LawSikho

Deadline 15-11-2026

Location Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Details of the Organization

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Zeta was named by Celent in 2023 as being among the likeliest partners for US banks and credit unions looking to modernize to a next-gen issuer processing platform. With our marquee credit card ranked #2 by American cardholders, Zeta is already acknowledged by leading issuers as the go-to platform for market-leading credit card experiences.

Globally, Zeta is recognized as a next-gen banking technology company. Our platform enables financial institutions to launch extensible and compliant banking asset and liability products, across cards, loans and deposits, rapidly. Our cloud-native and fully API-enabled stack supports processing, issuing, lending, core banking, fraud, loyalty, digital banking apps, and many other capabilities.

Zeta has 1700+ employees with over 70% in technology roles across locations in the US, Middle East, and Asia, with regional headquarters in Mumbai, India. Globally, customers have issued 25M+ cards on our platform. Visit us at www.zeta.tech or follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X.

Details of the Job/Internship

Zeta is seeking a Director – Legal to serve as a strategic advisor within its legal team, supporting the company’s banking, payments, and technology business as it scales across India, the US, the UK, and other global markets.

This is a high-impact, product-facing role for a seasoned banking and finance lawyer who can operate at the intersection of financial services regulation and cutting-edge technology, ensuring Zeta’s products, partnerships, and client programs are designed and delivered in a manner that is legally sound and regulator-ready. Reporting into Zeta’s India legal leadership and partnering closely with Product, Compliance, and Risk teams, the role carries significant autonomy and visibility — requiring an individual who can independently own matters end to end, negotiate directly with banks, NBFCs, and technology partners, run and manage a team of capable lawyers, and help shape the legal function of a fast-growing, high-growth fintech at the core of India’s digital banking transformation.

Role and Responsibilities

Product and platform legal support

Deliver day-to-day legal counsel across Zeta’s banking technology stack, covering card issuance, transaction processing, lending and loan management, core account and ledger functionality, and Digital Credit-as-a-Service and Credit Line on UPI (CLOU), BNPL, and EMI-conversion products.
Advise product and engineering teams on the regulatory implications of platform features, including card management, real-time authorization and settlement, digital lending, account lifecycle management, instrument lifecycle management (physical and virtual cards, tokens, and QR), transaction switching, and fraud and dispute management.

Contract drafting, review, and negotiation

Draft, review, and negotiate agreements with banks, financial institutions, card networks, and technology partners, including platform licensing, SaaS and managed-services arrangements, program-management agreements, and BIN or balance-sheet sponsorship deals underpinning Banking-as-a-Service and embedded banking offerings.
Structure co-brand, affinity, and fintech partnership arrangements, and draft and negotiate credit card, debit card, prepaid instrument, and co-branded card program agreements spanning retail, commercial, private-label, and secured card products.
Structure and paper credit lines, BNPL, and loan-installment features and related payment and settlement arrangements, and negotiate digital lending, co-lending, and lending service provider (LSP) agreements.
Draft, negotiate, and manage fintech partnership, third-party vendor, and platform licensing agreements, allocating responsibility, liability, and data-handling obligations across Zeta, its clients, and its partners.

Regulatory advisory

Advise on RBI guidelines including the Digital Lending Directions, Credit Card and Debit Card Issuance and Conduct Directions, and Master Direction on Outsourcing of IT Services; NPCI regulations governing UPI and RuPay; and PPI rules under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act — tracking evolving developments and assessing their impact on Zeta’s products and programs.
Advise on card-network rules, grievance redressal frameworks, and partner bank agreement requirements for card and payments programs.
Advise on data privacy, cybersecurity, and data-localization requirements under the DPDP Act and IT Act, and on legal considerations relevant to maintaining SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS certifications.
Provide legal input on regulatory filings, regulator queries and inspections, and legal risk assessments for new products and partnerships, and support the development of internal legal playbooks and templates.

Broader legal support

While anchored in banking and finance law, comfortable providing practical legal support across other areas as they arise for a fast-growing technology business, including corporate, commercial, employment, and technology or intellectual property matters.

Eligibility

Regulatory and commercial acumen: Commercially minded, pragmatic; translates complex regulation into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal stakeholders.
Stakeholder management and communication: Strong communication and negotiation skills, sound and independent judgment, ability to counsel senior management strategically.
Execution and prioritization: Highly organized and detail-oriented; manages multiple matters simultaneously in a fast-paced, high-growth setting; ability to leverage AI for legal work highly preferred.
Team leadership and people management: Ability to lead and manage a team effectively.
Ownership and adaptability: Proactive self-starter, energized by ambiguity, comfortable in unfamiliar areas of law, takes ownership of outcomes, thrives in a collaborative, product-driven culture at the frontier of banking and fintech.

Experience and Qualification

LLB or equivalent law degree from a recognized institution; qualified to practice law in India. LLM is a plus.
9–12 years of post-qualification experience as a banking and finance lawyer, gained in a top tier law firm.
Hands-on expertise across digital lending, credit and debit cards, prepaid and co-branded card programs, payments, and fintech regulation together with a working command of RBI, NPCI, and PPI frameworks.
Experience advising on software license, SaaS, IT services, and IP licensing matters; familiarity with Banking-as-a-Service; Cross-border regulatory exposure.
Contract drafting & negotiation: Strong contract drafting, review, and negotiation skills across commercial, technology, and financial-services agreements.
Proven experience leading and managing a team, including handling administrative responsibilities alongside substantive legal work.