Fractional general counsel for fintech and payments businesses that need senior legal leadership without the cost of a full-time hire. You operate a payment institution, electronic money institution, open banking provider or fintech platform. FCA authorisation, PSR oversight, safeguarding under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, anti-money laundering, Consumer Duty and data protection create a continuous regulatory workload that demands senior legal attention. Your business needs a general counsel who understands payments regulation from the inside, not a generalist who learns on your time. We provide fractional GC services to payments and fintech businesses, drawing on our appointment as General Counsel to UK Payments Initiative Limited.

Who this is for

Fintech or payments business that needs a GC who understands FCA regulation, safeguarding, open banking and Consumer Duty but cannot justify a full-time hire? Fintech and payments fractional GC provides ongoing regulatory and commercial legal leadership tailored to the payments sector.

• Payment institutions and electronic money institutions authorised or registered by the FCA under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 or the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.
• Open banking providers and third-party providers operating under the PSRs 2017, including account information service providers (AISPs) and payment initiation service providers (PISPs).
• Fintech platforms that process payments, hold client funds or issue electronic money, whether authorised directly or operating under an agent or distributor model.
• Payments businesses preparing for FCA authorisation that need pre-application regulatory guidance and a senior lawyer to project-manage the application process.
• Established payment firms at growth stage where regulatory obligations are increasing, the FCA relationship is maturing, and the board needs regular senior legal input without justifying a full-time GC hire.

Typical triggers

Payments businesses typically appoint a fractional general counsel when they reach an inflection point where regulatory complexity outstrips the capacity of external advisors working on discrete instructions. Common triggers include:

• The business has obtained or is applying for FCA authorisation under the PSRs 2017 or the EMRs 2011 and needs ongoing compliance support, not just application advice.
• Safeguarding obligations are increasing in complexity as transaction volumes grow. The FCA has made safeguarding a supervisory priority, and the firm needs a lawyer who understands the requirements under regulations 19-23 of the PSRs 2017 and can advise the board on trustee structures, diversification and the proposed reforms under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
• The board needs to implement Consumer Duty requirements (FCA rules PRIN 2A) and there is no in-house lawyer with FCA experience to lead the gap analysis, policy drafting and governance reporting.
• A scheme governance issue arises with Visa, Mastercard, Faster Payments or BACS and the business needs advice on its obligations under scheme rules and the PSR’s access and governance directions.
• The business is launching variable recurring payments (VRPs) or other open banking services and needs regulatory, commercial and data protection advice on the product structure.
• The FCA has issued a supervisory request, a section 165 information requirement under FSMA 2000, or a skilled person review under section 166, and the firm needs a senior lawyer to manage the regulatory response.
• A fintech developing a new payment product needs to understand whether it requires FCA authorisation before going to market
• An e-money institution needs ongoing fractional GC support to manage its FCA regulatory relationship and compliance programme
• A payments business wants to expand into open banking or variable recurring payments and needs regulatory advice on the requirements

What we deliver

A fractional general counsel for a payments business provides the same senior legal leadership as a full-time GC, scaled to the firm’s size and regulatory profile. We typically deliver:

• FCA regulatory compliance. Ongoing management of the business’s FCA obligations, including annual returns, regulatory notifications, threshold condition monitoring, supervisory correspondence and preparation for FCA visits. We act as the firm’s primary regulatory contact, managing the relationship with the FCA’s Payments and Digital Assets directorate.
• Safeguarding. Review and maintenance of safeguarding arrangements under regulations 19-23 of the PSRs 2017, including trustee structures, insurance arrangements, diversification requirements and reconciliation procedures. We monitor the FCA’s evolving expectations and the proposed statutory trust regime under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
• Consumer Duty. Gap analysis against FCA PRIN 2A, policy drafting, product and service value assessments, vulnerable customer frameworks, complaints root cause analysis and board reporting. We advise on the Consumer Duty’s application to the payments chain, including where obligations sit between issuers, acquirers and programme managers.
• Scheme governance and PSR compliance. Advice on obligations under Visa, Mastercard, Faster Payments and BACS scheme rules. We advise on the PSR’s access directions, interchange fee regulations and the governance requirements that apply to payment system operators and participants.
• Anti-money laundering. Oversight of the firm’s AML framework under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, including policies, customer due diligence procedures, transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting. We advise on the interaction between AML obligations and the FCA’s Financial Crime Guide.
• Commercial agreements. Reviewing and negotiating acquiring agreements, issuing agreements, platform terms, merchant contracts, agent and distributor agreements, and data processing agreements. We bring regulatory context to commercial negotiations, identifying terms that create compliance exposure before they are signed.
• Board advisory and governance. Attending board meetings, preparing regulatory risk reports, advising on governance structures required by the FCA’s threshold conditions, and supporting the firm through regulatory change programmes. We act as a sounding board for the CEO and board on strategic decisions with regulatory implications.

The regulatory framework for payments businesses

Payments businesses in the United Kingdom operate within a overlapping regulatory framework. The principal legislation is the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which implement the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) in UK law and govern the authorisation, conduct and prudential requirements for payment institutions and registered account information service providers. Electronic money institutions are additionally regulated under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.

The FCA is the competent authority for authorisation and prudential supervision of payment institutions and EMIs. The Payment Systems Regulator regulates designated payment systems and their participants under the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013. Both regulators operate within the broader framework of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.

The regulatory environment for payments firms continues to develop. The FCA has made safeguarding a supervisory priority and is consulting on a statutory trust model that would replace the current safeguarding regime. Operational resilience requirements under the FCA’s PS21/3 apply to all authorised payments firms. The Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A) applies to all FCA-authorised firms, including payment institutions and EMIs, and the FCA has signalled that it will use Consumer Duty as a primary supervisory tool across the payments sector. A fractional general counsel who understands this framework can help your board anticipate regulatory change rather than react to it.

Representative experience

Recent and representative matters include:

• Served as fractional GC to an authorised payment institution, managing ongoing FCA compliance, safeguarding arrangements and the commercial contract suite during a period of rapid growth.
• Provided fractional GC services to an e-money institution through a product expansion, advising on new product authorisation requirements, Consumer Duty implementation and customer terms.
• Acted as fractional GC for a payments aggregator, managing FCA reporting obligations, appointed representative arrangements and the regulatory aspects of a Series B funding round.
• Provided ongoing general counsel support to an open banking platform, covering FCA regulatory requirements, API access agreements and the evolving variable recurring payments framework.
• Served as fractional GC to a cross-border payments business, managing UK regulatory compliance alongside EU licensing requirements and the practical impact of UK/EU regulatory divergence.

Frequently asked questions about fractional GC for payments businesses

Do you understand the FCA’s approach to payments firms specifically?

Yes. We act as General Counsel to UK Payments Initiative Limited and advise payments businesses on FCA compliance across the full regulatory lifecycle. We track FCA policy statements, Dear CEO letters, multi-firm reviews and enforcement trends specific to the payments sector. Our payments regulation work is a core practice area, not an adjunct to a broader financial services practice.

Can you help with our FCA authorisation application?

Yes. We advise on FCA authorisation applications for payment institutions and electronic money institutions under the PSRs 2017 and the EMRs 2011, including programme of operations, business plans, regulatory capital calculations and governance arrangements. For direct advisory work on specific applications, see also Regulatory Perimeter and Market Entry.

How does the fractional model work for a payments business?

Typically two to four days per month on retainer, with additional capacity during FCA reporting periods, product launches or scheme reviews. We attend board meetings, manage FCA correspondence, review commercial agreements and advise on regulatory developments as they arise. The retainer is fixed monthly, with overage billed at an agreed day rate. Most clients find this model costs a fraction of a full-time GC while delivering the same quality of senior legal input.

How does this differ from the Payments Regulation practice area pages?

The Payments Regulation pages describe the regulatory frameworks and the direct advisory work we do on discrete instructions. This page is for payments businesses that want a standing fractional general counsel appointment, providing continuous senior legal support across the full range of the firm’s legal and regulatory needs rather than advice on individual questions.

What safeguarding advice do you provide?

We advise on all aspects of the safeguarding regime under regulations 19-23 of the PSRs 2017 and regulation 20-22 of the EMRs 2011. This includes the choice between segregation and insurance methods, trustee appointment and oversight, diversification of safeguarding accounts, reconciliation procedures, and preparation for the proposed statutory trust regime under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. We also advise on the FCA’s supervisory expectations as set out in its multi-firm safeguarding reviews.

Can you advise on open banking and variable recurring payments?

Yes. We advise on the regulatory, commercial and data protection aspects of open banking services, including AISP and PISP registration, strong customer authentication requirements, screen scraping restrictions and liability allocation. We also advise on variable recurring payments (VRPs), including the regulatory classification of VRP services, scheme participation requirements and the commercial agreements needed to offer VRP-enabled products.

Do I need FCA authorisation for my payment service?

Whether you need FCA authorisation depends on the payment services you provide and whether any exemptions apply under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 or the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. As fractional GC, we assess the regulatory perimeter for your product at the design stage, advise on the correct authorisation route, and if authorisation is required, manage the application process and ongoing FCA relationship on your behalf.

How do you manage ongoing FCA correspondence as fractional GC?

We act as the primary point of contact for FCA supervisory correspondence, regulatory information requests, and any thematic reviews that affect payments firms. This includes preparing responses to FCA data requests, managing supervisory visits, and ensuring the board is briefed on regulatory developments that affect the business. Having a fractional GC with direct payments regulatory experience means these interactions are handled promptly and with an understanding of what the FCA expects.

Can you advise on open banking and variable recurring payments regulation?

Yes. Open banking and commercial variable recurring payments (cVRPs) sit at the intersection of payments regulation, competition law, and the PSR’s regulatory framework. We advise fintech businesses on the regulatory requirements for offering VRP services, the relationship with the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee’s open banking framework, and how the PSR’s approach to expanding VRPs beyond sweeping is likely to affect your product roadmap.

Related fractional general counsel pages

See also our other fractional general counsel pages:

• UK Counsel for Global Businesses
• Interim Counsel
• Project Counsel
• Joint Venture Counsel
• Tech Scale-Up Counsel
• Fractional General Counsel (overview)

If your payments business needs a fractional general counsel who understands FCA regulation from the inside, we can start with an initial scoping call.