Banking Partnerships – being a good bedfellow

Understand that to be a Banking PARTNER, you, the TCSP, need to contribute to the relationship in a meaningful way. Partnerships are a two-way street.

We often hear TCSPs talk about how their banking partners don’t offer enough, aren’t responsive enough, or charge too much. And sometimes, those are fair points. But rarely do we hear TCSPs ask themselves: what are we bringing to this relationship?

If you want your banking partners to prioritise you, invest in better services for you, and be willing to work with you on connectivity and technology, you need to show up as a partner worth investing in.

Speak to your bank

It sounds obvious, but how often do you actually have a strategic conversation with your banking partner? Not a complaint call. Not a “we need this fixed” email. A genuine, forward-looking discussion about how you can both grow together.

Banks are under enormous pressure — regulatory burden, margin compression, technology investment. They’re having to make tough choices about which relationships to prioritise. If you’re not actively demonstrating your value, you risk being deprioritised.

Set up regular relationship reviews. Share your growth plans. Ask about their roadmap. Understand what they need from you to make the relationship work better on their side too.

Understanding the levers

To be a good banking partner, you need to understand what drives value for them. Here are the key levers:

• Deposits and balances: Banks earn from the balances held across your client accounts. The more stable and sizeable the balances, the more attractive you are as a partner.
• Transaction volumes: Payments, FX, trade finance — these all generate fee income for the bank. Higher volumes mean higher value.
• Risk profile: Banks care about the risk your book brings. Clean, well-managed client structures with strong AML/KYC processes reduce compliance cost for the bank.
• Operational efficiency: If every interaction with you generates manual work, errors, and back-and-forth, you’re an expensive client to service. Streamlined operations make you a better partner.
• Growth potential: Banks want to back winners. If you can demonstrate a credible growth trajectory, they’ll invest more in the relationship.

Understanding these levers gives you the ability to have more informed conversations with your bank and to actively manage the relationship in a way that creates mutual value.

Practically speaking

So what does this look like in practice?

Book growth

The most straightforward way to become a more valuable banking partner is to grow your book with them. More entities, more accounts, more balances, more transactions. But it’s not just about volume — it’s about quality.

Focus on bringing well-structured, compliant entities to your banking partners. Ensure onboarding documentation is complete and accurate. Make the bank’s job easy, and they’ll want to do more business with you.

If you’re consolidating your banking partners (which we recommend — see our piece on the long tail of TCSP banking partners), ensure the banks you choose to deepen relationships with see the benefit. Tell them you’re consolidating and that they’re a preferred partner. Banks respond well to commitment.

Utilise multi-products

Don’t just use your banking partner for a current account and basic payments. Explore their full product suite:

• FX services: If you’re executing FX for clients, are you doing it through your banking partner or a third party? There may be opportunities to bring more FX volume to your bank.
• Term deposits: Are client funds sitting in current accounts when they could be in term deposits? This benefits the client (better rates) and the bank (more stable funding).
• Trade finance and lending: If your clients have borrowing needs, explore what your banking partner can offer.
• Custody and investment services: Some banks offer a full suite of wealth services. Utilising more of the product set deepens the relationship and increases your strategic importance.

The more products you use, the stickier and more valuable the relationship becomes — for both sides.

Tech adoption matters

Banks are investing heavily in technology — digital onboarding, API connectivity, SFTP automation, real-time reporting. If your bank offers these capabilities and you’re not using them, you’re sending a signal that you’re not a forward-thinking partner.

Adopt the technology your banking partner offers. If they’ve invested in SFTP connectivity, use it. If they offer API access, explore it. If they have a digital onboarding portal, embrace it.

This does two things:

1. It makes you operationally more efficient (which benefits you directly).
2. It shows the bank that their technology investment is paying off, which encourages them to invest more.

At Flinq, we can help you leverage these technology channels to create seamless connectivity with your banking partners.

Wrap up

Being a good banking partner isn’t complicated, but it does require intentionality. It means:

• Having regular, strategic conversations with your bank
• Understanding what drives value for them
• Growing your book with quality
• Using more of their product suite
• Adopting their technology offerings

The TCSPs that treat their banking relationships as true partnerships — where both sides contribute and both sides benefit — are the ones that will thrive.

If you’d like to discuss how to strengthen your banking partnerships, get in touch with us.