Overview
The global payments space is exploding. New technologies are taking hold. Online and mobile payment applications are proliferating. Cryptocurrencies are stepping into the limelight. And as nonbanking players assume a prominent, or even dominant, role, the global financial system is having to adjust to an array of wrenching changes. With these changes come abuses.
Inevitably, the rules are being rewritten, with regulators frantically working to keep up with the shifting financial landscape. If your business model—if your very relationship with your customer base—depends on a well-functioning payments system, then your ability to adjust to new technologies, new security threats, and new regulatory requirements is sure to be a core strategic issue well into the future.
Staying in the Forefront
Our experience in these industries is long and deep, with institutional knowledge that is invaluable for navigating the changing terrain.
We have the resources you need, not just to avoid the risks, but to seize the opportunities that continue to present themselves. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, we can provide everything from regulatory advice to compliance programs to dealmaking to representation in enforcement actions and litigations. Our services are regularly sought by every type of banking—and nonbanking—player, including issuers, program managers, and payment processors.
Our lawyers are thoroughly engaged in the evolution of the payments business. Our advice is sought by regulatory and enforcement agencies at the federal and state levels. We write about the industry's most pressing concerns, speak at its most authoritative forums, and testify before commissions and legislative committees seeking to make sense of issues as they emerge. One of our lawyers has Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification—the most important professional designation in the AML compliance area.
We are also at the forefront of nascent industries—online gaming, payday lending, legalized marijuana—whose business models are not yet fully legal, or whose practices are deemed problematic by the federal government. We help our payments clients navigate this legal netherworld in which today's accepted practice could easily become tomorrow's crime, or vice versa.
Who we work with
Manatt has long served leading companies in the industries most affected by these new realities and increasing use of alternative payments methods—retailers and e-commerce companies, health care organizations, financial services firms, emerging payments companies, money services businesses, payment networks and card associations, card issuers, merchant acquirers and payments processors, technology and gaming companies, advertisers, and insurance companies.
What we do
We provide transactional, regulatory and operational guidance to our clients on a variety of payment transaction products and services, including:
- ACH transactions
- Alternative payments methods
- Bill payment services
- Digital currencies
- Mobile wallets and e-wallets
- Money transmissions
- Mobile banking and payments
- Payment processing
- Prepaid, credit and debit cards, and other stored-value products
Experience
- Direct Connect, LLC, a leading provider of credit and debit card payment processing services., in its recapitalization led by Beekman Investment Partners II, LP. Manatt also represented Direct Connect, LLC, in its acquisition of the portfolio of Evergreen Business Solutions.
- Global Merchant Advisors, Inc., a California-based provider of payment and transaction processioning solutions, in its sale to Optimal Payments Plc for trade and assets up to $15 million.
- Meritus Payments Solutions, a California-based provider of payment and transaction processing solutions, in its $210 million sale to Optimal Payments Plc.
- American Card Services, LLC; Central Pay Systems, LLC; and Homeland Payments, Inc., in their sale to Total Merchant Services.
- Epic Processing Ltd. in the sale of its assets to Intrix Processing, Inc. Epic Processing conducts payment services for merchants, including credit and debit transactions, gift card and loyalty programs, check processing and cash advances. Intrix Processing, Inc., is a provider of payment processing solutions that combines the power of technology with professional payment expertise.
- Evertec, Inc., as regulatory counsel in its acquisition of the merchant processing business of Banco Popular Puerto Rico.
- Boston-based card-linked offer company Linkable Networks, Inc., in connection with a partnership agreement with MasterCard and Visa that allows existing cardholders to find and redeem discounts and offers at checkout without having to present a paper coupon.
- MerchantWarehouse.com, LLC, a portfolio company of Parthenon Capital Partners, in its purchase of the significant assets of Beacon Payments, LLC. MerchantWarehouse is a leader in payment solutions and merchant services that allow merchants, developers and resellers to deliver current and emerging payment solutions.
- Sightline Interactive, a subsidiary of Sightline Payments, a payments company to the land-based and online gaming industry, in the establishment of a collaborative arrangement to create the first prepaid card program specifically designed for gaming operators. Sightline is partnering with payment processor Vantiv, gaming device manufacturer Bally Technologies and credit card issuer Discover.
- Solveras, Inc., in its acquisition by TransFirst, a leading payment technology provider.
Related Practices
Consumer Financial Services
Manatt Financial Services
