MAX SAVOIE is a partner in Sidley’s Chambers- and Legal 500-ranked payments and fintech practice. He supports firms across the sector with product launches, commercial partnerships, business expansion, and regulatory implementation projects. He advises on a range of payments and fintech regulation, including:
- Regulatory authorization and other requirements applicable to payment service providers and payment systems.
- Rules on account-to-account payments, cards, virtual payment instruments and digital wallets, merchant acquiring, money remittance, and open banking.
- Anti-money laundering, KYC, and “travel” rules.
- Regulation of crypto assets and digital token services.
- Conduct of business, data security, governance, operational resilience, outsourcing, regulatory capital, safeguarding, and reporting requirements.
- Regulatory rules relating to corporate and restructuring transactions involving financial institutions.
- Regulatory investigations and enforcement actions.
Max’s key client relationships include international payment systems and infrastructure providers, card issuers, merchant acquirers, payment processors, money transmitters, online marketplaces, technical service providers, and providers of digital wallets, open banking services, and other alternative payment methods. He has advised on numerous cross-border transactions, strategic partnerships, and regulatory implementation projects for many of the largest providers in the market.
Max also advises on contentious and regulatory engagement matters. He has guided a number of firms through internal and external investigations. He has also worked with several international firms and trade associations in discussions with EU and UK policymakers and regulators. Max is an active member of the Payment Association’s regulatory working group and co-editor of one of the leading practitioner’s texts in his field, “Payment Services: Law and Practice” (Elgar, 2022).
Max has received acknowledgement from numerous industry ranking guides:
- Chambers UK 2025 – Ranked for Financial Services: Payments Law, where sources comment “Max is a trusted adviser. He knows clients’ businesses extraordinarily well, and he is responsive and commercially responsive. Max delivers great value to clients.”
- Legal 500 UK 2025 – Recognized as a next generation partner for Financial Services: Non-Contentious/Regulatory, where clients state: “Max Savoie has a deep understanding of our business model and the payment services our company provides. Max’s advice is always highly commercial, pragmatic and tailored to our business. Max's risk-based approach and sound judgement is valued and respected.” Max is also recognized as a key lawyer for Fintech: regulatory.
- Chambers UK 2024 – Ranked for Financial Services: Payments Law, where sources say “Max is incredibly responsive and practical in his advice. He demonstrates a deep understanding of the regulatory requirements applicable to payment systems and payment services, as well as current market practice.”
- Legal 500 UK 2024 – Ranked for Financial Services: Non-Contentious/Regulatory, where clients comment that he “possesses excellent technical knowledge of payments regulation and delivers advice in a pragmatic and commercially sensitive manner,” and that he is “one of the best payments practitioners in the market.”