Overview
Molly Swartz is a partner in the Global Fintech & Payments practice at Paul Hastings. She is based in the firm's San Francisco office. Ms. Swartz represents and advises bank and non-bank financial institutions, financial technology companies, commercial and consumer lenders, and other types of financiers regarding a broad spectrum of product, regulatory and transactional matters. She has extensive experience with consumer protection laws, as well as the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, state money transmission and licensed lending laws, gift card laws, payment network rules such as the Nacha, Visa and Mastercard Rules, and other state and federal statutes related to money movement.
Ms. Swartz advises clients regarding a host of product and regulatory issues. From ideation and strategy through launch and beyond, Ms. Swartz assists in all aspects of product development. She regularly negotiates commercial agreements in the financial services space, including bank-Fintech partnership agreements and commercial agreements between Fintech companies.
Ms. Swartz also advises on financial services licensing and registration, assists clients in responding to regulatory inquiries, writes comments for proposed federal and state financial services rulemakings, and frequently performs regulatory due diligence in connection with a variety of transactions.
Recognitions
- Law360, Rising Star, Fintech (2023)
- The Legal 500 USA, Rising Star, Fintech (2022)
news
- Paul Hastings Advised Lenders in Connection with Legends’ Acquisition of ASM Global - November 7th, 2023
- Molly Swartz Named 2023 Fintech “Rising Star” by Law360 - August 2nd, 2023
- Three Paul Hastings Lawyers Recognized as 2023 “Rising Stars” by Law360 - June 21st, 2023
- Paul Hastings Again Earns Top Rankings in the Chambers FinTech Guide - December 12th, 2022
Recognitions
- Molly Swartz Named 2023 Fintech “Rising Star” by Law360 - August 2nd, 2023
- Three Paul Hastings Lawyers Recognized as 2023 “Rising Stars” by Law360 - June 21st, 2023
- Paul Hastings Recognized for Legal Excellence in the Legal 500 2022 - June 13th, 2022
- Paul Hastings Practice Recognized as 'Fintech Group of the Year' - February 25th, 2022
insights
- CFPB Takes Steps to Supervise Digital Payments Apps - November 9th, 2023
- Seven Things to Know About California’s New Crypto Licensing Bill - October 24th, 2023
- Finance Providers Need to Be Aware of New Commercial Finance Disclosure Laws - July 17th, 2023
- There’s a New Sheriff in Town: CCFPL Empowers California’s Financial Services Regulator - October 23rd, 2020
- PH COVID-19 Client Alert Series: Consumer Protection Rules and Regulations Still Apply During COVID-19 - March 31st, 2020
- California Deems Certain Deferred Payment Products Loans, Requiring a Lending License - January 13th, 2020
- Federal Regulators Propose Madden Fix - December 2nd, 2019
- CFPB FinTech Regulatory Innovation Initiatives Echo International Regimes - October 2nd, 2019
- California Adopts First-of-its-Kind Commercial Financing Disclosure Regime - October 4th, 2018
- U.S. Proposes a National Framework for the Regulation of Fintech - August 9th, 2018
- CFPB Payday Rule: A Ban or a Blueprint for the Future of Short-Term Consumer Lending? - October 19th, 2017
- Compliance Alert: CFPB Releases New Guidance Regarding Phone Pay Fees - August 11th, 2017
- OCC to Banking Entities—Give Us Input to Help Improve Implementation of the Volcker Rule - August 10th, 2017
- State Regulators Mount Counter-Offensive Seeking to Stop OCC’s Fintech Charter - May 3rd, 2017
- Madden Remand Muddles Contract Law: A SDNY Decision or Sign of a National Trend? - March 15th, 2017
- Madden Matters: Structuring Bank-Origination Partnerships - March 6th, 2017
- The OCC’s Proposed Fintech Charter: If It Walks Like a Bank and Quacks Like a Bank, It’s a Bank - December 13th, 2016
- Back to the Future—Trump Administration Seeks to Roll Back Financial Services Regulation - November 30th, 2016
- The CFPB’s Project Catalyst: Is It Worth the Risk? - November 4th, 2016
- Online Lenders Beware—CashCall Decision another Example of True Lender Risks - September 29th, 2016
Engagement & Publications
- Client Alert: Finance Providers Need to Be Aware of New Commercial Finance Disclosure Laws (July 2023)
- Client Alert: There’s a New Sheriff in Town: CCFPL Empowers California’s Financial Services Regulator (Oct. 2020)
- Co-Author with Thomas P. Brown, Fair Lending and the Use of Alternative Underwriting, Law360 (June 9, 2020)
- Client Alert: California Deems Certain Deferred Payment Products Loans, Requiring a Lending License (Jan. 2020)
- Speaker, "To MSB or Not to MSB?" Paul Hastings ICO Teleconference Series (Dec. 14, 2017)
- Co-Author with Robert P. Silvers, Data Breach Preparedness and Response in a World of White Hat Hackers, The Privacy Advisor, IAPP (Nov. 28, 2017)
- Speaker, "Regulatory Developments in Prepaid," 2017 Prepaid Expo (August 22, 2017)
- Co-Author with Thomas P. Brown, Making America Great for FinTech, 20 FinTech L. Report 1 (March/April 2017)
- Co-Author with Thomas P. Brown, Competition Policy in Consumer Financial Services: The Disparate Regulation of Online Marketplace Lenders and Banks, 11 Competition Pol'y Int'l 1 (Mar. 2016)
- PH Privacy Blog: CFPB's First Foray into Data Security Makes $100,000 Splash (Mar. 2016)
- Client Alert: CFPB Releases its First Regulatory Proposals Under its UDAAP Authority - Proposing to Level the Playing Field for Payday Loans, Vehicle Title Loans, and Certain High-Cost Installment and Open-End Loans (Apr. 2015)