Canadian MSB to global neobank: how XlentPay went from MSB registration to $100M+ a monthlive in 8 weeks
Joao Monteiro, CEO of XlentPay, and Platon Mykhalchuk, CEO of Finhost, talk through what actually happens after you get your MSB registration: banks, payment rails, technology and the first customers.
Volume as stated by XlentPay in the interview. Project figures from the Finhost implementation.
Start with the question you came with
Pick a question and the video starts at that answer.
What Joao says new MSBs get wrong
Five points from the interview, in his words. If you are about to choose banks or a technology provider, read these first.
Quotes are lightly edited for readability.
Pick a jurisdiction that covers crypto and fiat from day one
Joao chose Canada because it is one of the most reputable jurisdictions, and one MSB registration can cover both crypto and fiat from the very beginning. Europe and the US were harder: an EU EMI means a longer approval, more capital and more scrutiny, and US licensing runs state by state. But registration is only the first step. Compliance, banking, technology and customer support all have to work every single day.
“The MSB registration is just the first stone.”Joao, XlentPay
Every bank has its own idea of trust
Some banks connect into your onboarding data. Others use a reliance model, where your compliance team runs the checks and they trust the result. Either way, payments in and out have to run through APIs without friction.
“Each bank has their own level of trust.”Joao, XlentPay
Compliance is what keeps your banks
Losing an underlying bank costs months. Joao’s advice is to agree with each bank up front on which industries and jurisdictions you can onboard, even if that means turning some clients away early.
“Compliance is key.”Joao, XlentPay
Buy the core, spend your time on customers
A platform built from scratch goes through a period of bugs and fixes, and that is time not spent winning clients. Joao says he has started every business he has set up with a technology partner.
“When you start the business, you want to minimize the fixed cost.”Joao, XlentPay
Zero to $1M is the hard part
Business onboarding takes time, and new clients test you with small volumes before they trust you. Once they are happy they refer others, and the volume you can show gives you leverage to negotiate better terms with banks.
“The beginning is always hard.”Joao, XlentPay
From MSB registration to live transactions
The six steps XlentPay went through, and what each one involved.
Get the registration, then keep going
XlentPay runs on a Canadian MSB registration. Joao picked Canada because it is one of the most reputable jurisdictions and one registration covers both crypto and fiat from the very beginning, under a single national framework. A European EMI would have meant a longer approval, higher capital and heavier scrutiny. His caveat: some European banks still ask extra questions because they are not used to dealing with Canadian MSBs.
How to register an MSB in CanadaCompliance is the daily job
Joao calls compliance his number one day-to-day concern. Company onboarding (KYB) takes time, and some people will always try to use a neobank for shady business, so the reviews never stop.
Compliance as a ServiceBanks hold the money, so they set the rules
XlentPay is a wallet, not a bank. Client funds sit with underlying banks and every payment goes through them, so the business depends on those relationships. Joao also notes that traditional banks are slow to offer API access, while European EMIs and neobanks give you a sandbox straight away.
BaaS API integrationFast FX and the right rails win customers
Clients deposit euros, exchange to crypto and expect it immediately. Joao says easy, fast currency exchange at competitive rates mattered most, along with banking partners who are comfortable with fiat-to-crypto flows.
One platform ties it all together
Apps, accounts, payments across six rails, KYC and KYB, and a back-office, all connected to the banks. XlentPay launched on Finhost’s white-label stack instead of building its own, and went from kickoff to production in about 8 weeks.
Canadian MSB softwareReferrals brought the first clients
Legal and accounting firms with clients who needed banking were the main source. The first businesses with serious volume were licensed crypto exchanges that needed to receive fiat and pay out crypto. After that, happy clients told other businesses.
Why XlentPay didn’t build the technology itself
“In every business I set up, I always started by partnering with a reliable and solid technology partner. That removes my concern, and I can focus on developing the business.”Joao, XlentPay
- Live in about 8 weeksXlentPay went from kickoff to production on Finhost’s white-label core: web and mobile apps, back-office, cards and payments, without building a stack from scratch.
- Connected to your banks and payment railsSix rails (SWIFT, SEPA, Canada local, UAE local, internal transfers and card top-up) run behind one back-office and one reconciliation layer, whichever provider is on the other side.
- Built around how you operateEvery MSB has a different set-up. Finhost adapted the platform to XlentPay’s fee tiers, risk-based onboarding and provider mix.“This flexibility from the technology provider made a big difference for us.”
- Still shipping, 1.5 years inXlentPay has been in production for 1.5 years, and the platform keeps getting new currencies, providers and releases.
What Finhost built for XlentPay
XlentPay arrived with an MSB registration and customers, but no technology stack. This is what they needed and what went live.
The hard parts
Six payment rails, different providers
Some providers use shared account numbers with mandatory references, others give dedicated IBANs. Finhost built one reconciliation layer so the back-office handles both without extra manual work.
Card data without storing it in the app
Showing the card number and CVV in the app, without keeping them on the device, required an on-demand reveal flow with MFA. Physical card activation was coordinated with the issuer’s logistics.
Different fees for different customers
Individuals, high-risk corporates and low-risk corporates needed separate fee structures, with the option to switch a contract after KYB review. The contract engine now supports several variants per user type, with manual override.
Frequent releases after launch
XlentPay kept adding currencies and providers. Finhost shipped 13+ mobile releases across iOS and Android in the first 8 months alone, keeping backward compatibility and handling app store approvals. The platform has now been in production for 1.5 years.
Building on an MSB registration of your own?
Tell us where you are and we will come back with a realistic plan for banks, payment rails and the platform, based on projects like XlentPay.