Max Savoie

Practice Areas

MAX SAVOIE leads Sidley’s EU and UK payments and fintech practice. He advises firms across the sector on laws and regulations affecting their businesses, including in the context of:

• Product development and launches

• Business expansion into new jurisdictions and new services

• Strategic commercial partnerships

• Acquisitions and investments in payments and fintech businesses

• Regulatory authorisation and other approval processes

• Open banking, APIs and digital tokenisation

• Anti-money laundering, fraud prevention and other financial crime rules

• Regulation of cryptoasset issuers and service providers

• The use of AI and machine learning in relation to payment processes and related functions

• Conduct of business, data security, governance, outsourcing, regulatory capital, safeguarding, and reporting requirements

• Regulatory investigations and enforcement actions

Max’s key client relationships include international payment systems and infrastructure providers, card issuers, merchant acquirers, payment processors, money transmitters, technical service providers, and providers of mobile and other alternative payment methods. He has advised on numerous cross-border transactions and strategic regulatory projects for many of the largest providers in the market. These have included M&A and restructuring transactions, as well as product launches and commercial partnerships.

Max also advises on contentious and regulatory engagement matters. He has guided a number of firms through internal and external investigations. He has also worked with several international firms and trade associations in discussions with policymakers and regulators and has had notable successes helping to steer regulatory reforms towards outcomes that are mutually beneficial for firms and their customers. Max is an active member of the Payment Association’s regulatory working group and co-editor of one of the leading practitioner's texts in his field, “Payment Services: Law and Practice” (Elgar, 2022).