Fnality is building the future of financial market infrastructure – creating regulated, blockchain-based payment systems to power tomorrow’s wholesale finance ecosystem. Backed by leading global financial institutions and operating at the intersection of technology, finance, and regulation, we are powering the future of finance, together. There are no precedents for what we're doing. With you on our side, we'll be setting new ones every day.
Working at Fnality
Be your best:
We have a supportive culture that helps to bring the best out of each and every single one of our employees.
Feel free to explore:
Bring your new ideas and help us to solve problems together by joining a community of experts.
Be part of something bigger: We will support you by fostering an open, honest culture, that enables flexibility and wellbeing. Feel part of something bigger while being yourself.
Feel empowered:
We want you to feel empowered. The nature of our business can help make this a reality. We have the
agility, speed and innovation of a start-up, and a flexible working environment that enables this.
Please note: We operate as a hybrid business with offices in London (UK), Connecticut (US) and Frankfurt/Eschborn (Germany) with flexibility to work from home. You will be expected to work onsite in your jurisdiction 2–4 times per month on average and to attend in-person business meetings with external stakeholders (regulators, customers, vendors, business partners) from time to time as required.
The Role:
This Legal Counsel / Senior Legal Counsel role sits within our Group Legal department and will be fundamental to the success of Fnality Group and its business as the operator of a global network of regulated DLT‑enabled payment systems and provider of related technology products and services to institutional clients.
We are seeking a fully qualified German lawyer (Volljurist:in) who is organised, collaborative, and confident in driving strategic execution while balancing multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment. In addition to contributing your German law expertise on matters relating to Fnality’s business in the eurozone, you will be expected to collaborate closely with other lawyers in our Group Legal department (qualified outside Germany) and external counsel where required on projects and queries with a Fnality Group or international focus (including English language documentation governed by English/US law).
Reporting to our Group General Counsel, you will provide legal services across our international business (with a focus on business in the eurozone), supporting the full lifecycle of commercialisation of our products and services and contributing to Fnality’s expansion into new jurisdictions. You will work closely with Group Legal colleagues and stakeholders across Leadership, Commercial, Product, HR, Technology, Finance, and Risk & Compliance.
The main outcomes of the role are:
- Advise on legal and regulatory issues arising from the full lifecycle of technology commercialisation - from supplier relationships and intra‑group arrangements to customer contracting, product marketing, and strategic partnerships—supporting Fnality in achieving optimal business outcomes.
- Draft, review, negotiate, and interpret a wide range of commercial contracts (and, where applicable, under other relevant governing laws) including B2B customer contracts, technology procurement, outsourcing agreements, licensing arrangements, and intra‑group agreements.
- Advise on corporate governance matters of our German-established legal entity, working with our Fnality Europe leadership team and directors, and other Group colleagues to align group-wide governance processes.
- Support Fnality Europe’s interactions with Eurosystem regulators, including supervisory meetings and regular reporting.
- Provide guidance on intellectual property, data protection (GDPR), IT‑security/operational‑resilience rules, outsourcing/third‑party risk management requirements, and other German/EU regulations relevant to Fnality or its institutional clients (e.g., outsourcing circulars, DORA).
- Co‑lead the development and maintenance of Fnality Group’s contracting documentation, ensuring alignment with German/eurozone market standards, EU regulations, and Group-wide frameworks.
- Collaborate within Group Legal on interconnecting corporate, commercial, and regulatory topics arising in connection with Fnality’s expansion into new jurisdictions, including the eurozone and further afield.
- Partner with Group Risk & Compliance to evolve internal policies, controls, and compliance measures, and deliver training where necessary.
Your main responsibilities will include (but not limited to):
Day-to-day, you will be involved in a wide variety of matters to keep you interested and challenged:
- Analysing and providing solutions to a wide range of legal questions, with a focus on commercial, technology, IP, data protection, and financial‑market‑adjacent regulatory matters, advising internal stakeholders across all business functions (Commercial, Product, Technology, HR, Finance, Risk & Compliance)
- Drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and interpreting commercial contracts, supporting both German law‑governed arrangements and multinational commercial engagements; managing related disputes where required
- Preparing internal memoranda, guidance documents, board/committee papers, and training materials on relevant legal and regulatory topics
- Collaborating with regulatory specialists in Group Legal on submissions to regulators, including, where relevant, BaFin, the Deutsche Bundesbank, and central banks in other jurisdictions
- Preparing for and participating in meetings with internal stakeholders, customers, vendors, strategic partners, investors, and regulators.
- Working closely with in‑house counsel across Fnality Group, including coordinating with external counsel in major financial centres (e.g., Frankfurt, London, New York)
- Advising on the continuous development of Fnality’s internal policies, controls, and compliance frameworks, including those relating to outsourcing, operational resilience, and IT security
- Prudent management of external legal spend, ensuring high‑quality and cost‑effective outcomes.
What we need from you:
- Fully qualified German lawyer (Volljurist:in) with a minimum of 3 years post‑qualification experience in a law firm or in‑house environment, ideally with a focus on commercial/technology law, financial‑sector regulation, or other highly regulated industries
- Experience advising on German contract law (BGB/HGB) and familiarity with key regulatory frameworks relevant to technology and financial‑market infrastructure (e.g., PFMI, SIPS Regulations, DORA, GDPR, IT security standards)
- Excellent communication skills in German and English—both written and verbal—and strong interpersonal skills enabling effective collaboration across business functions
- A proactive, self-starter mindset, strong analytical skills, and the ability to apply first‑principles reasoning to novel legal and business questions
- Strong organisational and time‑management capabilities, with comfort operating in an evolving, fast-paced environment
- A genuine interest in how law, regulation, emerging technologies (e.g., DLT), and financial‑market innovation intersect, and enthusiasm for shaping solutions to new and complex challenges
- Experience working in—or strong motivation to join—an innovative, rapidly growing, tech‑driven business where legal teams contribute directly to strategic decision‑making
- Ideally, experience managing external counsel to deliver high‑quality, commercially aligned outcomes
- Ideally, practical knowledge of one or more additional specialist legal fields (e.g., IP, employment, competition, tax, dispute resolution, real estate).
A bit more about us
Digital transformation is changing our lives, work and businesses. While other sectors evolve, however, financial markets remain slow, fragmented and siloed. What the world needs now is a future-facing financial system for the digital age.
At Fnality, we have been speaking – and listening – to the real users of today’s financial systems. From businesses to banks, there is a clear, collective ambition for a simpler, faster, safer and more resilient payment system; one that can move and settle money quickly and efficiently, with minimized risk and much more transparency.
Fnality Global Payments
We are building a network of new payment systems that will enable tokenised, peer-to-peer markets.
Fnality Global Payments (FnGP) will comprise a series of national systems, each regulated in its home jurisdiction. We call each of these a Fnality Payment System (FnPS).
In each payment system, a Fnality settlement asset will act as the settlement/payment asset for any Payment (P), Delivery v, Payment (DvP) or payment vs. payment (PvP) need.
FnGP are underpinned by Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). The nature of DLT is such that it enables FnGP to:
- Operate a true peer-to-peer market
- Allow for immediate settlement
- Interoperate across business platforms and jurisdictions
The key benefits of the above are:
- Reduced counter-party and credit risk
- Reduced operational risk
- Efficient liquidity management
- An ability to move resources from risk mitigation to business growth
Eligibility
This role is a Frankfurt/Eschborn-based role, and you must be eligible to work in the EU. Please note we cannot sponsor visas for this role.
How will we use the information about you?
We will use your personal information to process your application, to enable us to assess your suitability for a role and for other legitimate business purposes such as improving our sites and talent management practices. We may share your data with third parties to achieve these purposes. We will not use or share your information for marketing purposes.
We will take appropriate security measures to safeguard your information in accordance with data protection legislation.
If you would like further information about how your information may be processed by us, please contact us at privacy@fnality.org.
