Credit institutions (banks), non-banking financial institutions (IFNs), payment service providers, payment institutions, e-money issuing institutions (EMIs), including payment integrators, payment processors, Third Party Providers (TPP), potential Account Information Service Providers (AISPs), potential Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs), and technology companies interested in entering into partnerships with regulated entities from Financial sector are facing various challenges such as: constantly changing regulations, increasingly complex contractual aspects, incorporation of Fintech companies and obtaining authorizations from regulators, structuring the products/services offered, drafting the Terms of Use for platforms/applications, drafting the contractual documentation for the clients, obtaining financing, the procurement procedure and concluding partnerships with financial institutions and other partners, ensuring compliance with incidental legislation.
By using legal services both for regulatory issues and for negotiating agreements, the companies above-mentioned are assuring the success of their projects, by eliminating or reducing legal risks.
NewLegalWay provides legal consultancy on Fintech and Finance&Banking related to the following aspects:
Fintech
- Consultancy on the services provided by electronic money (e-money) issuing institution-EMI;
- Legal assistance regarding the authorization procedure of an e-money issuing institution in Romania;
- Legal advice on the passporting procedure of an e-money issuing institution authorized in another Member State of the European Union;
- Consultancy on e-money and electronic wallet (eWallet-through which it holds, stores and transfers electronic money/e-money) and bank wallet;
- Consultancy on the services provided by a payment institution, the procedure, and requirements for authorization, comparison with the services provided by an e-money issuing institution (EMI);
- Legal advice on the passporting procedure of a payment institution;
- Consultancy on Open Banking and the provisions of the PSD2 Directive (integration of services provided by the Third-Party Provider /TPP);
- Consultancy on Fintech companies’ partnerships with online stores, eMalls, marketplace platforms, virtual communities, collaboration platforms;
- Consultancy on the services provided by Fintech companies in the E-commerce sector (online financing, global currency exchange, fast payment services, invoicing, payment to third parties and optimization of mobile payments, access to mobile wallets, initiation of account payments in customer names, remote payment via link, card payment service without technical implementation, cashback to buyers, payment accelerator integrated into any application that manages financial resources, payment services using special cards);
- Consultancy on Digital Wallet (through which the virtual currencies/ cryptocurrencies are held, stored and transferred);
- Legal advice on payments on devices, mobile payment applications, online payments using the mobile phone number and messenger applications for payments and money transfers;
- Legal advice on payments using crypto-assets (cryptocurrencies, tokens) for more details, see the Crypto section;
- Consultancy regarding the activities and services offered by payment service providers (credit institutions, e-money issuing institutions, payment institutions, payment initiation service providers, account information service providers);
- Consultancy on decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized lending, decentralized insurance, decentralized financial services (for more details, see the Crypto section);
Finance&Banking
- Consultancy on structuring credit products for credit institutions (banks) and non-bank financial institutions (IFNs);
- Drafting / amending credit agreements and related guarantees (for more details see the Financing and Crowdfunding section);
- Consultancy regarding the services provided by non-banking financial institutions (IFNs) registered in the NBR General Register and the NBR Special Register, as well as their authorization procedure;
- Drafting / amending internal policies and procedures for banks, IFNs, payment institutions (for more details see the Compliance and Competition section);
- Consultancy on financing customers through digital lending solutions (online financing flow, the conclusion of loan agreements on distance, video identification, signing documents using an electronic signature, biometric authentication);
- Advice on anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing (AML / CTF) requirements for credit institutions, non-banking financial institutions, payment institutions, e-money issuers, and remote KYC (Know Your Customer);
- Legal advice on credit/debit card payments, prepaid card payments;
- Consultancy on Mobile Wallet / mWallet (an application that can be installed on a smartphone or represents an existing integrated feature of a smartphone);
- Legal advice on payments in marketplaces and agreements between marketplaces and non-banking financial institutions;
- Legal advice regarding the legal provisions on electronic payments (electronic transactions, dynamic currency conversion – services/products offered to non-residents, non-discrimination in payments, multi-factor consumer authentication, SCA – Strong Customer Authentication, additional measures introduced by PSD2 – Payment Services Directive);
- Consultancy on cloud outsourcing, for more details, see Technology and Intellectual Property section.