Specialist UK Telecoms, Data and Payments Regulation Lawyers
Senior regulatory and transactional advice, given directly, alongside your deal team or as your fractional general counsel
If your business operates in UK telecoms, processes personal data, or provides payment services, you must know what you may build and sell under the rules, and what risks you carry. Bratby Law provides specialist regulatory and transactional advice across telecoms, data protection and payments, together with digital regulation and the transactions that depend on them, led by Rob Bratby, a Chambers Band 2 telecoms lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience including a one-year secondment to Oftel, senior in-house roles at UK telecoms operators, and partnership at international law firms. Clients instruct the firm through three models: Direct Legal Advice, Specialist Co-counsel and Fractional General Counsel.
Chambers & Partners Band 2 Telecoms (UK Guide 2026)
Lexology Global Elite Thought Leader, Telecoms & Media
Lexology Thought Leader, Data Privacy & Protection
When clients instruct us
New product launch in a regulated sector
Regulatory compliance review, licensing requirements and go-to-market risk assessment for telecoms operators, fintechs and platforms launching new services. Product launch advice
Regulatory due diligence on an acquisition
Telecoms, data protection and payments risk assessment for investors and acquirers in regulated sectors. Due diligence
AI product launch or data compliance review
DPIA, controller/processor analysis and UK GDPR compliance for technology companies deploying AI-enabled products. AI and data advice
FCA or PSR authorisation application
Payment services and e-money authorisation, safeguarding requirements and PSR scheme compliance. Authorisation advice
Ongoing senior regulatory counsel
Fractional General Counsel for telecoms, fintech and data businesses that need board-level legal support without a full-time hire. Fractional GC
Your deal needs UK regulatory depth
Specialist co-counsel to the corporate and private equity teams of large UK and US law firms on deals with UK telecoms, payments or data-heavy targets, white-label or under our own name. Co-counsel
An end-to-end regulatory perspective
Rob Bratby’s experience spans three perspectives that are seldom combined in a single adviser: the regulator’s, from work at Oftel on how UK communications regulation is developed and enforced; the operator’s, from fractional General Counsel appointments at regulated telecoms and payments businesses and embedded roles inside industry joint ventures; and the adviser’s, from senior partnership at international law firms in London and Singapore. The combination produces advice that is legally rigorous, commercially aligned and technically grounded. Why Bratby Law sets out how the three perspectives work together.
Telecoms, data protection and payments regulation lawyers
Bratby Law advises on telecoms regulation, data protection, payments regulation, transactions and digital regulation across the communications, financial services and technology sectors.
Why Choose Bratby Law?
Sector expertise
Bratby Law advises exclusively across the telecoms, data and payments sectors. That concentration means deeper knowledge of the regulatory environment, faster analysis, and advice that reflects how regulators actually behave: not how the textbook says they should.
Senior delivery
Every instruction is handled by Rob Bratby personally. With more than 30 years’ experience spanning partnership at international law firms, senior in-house roles at UK telecoms operators and a secondment to Oftel, you receive the analysis directly: not through a junior team. The firm uses AI tools to extend research capacity and accelerate document review, so senior judgment is applied to more of your matter, not less.
Current appointments
Rob Bratby currently holds fractional General Counsel appointments at TOTSCo, TelXL, Core and the UK Payments Initiative. These ongoing roles keep his advice grounded in how regulated businesses run day to day.
Independent directory rankings
Our specialist expertise is recognised in major independent legal directories:
- Chambers & Partners: Rob Bratby is ranked as a Band 2 lawyer in the UK Guide 2026 in the “Telecommunications” category: Chambers
- Lexology: Rob Bratby is recognised in the Lexology Index as a Global Elite Thought Leader for telecoms and media, and as a Thought Leader for data privacy and protection: Lexology
Start with a scoping call
What clients say about Bratby Law:
Insights
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NFC access conduct requirement: what the CMA’s iPhone proposal means for payment initiation
In short: Under the NFC access conduct requirement that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed on 20 October 2026, Apple would have to open the iPhone’s contactless chip to other apps, including for account-to-account payments, on fair and reasonable terms. For a payment initiation provider, the fee structure and the security evidence Apple may…
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AI outsourcing: when payment firms must tell the FCA
In short: When an authorised payment or e-money institution intends to outsource an operational function relating to its payment services to an AI supplier, it must tell the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about the AI outsourcing in advance, and it must report any later change in the function or the supplier without undue delay. From…
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Public interest intervention notices: when ministers change merger law mid-deal
In short: the Secretary of State may give a public interest intervention notice (a notice bringing grounds other than competition into a merger decision) on a public interest ground that is not yet in section 58 of the Enterprise Act 2002, and must then act to add that ground by order while the deal is…
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Unauthorised payment refund: gross negligence is no reason to delay
In short: an unauthorised payment refund cannot be withheld because the bank thinks the customer was grossly negligent. The Court of Justice of the European Union held on 15 October 2026 that the payer’s provider must refund by the end of the next business day, and may recover the loss later only if it proves…
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E-money agents and distributors: who handles complaints and safeguarding
In short: Where an app provider is an e-money agent or distributor of an e-money institution, the institution must handle the users’ complaints, and an eligible user can take them to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Where the app provider is a separate regulated firm, the app provider must handle them, and the Ombudsman can hear…
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Scam reimbursement: who bears the cost of fraud in the UK, the EU and Australia
In short: payment firms bear the cost of scam reimbursement in the UK, and the platforms and networks where scams begin do not contribute. Since 7 October 2024 the sending and receiving payment service providers split each authorised push payment (APP) scam refund 50:50, up to £85,000. Under the EU’s agreed Payment Services Regulation an…
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Regulator and legislation links
- Ofcom: UK Communications Regulator
- Information Commission (ICO): Data Protection and Privacy
- DSIT (UK Government): Digital, Telecoms and Data Policy
- Communications Act 2003
- Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006
- Data Protection Act 2018
- UK GDPR
- EU GDPR
- EU AI Act
- PECR
- Online Safety Act 2023
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- Payment Systems Regulator (PSR)
- Payment Services Regulations 2017
- Electronic Money Regulations 2011
- Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013