Global Legal Associate: Fintech and Compliance

Overview

This role provides legal support for fintech and compliance matters tied to payments, payroll funding, contractor payouts, cross-border payments, deposits, and FX. You will partner with Product, Engineering, and Finance teams from early stages through launch, helping translate regulation into clear product requirements and manage regulatory risk. You will also support day-to-day fintech compliance activities to keep payment products sound once live.

Responsibilities

Product

• Work with Product and Engineering from discovery through launch on payments, payroll, and payout features.
• Assess how money flows should be structured, including whether a flow triggers licensing requirements (money transmission, e-money, or payment services) and how to meet or design around them.
• Translate regulatory requirements into clear, practical product requirements.
• Draft and maintain product terms, payment terms, disclosures, and in-product legal text.
• Draft, review, and help negotiate agreements with partner banks, payment providers, and FX partners.
• Conduct legal reviews for launches in new markets and for new payment features.
• Make balanced risk calls and propose compliant alternatives rather than blocking work.

Fintech Compliance

• Support development and day-to-day operation of the compliance framework for payment activities, including AML/CTF, KYC/KYB, and sanctions screening.
• Help assess licensing and registration needs across markets and obligations under partner bank and financial institution arrangements.
• Draft and maintain policies, controls, transaction monitoring, and regulatory reporting.
• Support engagement with regulators, auditors, financial institutions, and banks’ compliance teams.
• Track regulatory changes in payments, data protection, and AI, and assess impacts on products.
• Train internal teams on compliance obligations and encourage early risk escalation.

Requirements

• A law degree and qualification to practise in at least one jurisdiction.
• 3–5 years of legal experience in payments or fintech (in-house or at a law firm with a strong payments practice).
• Hands-on experience advising product teams, including at least one product or market launch from design through go-live.
• Solid knowledge of payments regulation (e.g., PSD2/EMD in the EU and UK, and US money transmission rules) and AML/CTF requirements.
• Experience working with banks or payment providers and negotiating related agreements.
• Ability to explain complex rules in plain language and provide clear, practical advice.
• Good judgment on risk, with comfort making decisions with incomplete information in a fast-moving environment.
• Fluent English, written and spoken.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in payroll, EOR, HR tech, or global workforce platforms.
• Experience with license applications or regulator engagement.
• Knowledge of data protection (GDPR) and AI regulation as they apply to financial and HR products.
• Experience building a compliance function from an early stage.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive compensation.
• 100% remote work.

Location

• Remote