Role Overview

The Legal Counsel/ Senior Legal Associate will support the organization in managing end-to-end legal matters across commercial contracts, payments ecosystem partnerships, regulatory structuring, and cross-border transactions. The role involves drafting and negotiating complex payments agreements, advising on regulatory positioning, supporting product structuring, and working closely with the Business, Product, and Compliance teams to ensure legally sound and compliant growth.

This role offers a hands-on opportunity to build and scale the legal framework of a fast-growing regulated cross border payment company which started from the GIFT IFSC India but will now serve the world

Key Responsibilities

Payments & Commercial Contracts

• Draft, review, and negotiate payments ecosystem agreements, including:

• Partnership agreements (banks, partner regulated (fintech) entities arrangements, and card schemes)

• Merchant acquiring and merchant onboarding agreements

• Technology licensing, SaaS, and API integration agreements

• Vendor, outsourcing, and strategic partnership agreements

• Data protection and data processing agreements

• Support negotiation strategy while balancing regulatory risk and commercial objectives

• Develop and standardize contract templates aligned with business and regulatory requirements

Regulatory Advisory & Structuring

• Provide legal advisory on RBI, IFSCA, FEMA, and other applicable regulatory frameworks impacting payments and financial services including data protection laws.

• Work closely with the Compliance team to ensure contractual arrangements and policies align with licensing conditions and regulatory obligations.

• Support regulatory applications, representations, and structuring of new products and partnerships. Assist in evaluating cross-border transaction structures and foreign regulatory implications.

Product & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with the Product team during product conceptualization and launch to ensure regulatory and contractual alignment.

• Review product flows, user journeys, and commercial models from a legal and risk perspective.

• Partner with Compliance to embed regulatory controls within product and operational processes.

• Provide timely legal inputs for new features, integrations, and ecosystem partnerships.

Governance & Strategic Support

• Support development of internal legal policies and governance frameworks.

• Coordinate with external counsel on specialised or international matters.

• Assist in board documentation, investor-related documentation, and strategic transactions.

• Maintain proper documentation and contract management systems.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Strong drafting and negotiation skills, particularly in payments and financial services agreements.

• Clear understanding of the payments ecosystem and regulatory architecture.

• Ability to interpret regulations and translate them into contractual and operational safeguards.

• Strong analytical and structuring capability.

• Effective cross-functional collaboration with Product, Compliance, and Business teams.

• Ability to independently manage complex negotiations and multiple workstreams.

Qualifications & Experience

• LL.B. (mandatory); LL.M. preferred.

• 4+ years of experience at a law firm or inhouse with a financial institution.

• Demonstrated experience in Fintech, TMT, or Banking & Finance practice.

• Exposure to payments, financial services, or regulated entities preferred.

• Experience in cross-border transactions is a strong advantage.