Senior Legal Counsel – Payments Business

About the role

The Senior Legal Counsel will lead the legal function for PayerMax’s payment business in the United Arab Emirates. Reporting to senior management, you will be responsible for overseeing all legal matters of the UAE entity and supporting the company’s licensed operations and commercial growth across the region.

Key responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal point of contact for the UAE payment business, translating complex legal requirements into actionable business rules.
• Provide end‑to‑end legal support throughout the payments lifecycle, including card‑scheme onboarding, acquiring and merchant expansion.
• Review, negotiate and draft agreements with card schemes and payment networks such as Mastercard, Visa, American Express and local schemes.
• Manage acquiring and merchant agreements, maintain a standard merchant agreement template and negotiate bespoke contracts for large merchants.
• Handle banking relationships, reviewing and negotiating account and settlement agreements with local partner banks.
• Draft and negotiate intra‑group service and related‑party agreements, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Support corporate governance, shareholder and board resolutions, and other commercial contracts for the UAE entity.
• Partner with Compliance to interpret regulatory rules (CBUAE retail payment services, AML, PCI DSS, etc.) and provide documentation support.
• Deliver day‑to‑day contract reviews, legal advice and risk alerts to Business, Finance, Operations and Expansion teams.

Required profile

• LLB or equivalent law degree from an accredited university.
• At least ten years of relevant legal experience, with a substantial portion in payments, fintech or licensed financial institutions.
• Deep understanding of the commercial and legal framework of the payments industry and the UAE financial‑legal environment.
• Proven ability to negotiate and draft commercial contracts.
• Fluent English (written and spoken) for business communication.

Required skills