The KYC/AML Gauntlet and its Impact on PSP Selection
Anyone else finding the KYC/AML process for payment service providers (PSPs) is becoming an absolute nightmare, making actual evaluation of spreads and payout reliability almost secondary? It's like every bank and regulator has decided that the primary function of a PSP is to act as their personal compliance officer, and the poor broker in the middle is just along for the ride. I'm spending more time chasing down utility bills from three years ago and verifying beneficial ownership structures for entities that just want to process a few million in FX volume than I am actually discussing liquidity with potential partners. Are we past the point where a robust compliance department at the PSP side actually streamlines the process for the end-user broker, or is it just a never-ending game of 'prove your innocence' regardless of how clean your books are?
Absolutely, it's definitely a huge hurdle right now. I've found it's not just about the upfront process, but also the ongoing documentation requests that can really bog things down. Makes you wonder if there's a better, more streamlined way they could approach it.