The fintech and financial services regulatory practice at Spice Route Legal offers a ‘mission-aligned, execution-obsessed’ service that is deeply attuned to emerging and innovative areas of the fintech sector. Called upon by prominent global financial services institutions, technology companies and fast-growing businesses, the team advises on digital assets, fintech regulation, fraud management, digital lending, tokenisation solutions and crypto offerings. Ankita Hariramani and Mathew Chacko lead the Mumbai and Bengaluru teams, respectively, with Hariramani bringing strong expertise in fintech regulatory issues, and Chacko also noted for his experience in financial services regulations and cross-border matters. Promoted in April 2025, Aadya Misra is recognised for her work in financial-sector data privacy matters, while Karthik Somasundram is a seasoned practitioner in contentious and regulatory matters before the RBI, SEBI, and various courts concerning financial services issues.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘What is unique about SRL: 1) After the initial brief, the team invests time in sharing a visual diagram of the corporate, contractual structure discussed; 2) There are many team levels involved, and so the client is not dependent on the availability of a senior partner; the junior team provides the updates and leads calls when necessary.’
‘Ankita Hariramani - always a smooth experience in arriving at the end result. Mathew Chacko - expert, laser-focused discussion and crisp advice on all our structuring and contractual needs.’
‘The SRL team has consistently provided top-notch support to us on our matters, and has helped us by ably reviewing highly technical and critical documentation often in extremely tight timelines. Their expertise is not only exceptional in the market, but their advice is also tailored to our specific requirements and collaboratively based on their prior experience with us.'
‘Ankita Hariramani is a partner at SRL, and has consistently helped us with some of our trickiest core matters. She is a deeply regarded expert within our company.'
‘The team is very knowledgeable, agile and focused on delivering a great service. Always able to find great ways to solve a problem.’
‘Soumitra Ponkshe is a brilliant legal mind and has great creative problem-solving skills. He knows the agreements he is working on inside out and can give great Legal advice on the spot. He is also a great negotiator and can argue points very well.’
Key clients
- Accertify
- Aditya Birla Group
- Air India
- Bayer
- BNY Mellon
- Circle
- Coda Payments
- DCB Bank
- DBS Bank
- Equirus
- Exinity
- Experian
Work highlights
Advised Prudential Plc on structuring its technology architecture in compliance with IRDAI outsourcing and cybersecurity regulations, including leading negotiations with IBM for developing an end-to-end insurance automation platform.
Advising Tremendous on extending its offerings to recipients in India as part of its global expansion strategy.
Advising Sahamati on various issues, including on the contractual framework around the Sahamati Router – a first-of-its-kind network service developed by Sahamati to streamline communication among Account Aggregator ecosystem participants.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
Ankita Hariramani; Mathew Chacko
Other key lawyers
Aadya Misra; Karthik Somasundram; Soumitra Ponkshe; Harshda Bakshi