PAYMENTS
LAWYERS

Payments acceptance and processing businesses operate at the heart of the payment transaction value chain, enabling merchants to accept multiple payment types online, in-store, and across borders. Our payments team supports processors and their customers with end-to-end legal advice, from new payment methodologies, to structuring acquiring and processing agreements, to advising on merchant onboarding, risk management, data protection, and regulatory compliance whether in fiat or crypto.

Uniquely, we help navigate the complex legal landscape around card scheme rules, AML requirements, fraud prevention, and cross-border payments. Whether you're a payment gateway, acquirer, or platform offering white-labelled embedded finance, we ensure your operations are robust, commercially sound, and scalable in a fast-moving regulatory, legal and card scheme environment.

Banks are central to the global payments ecosystem, but they face increasing complexity as they modernise legacy systems, adopt new technologies, and respond to fast-changing regulatory expectations. 

The team advises banks on every aspect of payments, from payment infrastructure projects and card scheme participation to compliance with FCA, PSD2, and other regulatory frameworks in the whole sale and retail payments markets. We assist with the structuring of payment products, real-time payments, API integrations, fraud prevention, and data protection. Whether you’re enhancing your card issuing capabilities, launching new digital payment services, or partnering with fintechs, we help ensure your solutions are secure, compliant, and future-ready.

Card issuers operate in a highly regulated and competitive environment where compliance, innovation, and customer trust are critical. 

Our payments team advises card issuers, from traditional banks to fintechs and co-brand partners, on the full legal lifecycle of card issuing programs, including BIN sponsorship, scheme compliance (Visa, Mastercard, etc.), consumer credit regulation, and outsourcing arrangements. 

We help structure and negotiate key contracts with processors, program managers, and card manufacturers, while ensuring adherence to regulatory frameworks such as PSD2, FCA rules, and consumer protection laws. Whether launching prepaid, debit, credit, or virtual cards, we provide the legal support needed to deliver secure, compliant, and commercially successful products.

Open banking is transforming the way financial data and payments are shared, creating new opportunities for banks, fintechs, and third-party providers (TPPs). 

Our payments team advises clients across the open banking ecosystem, including account providers, PISPs, AISPs, and technology platforms. We provide this advice on everything from regulatory authorisation and data sharing frameworks to API access, consent management, and customer journey design. 

We help ensure compliance with PSD2, UK Open Banking Standards, FCA requirements, and data protection laws, while supporting the development of secure and scalable open banking solutions. Whether you're building a new product, forming a bank–fintech partnership, or navigating liability and risk in data sharing, we provide the legal insight needed to innovate with confidence.

Digital money and digital assets sit at the forefront of the modern payments landscape, enabling new ways to store, send, and manage value securely and digitally.

Our payments team works with electronic money institutions (EMIs), challenger banks, fintechs, crypto exchanges and embedded finance platforms to launch and scale innovative payment products within a complex regulatory framework.

We advise on e-money licensing, FCA and PSD2 compliance, safeguarding requirements, customer terms, and relationships with banking partners, card issuers, and payment processors. Whether you’re developing a digital wallet, multi-currency account, or integrating crypto assets into your offering, we provide commercially focused legal support that helps bring new payment solutions to market securely, compliantly, and at pace.