Travers Smith LLP’s fintech, market infrastructure, and payments group advises on transformative projects across payments, digital assets, and financial market infrastructure. The group’s work includes supporting start-ups and disruptors in developing cross-border payment technologies, advising not-for-profits involved with the UK’s interbank payment systems on payments architecture and regulatory reform, and advising leading digital asset players as well as custodians, exchanges, and incumbent financial institutions. The team also recently represented a leading international and cross-border money transfer and payment services firm in an FCA competition investigation into the money transfer sector. Mark Evans has advised on payments and FX innovation for nearly 30 years. He works closely with regulators and policymakers, contributing to Law Commission and Financial Markets Law Committee consultations on digital assets. Natalie Lewis leads the FMIP Group and is the principal adviser on major projects for domestic and cross-border payment and settlement systems. Matthew Humphreys advises on product launches and regulatory matters for fintechs and infrastructure clients, with experience in securities settlement, payments, and post-trade services.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team looking at digital assets and crypto are exceptional. They have a well-qualified and experienced team working together to support our work in the regulatory space and are always on hand for support and engagement with our other members.’
‘Natalie Lewis, John Lee and James Turner are all exceptional in their field - they have a wonderful grasp of the nuances of the industry and offer unbiased and well informed opinions and support to our work with regulators and the government.’
‘What makes this practice unique is its combination of deep regulatory expertise, commercial pragmatism, and genuine collaboration. The team consistently provides clear, actionable advice that reflects not just the legal position, but also the operational and strategic realities of our business. They take the time to understand our goals and risk appetite, which results in tailored, business-friendly guidance.
- Compared to other firms, their responsiveness and ability to navigate complex, fast-moving issues—particularly across the UK and European regulatory landscape—sets them apart. They’re not only technically strong but also easy to work with and proactive in their communication.’
‘The individuals we work with stand out for their deep expertise, commercial acumen, and consistently collaborative approach. ’
‘The team are my preferred external legal counsel when working on anything payments-related. The team has a breadth of knowledge and I am confident that they have the capability and knowledge to work on a diverse range of topics. I have recently worked with them on my organisation's response to the National Payments Vision. This was a highly complex piece of work that needed to take into account a number of angles, our existing contracts, our strategic direction, existing regulations, potential changes to the industry landscape etc. The team were quick to respond and highly engaging. We had conversations and our points were listened to (and subsequently reflected in any legal output) and where we had questions, these were answered in depth. The collaboration and friendly manner of Travers Smith is one of the main attractions to working with the firm. In comparison to other firms, I have always found Travers to be, by far, the most collaborative and responsive. This is really important to me as a client. The way that the approach billing is also flexible as often we begin a piece of work but are not quite sure where it will lead. This means that our company gets better value for money from the firm in comparison to others, in my opinion. The work produced is always to an excellent standard. ’
Work highlights
Advising Pay.UK on the design and implementation of the New Payments Architecture and complex, related matters.
Advising RTGS.global on the design of a wholly new and innovative cross-border payment system.
Advising Copper, the award-winning digital assets custodian and infrastructure provider, on various innovative mandates.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Natalie Lewis
Practice head
Natalie Lewis
Other key lawyers
Mark Evans; Matthew Humphreys; Harry Millerchip