire operation regardless of its
pay suppliers and salaries, and hold money on its behalf.
Without a functioning bank account, even the best tax set- potential.
up or investor backing means nothing, because the busi- Why investors should pay attention
ness simply never starts.
Investors often approve startups or new market penetra-
Banks and providers assess new clients through a very tion plans without checking if the business can actually
specific lens, focusing on risk rather than potential. They move money across borders. But without understanding
decide who gets access and who doesn't, and more often how the funds are routed, moving across borders, how
than not, the entire operation gets blocked before any- much, how often and how quickly, even the best go-to-
thing even begins. market strategy can fail.

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