Business Legal Services
Payment Services Lawyers
Experts in payment services and electronic money law and regulation
If you’re involved in providing payment services or issuing electronic money (e-money), or work with someone who is, you can rely on our expert solicitors for strategic and pragmatic legal and regulatory advice whether you provide regulated or unregulated services or assist those that do.
We can advise you on if you need to become authorised, and on the authorisation process and mechanics, to:
- provide payment services; or
- issue e-money
and how to comply with the applicable regulatory regime.
What we do
Payment services solicitors
The Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSR) and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMR and together with the PSR the Regulations) govern the provision of payment services and issuance of e-money in the UK. The PSR creates an authorisation and registration regime that differs from the authorisation regime under Part 4A of the FSMA which applies to e-money and other regulated financial services.
In order to provide payment services or issue e-money you must either have appropriate authorisation and permissions under Part 4A FSMA, be exempt or be an agent of a payment institution or e-money institution.
The Regulations detail what does and does not constitute the provision of payment services and issuance of electronic money. Many firms provide services that fall outside of the Regulations but require advice to make sure they structure their products and operations so that they do not inadvertently provide services that require FCA authorisation or registration as to do so would be a criminal offence.
Our payment services lawyers can assist you with your payment services requirements and walk you through what you need to do from applying for authorisation through to dealing with your regulators. Some of the typical areas we would help your business with include:
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) and the Regulated Activities Order (RAO).
- Advising whether or not your business involves regulated payment services or e-money issuance.
- Advising unregulated firms how structuring their activities so that they do not inadvertently carry out regulated payment services and on any regulatory requirements they need to be aware of, including the requirements of any applicable exclusions.
- Applying for authorisation to provide payment services or issue e-money.
- Drafting, negotiating and updating commercial agreements including white label agreements between service providers.
- Drafting and reviewing customer agreements for the provision of payment services to businesses and consumers.
- Drafting and reviewing policies and procedures.
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation.
- Data protection legislation including the GDPR and DPA.
- Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – including guidance on how to handle customer complaints.
- Dealing with any of your regulators on your behalf including the Financial Ombudsman Service in relation to complaints.
- Queries relating to any area of regulated payment services and electronic money issuance which could include any of the following:
- legality of fees connected with payment accounts
- How best to apply strong customer authentication to electronic payments
- Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
- Payment Accounts Directive (PAD)
- Payment account switching
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – including handbook rules and breaches
- Sale, acquisitions and mergers involving regulated companies including those providing payment services.
Our payment services solicitors will also work closely with our corporate and commercial teams to cover all aspects of your deal, so the legal work is seamless whatever the transaction.
Who we help
From start-ups to payment institutions
Our payment services lawyers regularly advise many different individuals and organisations, such as:
- Payment acquirers, also known as merchant acquirers (payment institutions and banks)
- Money remittance firms
- Card issuers such as prepaid, credit and debit card issuers
- E-money issuers (e-money institutions and of issuers)
- Entrepreneurs and disruptors developing new financial services
- E-commerce marketplaces
- Overseas companies looking to offer financial services in the UK
- Companies proposing to offer payment services or issue e-money
- Fintech firms
- Regtech firms
- Providers of unregulated payment services
- Any other payment service provider
- Payment processors and other intermediaries providing services to any of the above
- Clients of payment service providers such as retailers and e-commerce marketplaces
We explain how the Regulations may affect you and your business, or if you’re new to financial services, we can discuss how you need to become regulated and the steps to maintain that regulation.
Complete solutions
Experts in financial services regulation
In addition to supporting you across all areas of payment services and e-money, our team can also assist with:
Finding the right legal partner
Why work with Harper James
Choose a legal partner you can trust: we’ll help protect your goals, your business and your people so you can move forward with confidence and focus on growing your business.
Affordable, transparent and predictable pricing
Clear itemised invoices, subscription plans with up to 50% discount, and fixed fee products help you plan and manage legal spend – with no nasty surprises.
Proven track record and measurable results
We’ve supported over 8,000 businesses since 2014, with an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 60+ from monthly client surveys.
Straight-talking, responsive advice
We’re here to make things easier, not add complexity. That means fast response times, practical expert legal advice delivered in plain English, and dedicated client service and account management support.
Risk and compliance assured
We’re an SRA regulated firm, but more importantly, we build quality, data, and compliance best practice into everything we do.
Appointing a legal partner is a big decision. That’s why we’re open about our values, culture and model, so you can see what makes us tick. And because a productive partnership starts with understanding, we always begin with a conversation – listening to your goals, pressures and plans, then tailoring our support to fit.
Testimonials
What our clients say
Meet our team
Why choose our payment services solicitors?
Our payment services solicitors have all been recruited from top 100 UK law firms, from the FCA or from large international businesses. They each have more than 15 years’ experience working in law and financial services. Find out more about our finance solicitors here:
Top ranked SME focused firm
"Harper James is a one-stop shop for anything legal. It has excellent breadth, with experience on a large number of deals and multiple departments for different legal areas."
Chambers and Partners 2026
Pricing and service plans
Legal support designed
to fit your business needs
Our three transparent service plans are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:
Engage
Flexible access to senior solicitors at highly competitive rates
An alternative to our subscription plans, offering access to full service legal expertise on a project-by-project basis.
Enable
Purpose built legal support for start-ups and smaller businesses
Monthly subscription plan for £239 per month, with £159 monthly credit and access to all legal services at 50% discount on our Standard Rates.
Extend
Comprehensive legal partnership for established businesses
Fully account managed and scalable annual subscription plan with support from a curated team of partners and senior solicitors, with up to 33% discount on our Standard Rates.
