Middle East Teams 2016
| Visa
Visa
Global payments technology giant Visa operates off one of the most advanced payments processing platforms in the world. The technical infrastructure that runs this platform – capable of processing over 50,000 transactions a second – is fiendishly complex, but the success of a business in the highly regulated payments space can depend just as much on the more traditional methods of lawyers. Visa’s operations in the Middle East fall within the company’s Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) division. Covering a vast region that stretches over 90 jurisdictions, each with highly idiosyncratic payments laws and regulations, is a formidable challenge. The CEMEA legal team, led by vice president of legal Henry Mainwaring, has made a big contribution to ensuring Visa and its institutional clients continue to enjoy the benefit of legally compliant cross-border operations that keep pace with the technical infrastructure. In addition to supporting the roll-out of new product lines such as contactless payment systems, the team is praised for its grasp of the financial and technical dimensions of Visa’s operations. Known for its ability to horizon scan and establish the implications of legal change to Visa’s regional business, the legal team has been at the heart of the company’s approach to new data protection laws, regulatory compliance regimes and the growing regional trend toward e-commerce. The team played a big part in the launch of the Visa Innovation Centre at Dubai Internet City (DIC) earlier this year, providing the legal groundwork for a major initiative that will help build cashless markets in the Gulf.
