Carolina De La Guardia

Practice Areas

Corporate and Business Law (including M&A, corporate governance, shareholder arrangements, restructurings); Fintech; Digital Finance & Payments; Data Protection & Technology Law; ICT; Intellectual Property; Public Procurement.

Career

Carolina De La Guardia is a leading corporate, fintech and technology lawyer in Panama, and the Head of Veló Legal’s Corporate/Digital practice. She advises local and international clients on corporate structuring, cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, governance frameworks, commercial contracting, and strategic market entry, with a strong focus on regulated and technology-driven industries.

Her practice integrates corporate advisory with deep specialization in digital financial services, embedded finance, payments infrastructure, product design, data protection, and technology-enabled business models. Known for her ability to align legal strategy with operational realities, Carolina designs supervision-ready structures and scalable legal architectures for high-growth companies and institutional clients.

In 2025, Carolina became the first lawyer to serve as President of CAPATEC, Panama’s Chamber of Technology, reinforcing her role as a central voice in the country’s digital economy. From this position and from private practice, she has actively contributed to policy discussions on data protection, digital identity, electronic signatures, AI governance, and fintech regulation, advising regional and global clients integrating into Panama’s regulatory environment or expanding across LATAM.

Carolina is recognised for combining regulatory depth, corporate strategy and legal design, supporting innovators, financial institutions and multinational companies as they launch, scale and operate in Panama.

Professional Memberships

International Bar Association (IBA)

Panamanian Chamber of Technology (CAPATEC) – President

Association of Women Directors of Panama (ADP) – Member

Work Highlights

● Advising Pluxee Panamá (Pluxee Group) on the evolution of its corporate and regulatory structure for digital payments and employee-benefits operations, including product architecture, stored-value instruments, wallet structures, commercial partnerships, and compliance with AML/CFT, consumer protection, and data protection regimes.

● Acting for Zulu Labz, a regional PayTech company, on its corporate establishment in Panama, cross-border operational model, licensing pathways, and regulatory compliance for SME-focused payment services. Engagement includes governance, commercial contracting and long-term regulatory strategy.

● Corporate and regulatory counsel for multiple startups and scaling companies within the City of Knowledge innovation ecosystem, advising on corporate formations, governance, shareholder agreements, commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, and market-entry strategies for fintechs, SaaS companies, and digital platforms.

● Advising American Data Networks on corporate structuring and regulatory licensing before ASEP for its telecommunications and data-centre operations in Panama, including IP portfolio protection and alignment of commercial identity with regulatory requirements.

● Ongoing corporate and regulatory advisory to fintech, payments, and technology companies in matters such as embedded finance models, KYC/AML frameworks, commercial agreements, cloud/SaaS contracting, cross-border expansion, and data governance.

Industry Sector Expertise

Corporate & Business; Startups; Fintech; Payments & Financial Services; Technology & SaaS; Telecommunications; E-commerce & Digital Platforms; Innovation Ecosystems.

Languages Spoken

English

Spanish

Education