Senior Product Counsel, Payments & Digital Assets

Cross River; Fort Lee (NJ); Hybrid; USD 245,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial technology company is seeking a Senior Product Counsel for Payments & Digital Assets. The role involves providing legal expertise on payments products, ensuring compliance with regulations, and supporting new product development. Ideal candidates will have extensive legal experience, particularly in fintech and digital assets, and strong negotiation skills. This hybrid role requires a minimum of three days in the office in Fort Lee, NJ.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of legal experience in fintech or financial institutions.
• 5+ years’ experience in payments and digital assets.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal expertise on payments products and services.
• Prepare and negotiate payments and vendor contracts.
• Ensure compliance with U.S. and international laws.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Time management

Negotiation

Interpersonal skills

Education

Juris Doctorate

Job description

Who We Are

Cross River is a highly profitable, fast-growing financial technology company powering the future of financial services. Our comprehensive suite of innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards, and lending products deliver financial services for millions of businesses and consumers around the globe. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world’s most essential fintech and technology companies. Together with its partners, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion.

We are on a mission to build the infrastructure that propels access, inclusion, and the democratization of financial services. While our company has tripled in size over the last three years, our strong sense of purpose led Cross River to be named to American Banker’s list of Best Places to Work in Fintech for the last 6 years. The reason for this success is simple – our nimble and collaborative family culture lives in every member of our growing team. Together we are at the forefront of technology and innovation, and we invite passionate, collaborative, and motivated high performers to join our expanding team.

What We're Looking For

Cross River is currently seeking candidates for a Senior Product Counsel, Payments & Digital Assets reporting to the Deputy General Counsel. The successful candidate must have demonstrated work experience at financial institutions and strong familiarity with banking products/services, commercial and retail payment products and systems, including emerging digital asset technologies and fintech innovation, commercial and consumer loans, marketplace lending, ACH, wires and card networks. A solid understanding of laws, regulations and card network rules impacting payments and ancillary financial services, including federal and state money transmission laws and third-party risk management is needed for this role.The candidate must exhibit strong judgement, market knowledge and decision-making skills to successfully lead projects, timely manage transactions and oversee outside counsel.

Responsibilities:

• Provide risk-based legal and regulatory expertise and advice on payments products and services
• Prepare, review, and negotiate payments and vendor contracts in transactions with institutional clients and service providers
• Establish regulatory frameworks and guidance that enable the advancement of responsible, innovative decentralized finance products and services
• Conduct legal reviews and provide support of online, mobile and other digital platforms that deliver financial services (including cryptocurrency and blockchain)
• Support new product development and implementation, including drafting and negotiating agreements for strategic partnerships
• Ensure product compliance with applicable U.S. and international laws and regulations
• Provide clear and concise guidance to business units, particularly on novel and complex legal issues
• Actively engage with business units to help identify and assess risks and resolve issues
• Proactively collaborate with stakeholders across the enterprise, including compliance, technology, product, risk, operations and other key partners
• Support other projects to support the legal department as necessary

Success Factors:

• Analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to review and anticipate broader organizational impact(s) required.
• Ability to think “outside the box” in addressing novel issues and a willingness to learn new legal subject matter areas, as needed. Creative, agile thinker with an entrepreneurial, solutions-oriented mindset to drive business growth objectives.
• Self-starter that likes to take on responsibility and committed to continuous improvement; upholds corporate values and displays integrity and high ethical standards.
• Proactively create trust with colleagues with consistent communication and collaborate effectively with multiple internal groups and foster and maintain strong relationships, partnering with other lawyers, risk and compliance partners and business colleagues at all levels to drive results.
• Good time management and prioritization skills (including managing up and setting expectations), well organized, attention to detail, and able to effectively self-manage numerous several sensitive or urgent issues or projects simultaneously and produce professional quality work under tight deadlines with limited administrative support.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills, with excellent written and oral advocacy, corporate communication and interpersonal skills, including ability to interact effectively, and the ability and desire to build relationships and influence others.

Qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate degree required, along with admission to a U.S. state (NY/NJ preferred)
• 10+ years of legal experience, either with a recognized U.S. law firm or in-house with a financial institution, fintech company or crypto/blockchain company
• 5+ years’ experience in payments and digital assets
• Solid foundation incontract law and negotiation of agreements, including cross-border transactions.
• Robust experience and interest in blockchain technology, decentralized finance, and digital assets/currency (i.e., alternative payment types, mobile wallets, and security products)
• Deep expertise in consumer financial services regulation and agencies (Reg E, FinCEN MSB, State MTLs, SEC) and consumer services and internet regulations and agencies (FTC UDAAP, CDA 230, Privacy/GDPR)
• Extensive knowledge of regulatory frameworks governing financial products and payment services
• Understanding and experience with requirements to support AML/KYC requirements, and regulated e-money and money transmission obligations under banking laws
• Strong background in technology intellectual property, information security and privacy is a plus.
• Sound judgment andability to analyze situations and information
• High degree of professional ethics and integrity
• Hybrid role (minimum of 3 days required in-person office) located in Fort Lee, NJ

#LI-JJ1 #LI-Hybrid #LI-Onsite

Salary Range: $245,000.00 - $275,000.00

Cross River is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Cross River does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

By submitting your application, you give Cross River permission to email, call, or text you using the contact details provided. We will only contact you with job related information.