VP of Legal

Paybis is a global fintech company operating at the intersection of crypto and traditional payments. Since 2014, we've been building products that help people and businesses buy, sell, and exchange cryptocurrency. We serve 8.6M+ customers across 180+ countries and operate as a self-funded company with ~200 people across Europe, Ukraine, and the US.

We hold a MiCA CASP authorisation and a Payment Institution (PSD2) licence in Latvia — one of a small group of companies in Europe holding both simultaneously — alongside FinCEN MSB and FINTRAC registrations, and a VASP registration in Poland.

We're building out our senior leadership team and are looking for a VP of Legal to lead the legal function and take full ownership of our regulatory, commercial, and corporate legal agenda.

As VP of Legal at Paybis, you will lead a team of three and own the full legal function — from regulatory licence applications and regulator relationships to B2B commercial contracts, MiCA/PSD2 ongoing obligations, and corporate governance.

You will report directly to the CEO and work daily with Compliance, Partnerships, Product, Finance, and Technology — as well as external counsel across multiple jurisdictions.

The legal function is active and operational: an in-house team of three handles day-to-day matters across regulatory, commercial, and corporate legal. What this role adds is senior ownership — strategic prioritisation, cross-functional representation, licence pipeline leadership, and a genuine legal partnership with the CEO.

Your mandate from day one: own the commercial contract pipeline, take the two parallel EMI applications (Latvia + UK) under your ownership, and be the senior legal voice the business needs to operate at pace.

If you are a senior lawyer who wants to own an outcome — not just advise on one — and you are energised by a regulatory portfolio that is genuinely complex and genuinely consequential, this role is for you.

Regulatory Legal

• Lead two parallel EMI licence applications — Latvia (hub) and UK (EMI + Crypto Asset Registration) — as the primary in-house legal owner from submission through RFI and decision
• Own ongoing legal obligations under our MiCA CASP and PSD2 PI licences: governance, capital requirements, reporting, custody rules, conflicts of interest, and marketing restrictions
• Serve as internal legal counterpart to regulators: Latvijas Banka, FCA, AUSTRAC, JFSC, FinCEN, and FINTRAC
• Manage the Jersey and Australia licence pipeline
• Own legal interpretation of MiCA across 27 EU member states: CASP obligations, travel rule, white paper requirements, and passporting mechanics
• Manage external regulatory counsel relationships across jurisdictions — brief, direct, and quality-control external advice
• Support the Global Chief of Compliance on regulatory legal questions: AML/CTF legal framework, SAR obligations, data retention, and regulatory reporting



Commercial & Contractual Legal

• Own the B2B partner legal framework: master service agreements, API terms, white-label agreements, referral and agent agreements across the full product suite
• Own and prioritise the commercial contract pipeline — ensure B2B partners receive fast, credible legal turnaround
• Review and negotiate contracts with banking and payment partners: correspondent banks, card schemes (Visa/Mastercard), SEPA/SWIFT participants
• Own agreements with liquidity providers, custody partners, blockchain analytics vendors, and technology suppliers
• Draft and maintain B2C terms of service, privacy policy, and consumer-facing documentation — updated for MiCA and GDPR requirements

Corporate Legal & Legal Operations

• Own the group corporate structure — SIA Paybis Europe and any other entities: good standing, KYC, corporate governance
• Manage GDPR and data protection obligations: DPA negotiations, DSAR management, and privacy-by-design in product development
• Own IP protection: trademarks and brand management across jurisdictions
• Build a structured legal operations layer: contract management system, standard template library, and legal request workflow
• Manage external counsel relationships and rationalise external legal spend
• Serve as the CEO's trusted legal partner — translate legal risk into clear business options with a recommended position

Must have:

• Qualified lawyer in an EU or UK jurisdiction with strong post-qualification experience (typically 8+ years) in regulated financial services, fintech, or payments
• Direct, hands-on experience in at least one relevant regulatory framework: MiCA/CASP, PSD2 EMI or PI, FCA cryptoasset registration or authorisation, or VASP — not just advisory exposure
• Proven ability to independently lead or materially own a licence application from initial drafting through regulatory dialogue to decision
• Substantive B2B commercial contract experience: able to draft, negotiate, and close complex fintech agreements independently without relying on external counsel for the first draft
• Ability to serve as the primary in-house legal owner of a significant regulatory or commercial matter — not just a reviewer or second opinion
• Ability to make a legal decision and stand behind it under CEO or counterparty pressure — advisors who cannot take a position are the wrong profile for this role
• High autonomy operating mode: identifies the question, proposes a route, and closes actions without requiring direction
• Fluent professional English — legal English to the standard required for regulator-facing correspondence and contract negotiation
• Ability to work within European business hours

Nice to have:

• UK FCA cryptoasset registration or full authorisation experience — given UK pipeline priority, this is a significant differentiator
• Prior in-house GC, Head of Legal, or VP of Legal experience in a fintech, EMI, PSP, or crypto company
• Experience managing a small legal team or operating as the most senior legal person in a company
• MiCA post-authorisation obligations experience — not just application, but ongoing CASP compliance requirements
• Travel rule implementation experience (FATF/EU TFR) across multiple jurisdictions
• Card scheme membership legal experience: Visa/Mastercard scheme rules, principal membership, dispute frameworks
• GDPR/data protection specialist depth: DPA negotiations, cross-border data transfers, DSAR management at scale
• Russian language — practical advantage in Paybis's multilingual team environment
• Law degree or equivalent; LLM in financial regulation, payments, or technology law is a plus

• Direct report to the CEO — your work shapes company strategy, not just supports it
• One of Europe's most interesting regulatory portfolios: MiCA CASP + PSD2 PI already granted, with UK EMI, EMI Latvia, Jersey, and Australia in active pipeline
• Your licence applications go straight to regulators — your work has real, visible regulatory outcomes
• Lead an existing legal team of three from day one — you are not starting from zero
• Self-funded, stable company without investor pressure or external funding-round timelines shaping legal decisions
• Remote-first with high autonomy — we do not micromanage senior professionals
• B2B contract engine and commercial legal at scale — 82% of our volume is institutional and B2B, with a growing partner ecosystem across crypto exchanges, neobanks, PSPs, EMIs, wallets, gaming platforms, and Web3 companies
• Medical insurance, L&D budget, performance-based financial bonus, English classes, regular team-building activities
• Fintech and crypto domain — legally complex, always evolving, and genuinely consequential

•   HR interview — motivation, background, communication style, autonomy fit

•   CEO interview — legal philosophy, regulatory depth, commercial judgment, and strategic fit

•   Reference check — ideally including a CEO or C-level peer from a prior role

Paybis is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome lawyers who take ownership seriously, can make a decision under pressure, and want to build a legal function that a company at our stage of growth actually needs.