Judith Rinearson

Counseled various cryptocurrency and fintech companies regarding laws related to payments and banking, including state "money transmitter" laws, federal anti-money-laundering and "money service business" laws, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E, payment association rules, consumer credit laws, state gift certificate laws, state unclaimed property, state and card network surcharge rules, and escheat laws.

Represent investors, investment firms, and other companies in the M&A process in executing regulatory due diligence on consumer financial services laws, including those implicated by companies offering payments, e-commerce, fintech, digital asset, and retail banking products.

Advised digital asset exchange businesses on the implication of federal and state consumer financial services laws, securities laws, and commodity derivative laws.

Represented multiple startup clients in corporate and regulation work, including fintechs, stablecoin and NFT issuers, DAOs, DeFi protocols, custodial and noncustodial wallet providers, and mining companies.

Advised depository, nondepository, and other financial services companies on the applicability of consumer financial services laws such as those governing tax refund anticipation loans, authorized agents and delegates for payment companies, check cashing, and escrow and lender licensing. Created surveys of such laws.

Assisted fintech startup in launching closed-loop prepaid card with innovative merchant grouping capabilities.

Advised payments trade association on a major rule proposal by the CFPB, interpreting, identifying, and commenting on key issues for letter submission.

Survey all state and federal laws governing consumer protection, abandoned property, money transmitter licensing, and federal anti-money laundering.

Reviewed token and business model for a Singapore NFT issuer and marketplace. Advised this Singapore cryptocurrency exchange expanding to the United States on US compliance.

Represented and successfully negotiated settlements on behalf of multiple payments-related clients with respect to regulatory money transmitter licensing demands and enforcement orders from a range of states, including Connecticut, Texas, New York, Florida, California, Illinois, and Washington.

Represented global human resources software and services company on a new proposed payroll product with respect to payroll compliance issues, as well as lending, licensing, and AML rules.

Provided in-depth advice to global European ticket sales company on US AML compliance, US money transmitter licensing, and EU PSD2 issues.

Planning and executing the US expansion of a successful EU payments platform that provides an innovative over-the-top banking platform that consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card with mobile app functionality. Customers can manage all spending across all accounts using the client's app. Launching US operations is an essential and strategic part of the client's growth plans and we are lead regulatory and contracting counsel.

Advising on new prepaid card program for a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange platform founded in 2016 to accelerate the world’s transition to cryptocurrency. This matter is important because it enabled the client to launch in the United States and marks a huge step forward for the client in its goal of accelerating the world’s acceptance of cryptocurrency conversion.

Serve as payments regulatory counsel to private equity firm in its investments in various fintechs, including payment processors and bill payment companies. Provided regulatory due diligence. Serve as payments regulatory counsel to the target entities in an ongoing capacity.

Regulatory and contractual advice on launch of push payments and real-time instant payments strategy and implementation. This fintech has become a leader in providing extensive payment options for fast and efficient disbursement of payments to consumers. Our advice helped the client to navigate the complex regulatory issues involved. We served as chief regulatory counsel for its latest enhancements and have been providing ongoing regulatory and contractual advice for many years.

Representing a leading United States conference for the retail, grocery, and consumer packaged goods industries on a variety of legal matters. We have also represented its founder on several additional ventures/exits, including the sale of the leading fintech conference focused on the payments industry to an international B2B events and trade exhibitions company; the sale of a payments technology company to a multinational corporation and technology company; and the sale of a payment solutions company to an American financial technology company.