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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Banking and Finance

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, July 15, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will discuss the evolution of Banking as a Service (BaaS) and how it is reshaping the banking and financial services industry. The panel will explore key considerations with BaaS collaborations, including comprehensive due diligence and contractual arrangements, and review the regulatory framework and guidance surrounding BaaS programs. 

Faculty

Justin C. Steffen
Partner
Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP

Mr. Steffen practices at the intersection of law, banking, and innovation. Focusing on bank-fintech partnerships, regulatory, and licensing matters, and commercial contracting, he helps bank and fintech clients de-risk the future of financial services. Clients seek out Mr. Steffen for help with managing and negotiating partnerships (Fintech and BaaS), payments issues (real time, wires, ACH, card networks, BIN sponsorship), digital asset matters, and other technology-focused concerns (financial privacy, AI and machine learning, and data analytics and usage). He helps scores of bank and fintech clients identify and evaluate prospective partners, negotiate program management and partnership agreements, obtain regulatory approval for BaaS and other strategic endeavors, and manage ongoing partnerships. In the last few years alone, he has helped clients launch products and services including credit, debit and prepaid cards, payment processing, real-time and faster payments services, commercial and consumer loans, digital asset custody, and investment products. A cited authority on digital currency, lending and Fintech issues, his notable accomplishments in the field include creating a Financial and Emerging Technologies course that he teaches at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, founding the Fintech practice at two AmLaw200 firms, and organizing the first legal-themed digital currencies conference, the Block (Legal) Tech Conference.

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David L. Beam
Partner
Mayer Brown LLP

Mr. Beam counsels clients in connection with a broad range of transactional, regulatory, and other matters relating to payment systems and credit products, with an emphasis on legal issues that arise from the innovative use of technology in financial services. His clients represent a broad spectrum of the financial services industry. They include major global financial institutions, fintech companies, money service businesses, investments banks, and payment system operators, among others. Mr. Beam is consistently recognized as one of the top payments and fintech lawyers in the United States by leading lawyer rating services.

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Description

Advancements in technology and open banking regulations have provided new models for the delivery of banking services. BaaS is a newer model that enables non-bank entities in collaboration with licensed banks to offer financial services, including banking infrastructure, payments capabilities, lending and deposit products, and account management with third-party businesses.

Despite the tremendous growth and opportunities with BaaS, banks and fintechs must understand the risks and intensified regulatory scrutiny surrounding these collaborations. Specifically, recent consent orders and enforcement actions have cautioned that if not done correctly, collaborations in the BaaS space can run afoul of the Bank Secrecy Act and state and federal consumer protection and truth in lending laws.

To ensure compliance with the regulatory framework both banks and fintechs must perform comprehensive due diligence on their BaaS partners, which includes evaluating their compliance history, risk management practices, and overall financial health.

Structuring BaaS arrangements requires a complex allocation of roles, risks, and responsibilities between the bank and its fintech partner. The parties to a BaaS arrangement will want to ensure that their agreement follows regulator guidance, provides for ongoing monitoring of the parties' policies and procedures, and precisely outlines what happens when a termination or separation occurs.

Listen as our authoritative panel examines BaaS trends and provides guidance for financial institutions and their counterparties for navigating the evolving and complex regulatory landscape. 

Outline

I. Understanding BaaS and its evolution in the banking and financial services industry

II. Regulatory framework governing BaaS

III. Guidance from regulators on BaaS arrangements

IV. Key due diligence considerations for banks and fintechs

V. Contracting considerations with BaaS partnerships

VI. Risks of BaaS for banks and fintechs

VII. Lessons learned from Synapse collapse

VIII. Practitioner pointers and key takeaways

Benefits

The panel will discuss these and other key considerations:

  • How has BaaS evolved and what are the key drivers and opportunities going forward?
  • What are the risks and challenges for banks and their fintech counterparts when establishing BaaS arrangements?
  • What are key areas of focus when conducting due diligence on a BaaS partner?
  • How should roles, risks, and responsibilities be allocated in BaaS agreements?