FinTech Law
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Maalouf Ashford & Talbot’s FinTech Practice helps clients navigate the myriad of regulatory, commercial, transactional, and general corporate issues impacting the payments and FinTech sectors.
We work with a diverse range of clients, including:
• New market entrants
• Traditional financial institutions
• Emerging companies
• Traditional and non-traditional third-party service providers (including payment facilitators)
• Payment networks
• Online marketplaces
• Social networks
• Merchants
• Payment processors
• Established tech giants
• Investors
• Telecommunications operators
• Stored Digital Wallet Operators
Our team includes eight (8) FinTech lawyers, led by Dr. John J. Maalouf, Senior Partner of the Firm and globally recognized FinTech expert, and provides pragmatic, commercially focused advice across the range of legal and regulatory challenges associated with developing, using, operating, or expanding the geographic reach of various services and offerings, including:
• Money transmission
• Digital and virtual cryptocurrencies
• Distributed ledger technologies
• Electronic and mobile payments
• Stored value / prepaid access / e-money
• Payment instruments
• Credit products
• E-commerce
• Payment acceptance and payment remittance
Navigating Regulatory Compliance
We help clients understand and meet their regulatory obligations, an often daunting task amidst fast-evolving and increasingly stringent oversight and scrutiny in the FinTech and payments sector. Our team draws upon a sophisticated understanding of UAE Laws, US laws, and International laws and regulations governing the FinTech industry, as well as a practical understanding of the requirements and expectations of the various administering regulatory agencies.
We provide thoughtful, clear, and forward-looking counsel on:
• General compliance, including authorization and licensing requirements and processes, regulatory filing and reporting requirements,
and obtaining approvals and guidance from regulatory authorities.
• Development, launch, or modification of products or services.
• Development of policies and procedures, terms of service, disclosures, or other aspects of a product or service offering.
• Government enforcement actions, audits, and examinations in multiple jurisdictions.
• Guidance in connection with the potential monetization of a resource.
We also regularly facilitate stakeholder feedback to authorities by keeping clients abreast of legislative and regulatory developments, and opportunities to comment in response to new trends and policies.
Maalouf Ashford combines market-leading transactional practices with comprehensive regulatory and industry knowledge, and a keen understanding of the technology that underpins the payments sector to guide clients successfully through a wide range of transactional matters. We routinely structure and negotiate commercial arrangements, including those related to the offering of new payments offerings and services, bank and network sponsorships, and agency and processing relationships. We also draw on a track record of advising clients on payments and FinTech related M&A, joint ventures, and private equity transactions, including acquisitions, sales, and investments in financial institutions and other companies in the payments sector.
Our payments practice leverages Maalouf Ashford’s global platform to efficiently advise on matters that may also relate to other financial regulatory areas, as well as data privacy and cybersecurity, economic sanctions and anti-money laundering, technology transactions, intellectual property and software licensing, outsourcing, e-commerce, and telecommunications technology, among others.
We work with a diverse range of clients, including:
• New market entrants
• Traditional financial institutions
• Emerging companies
• Traditional and non-traditional third-party service providers (including payment facilitators)
• Payment networks
• Online marketplaces
• Social networks
• Merchants
• Payment processors
• Established tech giants
• Investors
• Telecommunications operators
• Stored Digital Wallet Operators
Our team includes eight (8) FinTech lawyers, led by Dr. John J. Maalouf, Senior Partner of the Firm and globally recognized FinTech expert, and provides pragmatic, commercially focused advice across the range of legal and regulatory challenges associated with developing, using, operating, or expanding the geographic reach of various services and offerings, including:
• Money transmission
• Digital and virtual cryptocurrencies
• Distributed ledger technologies
• Electronic and mobile payments
• Stored value / prepaid access / e-money
• Payment instruments
• Credit products
• E-commerce
• Payment acceptance and payment remittance
Navigating Regulatory Compliance
We help clients understand and meet their regulatory obligations, an often daunting task amidst fast-evolving and increasingly stringent oversight and scrutiny in the FinTech and payments sector. Our team draws upon a sophisticated understanding of UAE Laws, US laws, and International laws and regulations governing the FinTech industry, as well as a practical understanding of the requirements and expectations of the various administering regulatory agencies.
We provide thoughtful, clear, and forward-looking counsel on:
• General compliance, including authorization and licensing requirements and processes, regulatory filing and reporting requirements,
and obtaining approvals and guidance from regulatory authorities.
• Development, launch, or modification of products or services.
• Development of policies and procedures, terms of service, disclosures, or other aspects of a product or service offering.
• Government enforcement actions, audits, and examinations in multiple jurisdictions.
• Guidance in connection with the potential monetization of a resource.
We also regularly facilitate stakeholder feedback to authorities by keeping clients abreast of legislative and regulatory developments, and opportunities to comment in response to new trends and policies.
Maalouf Ashford combines market-leading transactional practices with comprehensive regulatory and industry knowledge, and a keen understanding of the technology that underpins the payments sector to guide clients successfully through a wide range of transactional matters. We routinely structure and negotiate commercial arrangements, including those related to the offering of new payments offerings and services, bank and network sponsorships, and agency and processing relationships. We also draw on a track record of advising clients on payments and FinTech related M&A, joint ventures, and private equity transactions, including acquisitions, sales, and investments in financial institutions and other companies in the payments sector.
Our payments practice leverages Maalouf Ashford’s global platform to efficiently advise on matters that may also relate to other financial regulatory areas, as well as data privacy and cybersecurity, economic sanctions and anti-money laundering, technology transactions, intellectual property and software licensing, outsourcing, e-commerce, and telecommunications technology, among others.