> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://faq.finchtrade.com/guide/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://faq.finchtrade.com/guide/get-in-touch/become-a-partner.md).

# Become a partner

Once you've scoped the relationship and decided to proceed, the path from "let's do this" to live operations is structured. This page walks through what to expect.

## The stages

A typical partnership path moves through five stages.

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### Commercial agreement

We agree commercial terms in detail: pricing, volume commitments, settlement infrastructure, support level, term length, and termination provisions. For most partnerships, this takes 1-2 weeks of back-and-forth between the legal and commercial teams on both sides.

For Managed Liquidity and Embedded Crypto Liquidity partnerships, the commercial terms follow well-established templates with partner-specific parameters. For Regulated Crypto Access, the commercial structure is more case-specific and reflects the regulatory framework agreed during scoping.
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### KYB and onboarding

We complete KYB on your business: incorporation documents, ownership structure, ultimate beneficial owners, business activity assessment, source of funds, and operational due diligence.

Standard timeline for B2B partners is 1-5 business days once documentation is complete. The most common slowdown is documentation gathering on the partner's side. Starting early on KYB documentation in parallel with the commercial agreement saves time.

For Regulated Crypto Access partnerships, onboarding includes additional steps related to the structural and compliance work specific to that solution. The timeline is typically several weeks rather than days.
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### Technical integration

Your engineering team integrates against our APIs. We provide:

* Documentation for REST and WebSocket APIs
* Sandbox environment and BTC testnet for testing
* Direct contact with our integration support team during the build
* SDK examples in common languages

Standard integration timeline is 2-4 weeks for a competent engineering team. Complex integrations (multi-system, custom workflows, regulated structures) take longer. The integration scope is agreed upfront so both sides know what's being built.
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### Operational setup

In parallel with technical integration:

* Initial collateral funding (for Managed Liquidity and similar solutions)
* Address whitelisting (up to 48 hours per address)
* Settlement instructions exchange (SSIs)
* API key generation and access setup
* Compliance information flow setup
* Operational support contacts established

This is where the day-to-day operational reality of the partnership takes shape. Mistakes here cause problems later.
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### Go-live

Production access activates. Initial trades happen at small sizes; volume scales up over the first few weeks as both sides validate the operational reality matches the design.

We monitor early operations actively. Our team is available for incident response, configuration changes, and operational questions during this period.
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## What we ask of partners

For partnerships to work over time, we expect partners to:

**Maintain compliance on their side.** KYC and KYB on your end customers, transaction monitoring at the user level, regulatory engagement in your own jurisdictions. The compliance split is documented in the agreement.

**Communicate proactively.** Material changes — to your business, your customer base, your volume profile, your regulators — should be communicated to us in reasonable time. Surprises are harder to manage than expected changes.

**Cooperate with audits.** As a VQF-supervised entity, we're subject to audits. When audit cooperation involves partner activity, we expect partners to engage constructively.

**Keep documentation current.** KYB documentation, ownership records, financial information, operational details all need to be refreshed periodically. We'll specify the cadence.

**Work with us on incidents.** When something goes wrong, we expect partners to engage directly and rapidly. Good incident handling on both sides is foundational to the partnership.

## What partners can expect from us

In return:

**Reliable infrastructure.** We operate our infrastructure at institutional standards. Specific SLAs are in the agreement.

**Direct relationship.** Partner-tier accounts get direct contact with our trading and operations teams. We don't route partners through ticket queues.

**Honesty about scope.** We'll tell you what we can do and what we can't, both at scoping and as the partnership evolves.

**Material change communication.** When something on our side changes that affects you — pricing, supported assets, regulatory framework — we communicate with reasonable notice.

**Continuous improvement.** Our roadmap is informed by partner feedback. Things partners ask for consistently get prioritised.

## After go-live

A few patterns that show up consistently in successful partnerships.

**Quarterly reviews.** Scheduled reviews of operational performance, commercial relationship, and roadmap. Not always formal, but a deliberate cadence prevents the relationship from drifting.

**Volume scaling discussions.** As partner volume grows, commercial terms typically improve. We're explicit about volume tiers and how they affect pricing.

**Asset and corridor expansion.** Partners often expand from initial asset coverage to broader coverage over time. We support this; the integration is the hard part, not adding pairs.

**Compliance maturity.** Both sides' compliance frameworks evolve. Periodic reviews ensure the partnership stays aligned with regulatory developments.

**Strategic conversations.** Where partners are evolving their business — new products, new markets, new regulatory positioning — we engage strategically rather than reactively.

## What ends partnerships

Partnerships end for predictable reasons:

**Business model change.** Partner pivots away from the activity the partnership was built for.

**Regulatory shift.** Either side's regulatory perimeter changes in ways that don't fit the partnership.

**Volume drift.** Partner volume drops below the threshold where the partnership economics work.

**Operational issues.** Repeated operational problems that don't get resolved despite engagement on both sides.

**Acquisition or restructure.** Partner is acquired or restructured in ways that change the relationship fundamentally.

For each of these, the agreement specifies wind-down procedures. We expect to be informed early when winding down is on the table; surprise terminations are bad for both sides.

## Getting started

If you're at the stage of deciding to proceed:

1. Confirm the commercial scope from the scoping conversation
2. We send through the partnership agreement for review
3. KYB documentation gathering starts in parallel
4. Once commercial agreement is signed and KYB is complete, technical integration begins
5. Operational setup runs in parallel with the final stages of integration
6. Go-live happens when both sides are ready

The total timeline from "let's proceed" to live operations is typically 4-8 weeks for Managed Liquidity and Embedded Crypto Liquidity. For Regulated Crypto Access, expect 8-16 weeks depending on structural complexity.