Heena Merchant is Of Counsel in the Global Fintech and Payments Group of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Houston office. She advises a broad range of clients including traditional depository institutions, non-bank financial institutions, financial services companies, payment processors, trusted platform companies, payment networks, digital asset platforms, and private equity and investment firms investing in Fintech companies. Ms. Merchant’s practice involves advising such clients on issues ranging from ongoing regulatory compliance, product development and commercialization of payments product offerings, digital asset product development and regulatory compliance, transactions and matters before federal and state regulatory agencies, strategic partnerships and commercial transactions between parties in the global payments space, and capital-raising activities.

Ms. Merchant has deep expertise in federal and state financial services laws, money-laundering laws, and payments regulatory laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act, Regulation E, federal and state money transmission laws, federal and state gift card laws, and consumer protection laws.

• Cornell University, J.D., 2012
• Vanderbilt University, B.A. in Psychology and Political Science (cum laude), 2008