Senior Counsel, Regulatory

Job description

Our Purpose Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential. Title and Summary Senior Counsel, Regulatory Who is Mastercard? Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside our company. Overview Mastercard is seeking a Senior Counsel to provide strategic, practical and commercially focused regulatory support across Asia Pacific for Mastercard’s Commercial & New Payment Flows business, including regulatory support for Corporate Solutions, Small-Medium Enterprises, and Transfer Solutions, as well as cross-business initiatives. This region-facing role operates in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. The successful candidate will advise on existing and emerging regulations with a view toward enabling the commercialization workable regulatory pathways, solving complex problems and realizing business opportunities while appropriately managing regulatory risk. Role Serve as a key regulatory adviser for CNPF in Asia Pacific, with primary responsibility for Corporate Solutions and SME and additional support for Transfer Solutions. Translate complex requirements into crisp, actionable advice that clearly sets out the conclusion, assumptions, risks, options and recommended path. Identify practical regulatory pathways that support responsible innovation and growth; challenge assumptions, propose alternatives and work through operational, financial, treasury, safeguarding and compliance dependencies. Advise on card-network and payment-system regulation; commercial and SME products; virtual cards; interchange and pricing; consumer protection; payment services; and domestic and cross-border funds movement, including remittances and collections. Advise on digital-asset and stablecoin initiatives, including product and settlement use cases, licensing and registration, regulatory-perimeter questions, safeguarding and financial-crime controls. Partner with Financial Crimes, Compliance and other control functions on AML/CFT, sanctions, KYC, transaction monitoring and related regulatory obligations. Assess licensing, authorization, registration and notification requirements; support market-entry and legal-entity strategies, applications, supervisory matters, examinations and remediation. Monitor Asia Pacific regulatory developments and drive timely implementation or advocacy responses, with particular focus as needed on payments systems regulation, licensing, interchange and pricing. Coordinate regulatory submissions, consultation responses and advocacy positions; engage constructively with regulators; and manage outside counsel for focused, practical and cost-effective advice. Own a broad portfolio with a high degree of autonomy, prioritize effectively, manage stakeholder expectations and deliver against compressed timelines in a global matrix. All About You A law degree and qualification to practice in at least one relevant jurisdiction, with significant experience in payments, financial services, fintech, technology or regulatory law. Broad, current payments-regulatory experience spanning card networks and payment systems, interchange and pricing, consumer protection and domestic and cross-border funds movement. Experience with cross-border and domestic payment transfers, commercial card and corporate payment solutions, virtual cards, B2B payments, SME products strongly preferred. Experience advising on digital assets or stablecoins is strongly preferred, including the ability to apply existing frameworks to novel technologies and operating models. A firm understanding of AML/CFT regulatory obligations and an ability to work effectively with Financial Crimes and Compliance specialists. Experience with Australian and/or New Zealand payments regulation is strongly preferred. Strong judgment and demonstrated ability to refine fact patterns, identify dependencies and develop pragmatic solutions that enable opportunities while managing risk. Ability to deliver concise, business-friendly advice and executive updates under time pressure and with evolving facts. Proven ability to manage a complex portfolio autonomously, take ownership through implementation or resolution, and influence effectively across functions and levels. A proactive, solutions-oriented and collaborative approach, with excellent written and oral English. Additional Asia Pacific language capability is an advantage. What Success Looks Like Timely, practical advice that moves opportunities forward; clear ownership and disciplined prioritization; regulatory strategies grounded in operational realities; clear communication of decisions and next steps; and strong partnership across local, regional and global teams. Corporate Security Responsibility All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must: Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices; Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed; Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.