Next Generation Partners

Firms To Watch: Fintech

Eversheds Saladžius (a member of Eversheds Sutherland) has continued to expand into the fintech space, assisting with a number of regulatory, transactional and licensing issues for both local and multinational fintech and IT companies. Managing partner Jonas Saladžius and Tomas Rymeikis lead the team.
Having recently recruited Aušra Brazauskienė and senior associate Rita Sabutė, ILAW LEXTAL has added additional resources to its fintech practice, which advises on a blend of acquisitions, licensing issues, data protection work and AML matters. Alongside Brazauskienė, Džiuginta Balčiūnė and Asta Macijauskienė also co-head the department.

Fintech in Lithuania

Cobalt

Cobalt has experience handling financial institution licensing work, assisting with obtaining regulatory approvals for the establishment of investment funds, and advising on transactions. Local regulatory mandates are also a key area of work, with the firm advising international clients PayPal, Blackrock, and Blockchain.com. Jointly leading the team are banking, finance and M&A experts Akvilė Bosaitė and Eva Suduiko. Senior associate Vytautas Vosylius adds experience in transactions, regulatory compliance work and money laundering preventions, while managing associate Aurelija Balčiūnė has further expertise in e-money and permit work.

Responsables de la pratique:

Akvilė Bosaitė; Eva Suduiko


Autres avocats clés:

Aurelija Balčiūnė; Vytautas Vosylius


Les références

‘We were looking for a cross Baltic firm and came to the right place. With one point of contact (Eva Suduiko) we were provided with excellent advice covering all three markets. The knowledge of our sector was very good, the communication was easy. They were pragmatic and flexible and handled follow up questions in a fast and efficient way.’

‘Eva Suduiko did a great job in coordinating the advice and listened to our needs.’

Principaux clients

TT Express UAB


European Bank for Reconstruction and Development


Raft Capital


Practica Capital


Firstpick


INVL Asset Management


BlackRock


Euroclear


PayPal


Blockchain.com


Nordea Bank AS


Kevin EU, UAB


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised INVL Asset Management on the securitisation project for modernisation of buildings sponsored by Šiaulių bankas (as originator).
  • Advising the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on the structuring of the transaction with Invalda INVL, Nord Security and ME Investicija on sale of an 18% stake in Šiaulių Bankas.
  • Advised Raft Capital on obtaining a management company licence from the Bank of Lithuania.

ECOVIS ProventusLaw

Fielding a well-respected fintech practice, ECOVIS ProventusLaw advises startups and established financial service providers on a broad set of cross-border matters ranging from establishment and licensing issues to AML and sanctions auditing work. With deep expertise throughout the e-money, crypto and blockchain spaces, the team is led by fintech specialist Inga Karulaitytė-Kvainauskienė who brings substantial experience across licensing, regulatory, and anti-money laundering matters. Other key contacts include Loreta Andziulytė, who is a data privacy expert; and Kęstutis Kvainauskas, who is well placed to advise crypto companies including crowdfunding platforms on licensings, transactions, and regulatory work. Daiva Lideikienė is active in risk management, auditing and compliance mandates.

Responsables de la pratique:

Inga Karulaitytė-Kvainauskienė


Autres avocats clés:

Loreta Andziulytė; Kęstutis Kvainauskas; Daiva Lideikienė; Austėja Viederytė; Alina Januškaitė; Eglė Juškaitė


Les références

‘Team of experienced professionals in different subjects relevant for our business.’

‘Very knowledgeable, very experienced, personal approach, solution focused, friendly.’

‘The team has an excellent experience with fintech companies. They helped many companies obtain licenses from the regulator and in daily compliance and AML functions. Due to this, they know the market participants very well, and all the business details.’

Principaux clients

UAB NIUM EU


Sonect, UAB


Travel Union UAB


Nandi Finance UAB


Lietuvos draudimo brokerių įmonių asociacija


Sardine


Clearshift UAB


Bebawa, UAB


Majestic Financial, UAB


Contomobile UAB


UAB Digital Virgo Payment


Principaux dossiers


  • Acted for Travel Union UAB from its early stages, ensuring a smooth licensing process that resulted in the acquisition of its electronic money institution license.
  • Advised Nium EU UAB on the governance framework of the company.
  • Supported Bebawa, UAB, as it upgraded its CENTROlink membership to include SEPA Instant payments.

Ellex

Praised for its ‘exceptional professionalism, deep industry knowledge, and a strong work ethic’, the banking and finance practice at Ellex assists electronic money institutions and online payment service providers with a blend of acquisitions, regulatory compliance work, and license approvals. ‘Master of fintech’ Ieva Dosinaitė and Giedrius Stasevičius, who is praised for his ‘unparalleled wealth of experience’, jointly lead the team. For anti-money laundering matters, associate partner Neringa Mickevičiūtė is a key contact, while Julija Šlekonytė is noted for fintech regulation and licensing mandates. At the associate level, Domantas Gudonis and Jurgita Žiaušytė are key names to note.

Responsables de la pratique:

Ieva Dosinaitė; Giedrius Stasevičius


Autres avocats clés:

Neringa Mickevičiūtė; Julija Šlekonytė; Gytė Maleckaitė; Domantas Gudonis; Jurgita Žiaušytė


Les références

‘The team has very clear roles and responsibilities. You can be always sure that the advice you will receive will come from an expert in that particular area.’

‘Simply put, they are the best. Of course, they know the law, but that’s not all. They are experts in soft law, that is the team can advise on a most likely outcome in cases when regulations are vague since they have a huge practice and most likely they already dealt with your situation in practice.’

‘We appreciate the positive attitude, professional approach and adherence to deadlines.’

Principaux clients

Payhawk Limited


Kevin EU, UAB


Banked Limited


Facebook International Payments Limited


Flywire Europe, UAB


Nayax Europe, UAB


Walletto, UAB


Nomu Pay Limited


B4B Payments Europe UAB


Nuvei, UAB (previously – Simplex)


iSun AG


MiDi Financial, LTD


Finora bank, UAB


Curve Europe, UAB


Adenza


ConnectPay, UAB


Witty Global, UAB, W1tty Capital, UAB and W1TTY K, UAB


Kraken (Payward Inc.)


Binance (Bifinity, UAB)


NIUM EU, UAB


TeslaPay, UAB


CrowdCube Limited


Bebawa, UAB


TrueLayer Limited


Telia Lietuva, AB


Clear Junction Holding Limited


Zalando SE


Stripe Payments


Sonect Europe


Sollo, UAB


Nikulipe, UAB


Principaux dossiers


  • Assisted Payhawk with obtaining an electronic money institution (EMI) license in Lithuania and relocated its European dimension activities to Lithuania.
  • Successfully assisted the UK-authorised payment service provider, Banked, with obtaining a payment institution licence in Lithuania for its local subsidiary Pay by B UAB.
  • Advised a Dutch-based investment fund, Finch Capital Fund II Coop and its subsidiary, Nomu Pay Limited, on acquiring UAB Click2Sell (operating under the trade mark Cardinity).

Sorainen

Sorainen‘s finance and insurance department is led by the duo of Tomas Kontautas, who focuses on regulatory matters, and Augustas Klezys, who covers a range of transactions and fintech licensing issues across the EU. Further work in the fintech space for the practice include handling the establishment of new companies and acquisitions in addition to electronic money and crypto matters, areas for which senior associate Liutauras Vasiliauskas is noted. The firm also advises on anti-money-laundering matters, with Akvilė Jurkaitytė and Goda Drasute being key names in this space. The practice also recently recruited anti-money laundering expert Eimantas Vytuvis.

Responsables de la pratique:

Tomas Kontautas; Augustas Klezys


Autres avocats clés:

Liutauras Vasiliauskas; Akvilė Jurkaitytė; Eimantas Vytuvis; Goda Drasute


Les références

‘Partner Augustas Klezys has deep knowledge and understanding of the financial market and, as such, can navigate the client through complex matters utilising his out-of-box thinking abilities.’

‘Senior associate Liutauras Vasiliauskas is constantly deepening his fintech knowledge and provides strong argumentation in complex fintech regulatory matters.’

‘Tomas Kontautas – great commercial sense, very approachable. Akvilė Jurkaitytė – effective and approachable.’

Principaux clients

BENKER UAB


Lendwill AS


Corporate Services UAB


Finolita Unio


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised Benker on licence passporting matters and regulatory issues, advised on the establishment of related companies and transfer of businesses, and represented the client with the Bank of Lithuania.
  • Advised Lendwill on expanding its business into Lithuania and obtaining a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform operator licence in Lithuania.
  • Representing Finolita at the inspection of the Bank of Lithuania.

WALLESS

WALLESS‘ well-regarded banking and finance practice is highlighted for its experience advising on the licensing of payment service providers, combined with its involvement in high-profile fintech transactions, restructurings, and M&A. The firm also has considerable experience in fundraising through funding rounds, as well as experience in anti-money laundering investigations. With extensive experience, team leader Joana Baublytė-Kulvietė handles complex regulatory and compliance matters alongside fintech transactions. Supporting her is Gediminas Rečiūnas, who is a highly regarded fintech transactional specialist; Laurynas Narvydas, who focuses on regulatory and capital market transactions; and associate partners Simona Vosyliene and Marija Grigaravičienė, who both handle AML and regulatory matters.

Responsables de la pratique:

Joana Baublytė-Kulvietė


Autres avocats clés:

Gediminas Rečiūnas; Laurynas Narvydas; Simona Vosyliene; Marija Grigaravičienė


Les références

‘WALLESS is a relatively young firm, eager to serve but large enough to provide adequate support across a broad variety of topics.’

‘WALLESS’ lawyers are proactive and relationship oriented, making it natural to resort to their support on both smaller and larger tasks and projects’.

‘At all the times with Walless it was only a positive experience in the way that any request that we were pulling out was accepted, supported and executed.’

Principaux clients

Siauliu Bankas


Saldo Bank


RIA financial


Nuvei (Simplex)


Accel funds


Eurazeo funds


DiPocket


Goindex


Reverest Fund Management


Capitalica Asset Management


Principaux dossiers


  • Advising Siauliu Bankas on signing an agreement with INVL to merge segments of their retail businesses.
  • Advised Accel funds, as lead investors, on over €18m investment into local fintech star Kevin EU, UAB.
  • Advised Saldo Finance, UAB on obtaining a specialised bank licence from the Bank of Lithuania and the European Central Bank as well as launch of the banking activities in Lithuania and abroad via branches and further restructuring of the group.

GLIMSTEDT Bernotas & Partners

GLIMSTEDT Bernotas & Partners' fintech practice is led by Linas Sesickas, who oversees licensing projects and regulatory matters, and handles aspects of e-commerce platform developments for clients ranging from startups to established multinational fintech companies. Other noteworthy practitioners include IP and data protection expert Giedrė Rimkūnaitė-Manke, alongside associate Tautvydas Užkuras, who covers a mix of banking, licensing and AML work, and Karolis Grižas, who handles fintech regulatory and compliance matters.

Responsables de la pratique:

Linas Sesickas


Autres avocats clés:

Giedrė Rimkūnaitė-Manke; Tautvydas Užkuras; Karolis Grižas


Principaux clients

Credit union “Neris”


Discontract


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised European Merchant Bank on the preparation of a new product.
  • Advised Discontract on an application of the agent’s exemption under PSD2.
  • Advised credit union “Neris” on the preparation and development of its software and technological programs for providing its financial services during its daily activities.

Motieka & Audzevicius

Motieka & Audzevicius has expanded its fintech work, assisting clients with a blend of anti-money laundering, regulatory and disputes work. Notably, under group co-head and disputes expert Justinas Jarusevičius, the team has been particularly active in its representation of financial institutions and other fintech companies in litigation against the Bank of Lithuania, the industry regulator. On the compliance, regulatory and licensing front, co-head Sigita Zavišienė is a key contact, while the addition of Samanta Blėdienė in late 2022 has added further strength in AML and counter terrorist financing advice.

Responsables de la pratique:

Sigita Zavišienė; Justinas Jarusevičius


Autres avocats clés:

Samanta Blėdienė


Principaux clients

Gera dovana, UAB


Orion Securities, UAB FMĮ


I Asset Management, UAB


Finansų bitė verslui, UAB


Kevin EU, UAB


Identifikaciniai projektai, UAB (Idenfy)


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised Lithuanian entertainment platform, Gera Dovana, on the application of the limited network exclusion under the PSD2.

Response

Crowdfunding specialist firm Response advises electronic money institutions, startups, P2P lending platforms, and financial institutions on all aspects of licensing and regulatory compliance work. Jakaterina Govina acts as group co-head alongside managing partner Vytautas Šenavičius and Tadas Lukošius, who focuses on licensing and alternative finance work. Further key names include licensing specialists Kristupas Bagdonavičius and Karina Zenkevičiūtė, as well as Andrius Karmonas who focuses on AML and data protection work.

Responsables de la pratique:

Vytautas Šenavičius; Tadas Lukošius; Jakaterina Govina


Autres avocats clés:

Kristupas Bagdonavičius; Karina Zenkevičiūtė; Andrius Karmonas


Les références

‘Jakaterina Govina and Kristupas Bagdonavičius both have excellent knowledge of the sector – they have such unique positioning of the regulator in Lithuania. They are practical and provide in-depth legal analysis.’

‘Jakaterina Govina is clearly a market leader in the Finreg space – I doubt if there is someone who knows more than she does about the expectations of the Bank of Lithuania.’

‘The Response team is competent, quick and responsibly resolves issues raised, provides advice and recommendations on all issues of concern to the company.’

Principaux clients

UAB SME BANK


UAB SME FINANCE


UAB Easy debt service


UAB Nter Asset Management


UAB Uniqum capital


UAB URBANUM RE


UAB Milvas


UAB Drusvalas


UAB Viena sąskaita


UAB BLUE EMI LT


UAB “H Pay & Go” (Hokodo)


UAB NS Pay


UAB CJ EUR


UAB Nordstreet


UAB HeavyFinance


UAB Andrum Fund


UAB Crowdpear


UAB Bendras finansavimas (SAVY)


UAB CF REAL ESTATE LT


Trečia diena, UAB (Röntgen)


Jungtinė Centrinė Kredito Unija (KREDA)


Credit union Saulėgrąža


Elektrėnų credit union


Credit union LITAS


UAB Kreditguru


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised UAB HeavyFinance, UAB Andrum Fund, UAB Bendras finansavimas (SAVY), UAB CF REAL ESTATE and UAB Crowdpear on obtaining crowdfunding service operators licenses under new EU Regulation in Lithuania.
  • Advised UAB Hodleris on MiCA regulation.
  • Acted as sole legal advisers to UAB BLUE EMI LT on obtaining an electronic money institution licence.

Law Firm TESET

Law Firm TESET focuses on a broad scope of alternative financings spanning cryptocurrencies, peer to peer lending, and insuretech platforms, among others. Team leader Tomas Talutis has experience in public offerings of crypto tokens and complex regulatory and AML matters. He is supported by Agnė Sodaitė, who focuses on financial regulatory matters.

Responsables de la pratique:

Tomas Talutis


Autres avocats clés:

Agnė Sodaitė


Principaux dossiers


  • Advising Stanhope Financial UAB on regulatory requirements and compliance matters.
  • Advising Pyrros Lithuania UAB on regulatory requirements and compliance matters.