Column

Financial Services

SeniorCounsel,StrategicPartnerships(Payments)

$235–330k ~AI est. San Francisco, California, United States FULL TIME
Market Sentiment
HIGH DEMAND

Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Senior candidates.

The Brief

“Senior Counsel, Strategic Partnerships (Payments) at Column. Skills: Strategic Partnerships, Payments Law, Regulatory Compliance, Contract Negotiation. Structure bank-fintech payments partnerships. Lead legal structuring of ACH origination”

Industry & Context.

Financial Services
Problems you'll solve

Creative solutions; Risk decisions

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

Licensed in a U.S. state, 7-15+ years practicing experience, Law firm experience, In-house experience at fintech, In-house experience at financial institution, Draft and negotiate commercial agreements, Understand contract law, Understand commercial transactions, Knowledge of banking regulatory framework, Knowledge of fintech services regulatory framework, Working knowledge of NACHA rules, Working knowledge of card network rules, Working knowledge of Regulation E, Working knowledge of UCC Article 4A, Working knowledge of BSA/AML requirements, Working knowledge of OFAC sanctions, Experience structuring payment processing agreements, Experience advising on funds-flow structures, Experience advising on settlement mechanics, Experience advising on chargeback/dispute frameworks, Manage high volume workload, Cross-functional workload management

Nice to Have

Both law firm and in-house experience

What You'll Do.

Structure bank-fintech payments partnerships

Lead legal structuring of ACH origination

Lead legal structuring of ACH receipt

Lead legal structuring of wire transfers

Lead legal structuring of card issuing

Lead legal structuring of card acquiring

Lead legal structuring of card network rules

Lead legal structuring of scheme compliance

Lead legal structuring of payment processor relationships

Lead legal structuring of push-to-card

Lead legal structuring of instant payment capabilities

Draft customer-facing terms

Review customer-facing terms

Draft marketing materials

Review marketing materials

Structure onboarding flows

Structure applications

Determine BSA/AML requirements

Conduct true lender analyses

Own legal details of new products

Design flow-of-funds model

Reflect product structure in documentation

Own complex agreements

Structure complex agreements

Draft complex agreements

Negotiate complex agreements

Drive product strategy

Drive product innovation

Enable product innovation

Partner with business teams

Partner with fintech partners

Anticipate challenges

Architect creative solutions

Advise on credit product structuring

Advise on legal implications of new lending features

Advise on legal implications of partnership models

Own regulatory architecture

Build regulatory frameworks

Evolve regulatory frameworks

Leverage expertise in Reg E

Leverage expertise in NACHA rules

Leverage expertise in card network rules

Leverage expertise in money transmission

Leverage expertise in TISA

Leverage expertise in Reg CC

Leverage expertise in UCC Article 4A

Leverage expertise in real-time payments frameworks

Partner with compliance teams

Partner with risk teams

Develop scalable regulatory approaches

Lead subject matter expertise

Be authority on legal requirements

Be authority on regulatory requirements

Share insights on regulatory developments

Share insights on practical implications

Establish Column as thought leader

Drive adoption of technology

Drive adoption of automation tools

Increase efficiency of legal workflows

Increase speed of legal workflows

Increase scalability of legal workflows

Identify opportunities for AI

Partner with engineering teams

Design legal processes

Implement legal processes

Improve partner onboarding efficiency

Maintain robust compliance

Build repeatable frameworks

Develop template loan program agreements

Develop template disclosure packages

Develop template servicing frameworks

How You'll Work.

Team & Collaboration

Work with Go-to-Market; Work with Engineering; Work with Finance; Work with Risk; Work with Compliance; Work with business teams; Work with fintech partners; Work with engineering teams; Partner with compliance teams; Partner with risk teams

Communication Scope

Executive presentations; Technical documentation

Full Job Description

ABOUT COLUMN For companies building financial technology and transforming the financial services space, the biggest bottleneck to their growth and innovation is often the underlying banks and infrastructure stack they rely on. We have spent our careers founding and scaling companies like Plaid, Square, Meta, Blend, and Affirm, and have seen this problem firsthand — builders and developers needing to partner with traditional banks, and creating API and abstraction layers over the patchwork that is the bank, its core, and many other vendors. All of this results in a complex (and often expensive) banking supply chain involving a user, fintech, BaaS middleware provider, bank, core and the Federal Reserve. At Column, we set out to simplify and fix this. We are a bank and a software company built from the ground up, offering builders and developers technology-forward banking solutions that cut out the hundreds of vendors, middleware providers, and abstraction layers. This means a safer, more transparent, and less costly banking supply chain. Come build with us! THE OPPORTUNITY At Column, we’re looking for a senior lawyer excited to own strategic partnerships end to end, from the first "we want to build with Column" conversation through drafting, signing, launch, and ongoing expansion. Instead of handing the work off to a relationship manager or a separate product team, you're the through-line. You will architect novel partnership structures that enable modern banking experiences and shape how we build and launch unique products, navigating complex regulatory requirements along the way. You'll work closely with Go-to-Market, Engineering, Finance, Risk and Compliance and have a direct impact on how bespoke financial products are built and delivered at scale. Your unique perspective, drawn from past experience launching payments products, will allow you to navigate complex regulatory environments while maintaining Column’s competitive edge. This role offers direct access to

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