Our Team/Hassaan Salahuddin

Hassaan Salahuddin

Barrister at LawManaging PartnerSalahuddin, Saif & Aslam, Attorneys at Law, Lahore

Chambers Asia-Pacific

Individually Ranked, Band 1, FinTech Asia-Pacific

Hassaan is the founder and Managing Partner of Salahuddin, Saif & Aslam (Attorneys at Law) and leads the firm’s fintech practice. He is a leading lawyer for cross-border transactions and digital ecosystems. He advises international financial institutions, global exchanges, fintech, digital asset & Web3 companies on licensing, market entry, product structuring and regulatory strategy.

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20+

Years of experience

Jurisdictions across the firm's client work

Regulators and Forums

SBP, SECP, PVARA, FMU, STZA, PSEB, NEPRA, PPIB, SIFC and FIA, together with crypto-asset regulation in the UK, US and EU.

Founder and Managing PartnerSalahuddin, Saif & Aslam, established 2006, with offices in Lahore and Islamabad
Band 1 for FintechBand 1 for FinTech in Chambers Asia-Pacific, three consecutive years
Panel legal adviserMinistry of Information Technology and Telecommunication
Board Member, IDAPInfrastructure Development Authority of the Punjab, as technical expert (IT)
Leading Expert, Global Legal PostAuthor, Pakistan chapters, Law Over Borders Comparative Guide 2027: Fintech (forthcoming)

Chambers and Partners

What Chambers Says

Band 1Hassaan Salahuddin, FinTech Legal, 2024 to 2026

Top RankedSalahuddin, Saif & Aslam, FinTech, 2024 to 2026

Hassaan Salahuddin is the firm's managing partner and its lead lawyer on FinTech matters and projects. He wins praise for his strong client service in transactional matters and for his advice on financial regulatory issues.
Hassaan Salahuddin ensures that he finds workable solutions to complex matters, and he is clear and firm on his advice.
Hassaan's proactive approach, deep familiarity with regulatory frameworks, and ability to communicate effectively with regulators makes him an invaluable partner.
What sets him apart from peers is his ability to handle complex regulatory and contractual issues without overcomplicating them.

Chambers Asia-Pacific, FinTech Legal

Practice

Hassaan advises on complete product lifecycles, from the first licensing conversation through to complete ecosystem development and ongoing compliance.

Licensing

Licensing and Regulatory Approvals

Structuring the regulatory route, securing the required approvals and managing the licensing process through to operational launch.

PVARA Licensing and NOC Applications for Virtual Asset Businesses
Electronic Money Institution (EMI) Licences
Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Licences
Peer to Peer and Digital Lending Licences
Payment System Operator and Payment Service Provider Authorisations
Digital and Branchless Banking Approvals

Products

Lending and Payments Products

The consumer and merchant products his clients take to market, structured to fit the rules that apply to them.

Nano Lending and SME Lending
Buy Now Pay Later
Earned Wage Access
Digital Wallets and QR Payments
Merchant Acquiring and Payment Aggregation
Embedded Finance and API Integrations

Deals and Technology

Mergers, Funding and Technology

The transactions and technology agreements that a fintech business runs on.

Fintech Mergers and Acquisitions
Seed and Venture Funding
Software Development and Licensing
Technology Outsourcing and Integration
Cybersecurity and Data Governance Compliance
Blockchain and Digital Asset Regulation

How He Works

From Product to Structure

Hassaan works from the product outward: identifying the regulatory perimeter, selecting the licensing and corporate structure, shaping the operating model and documenting the technology and commercial relationships around it. For a digital lender that means the NBFC route, onboarding, electronic contracting, underwriting, data, APIs and collections. For a payments or banking business it means the regulated relationships and technology arrangements that get the product to customers.

Digital Assets

Digital Assets and PVARA

Pakistan's virtual asset framework is new and still settling. SSA advises exchanges, blockchain infrastructure providers and fintech companies on how it applies to them, including the licensing and No Objection Certificate process run by the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The work covers licensing exposure, AML/CFT and sanctions, the regulatory perimeter, and cross-border settlement and remittance structures that use blockchain-based rails alongside Pakistan's regulated payments system.

Advice is given against the rules in force at the time, and the framework continues to develop.

Process

The Route to a Licence

Every licence has its own route. Choose one to see how Hassaan takes clients from the first perimeter question to operating under the licence.

NBFC Licence

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, under the NBFC Rules 2003 and the NBFC and Notified Entities Regulations 2008.

PerimeterWhich NBFC form fits the product, such as investment finance services
StructureSponsors, shareholding, minimum equity and the funding route
NOCSECP permission to form the NBFC, then incorporation
ApplicationLicence application with business plan, policies, systems and fit and proper filings
ReviewSECP queries and clarifications through to approval
LicenceGrant of the licence for the specified business
App whitelistingDigital lending apps whitelisted with the SECP before launch, then ongoing compliance

Selected clients advised

PalmPayQFIN HoldingsWetechAventusNova LineViva FinanceVisionCredNavicred FintechMehfooz FinancialTransverseShuhe Information TechnologyParwaaz Financial4Sight TechnologiesPost ExTitlisticFinliberalTransparent FinanceFinja

Regulation

Where a Product Sits

Many fintech products do not fit one regulatory category. The first task is to work out what the product actually does, and which regulator is responsible for each function.

Diagram of three overlapping circles for the State Bank of Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, with example products placed inside one circle or across two or three. Each point is a button that describes which regulators that product touches.

Illustrative. Where a product sits depends on how it works in practice. Point at a product to see which regulators it touches.Tap a product to see which regulators it touches.

Where the Rules Run Out

Selecting a licence is the easy part. Knowing whether it fits the business is harder, particularly where payments, credit and virtual assets meet. A licence may cover the product’s core activity while leaving its settlement model, funding arrangements or cross-border reach unresolved. A tokenised receivable, for example, raises questions about where securities regulation ends and virtual asset regulation begins. This is where Hassaan comes in: assessing how the business actually operates, where the regulatory boundaries fall and whether the proposed framework can support it.

That judgement draws on years of advising clients and working closely with regulators. Hassaan understands how they approach unfamiliar structures and the considerations that shape their decisions, which is why clients bring him the questions that test the limits of the regulatory framework.

Reach

Cross-Border

Clients bring products, capital and technology from 21 jurisdictions outside Pakistan. The work is to make each entry into Pakistan legally and commercially workable: understanding the group's existing structure, deciding which functions stay offshore and which need a locally regulated entity or partner, and carrying that through licensing and documentation.

Work

FinTech in Practice

The firm's fintech practice has set several firsts in Pakistan's licensing history.

Hassaan's Track Record

Trusted counsel for global exchanges, digital infrastructure providers and digital asset platforms under PVARA's 10-category licensing regimes under the Virtual Assets Act 2026.
Leading advisor to the largest number of lending non-banking finance company mandates in Pakistan.
Built the legal architecture for the application layer of Pakistan's first SECP approved digital revolving credit line product.
Secured Pakistan's inaugural Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending licence.
Pioneers of the electronic money institution licence in Pakistan.
Legal architects currently leading the application layer for a Greenfield Digital Microfinance Bank.

Wider Practice

Beyond Fintech

Fintech is where Hassaan is ranked. It is not where he started. For two decades he has taken large projects through Pakistan’s planning, energy and public-sector regulators, and the regulators know him because of that record.

Real Estate and Infrastructure

Real Estate & Infrastructure Projects

Land and property documents, due diligence, joint ventures, financing and concession agreements, and build-operate-transfer and construction contracts, including foreign investment.

Project Eighteen, IslamabadUSD 1 bnJoint venture between Ora Developers Egypt and the Saif Group. Sale and investment matters.
Lake City HoldingsUSD 250–350 mRegulatory compliance, with approvals from the Land Revenue Department and the LDA.
Master City, LahoreUSD 150 mDue diligence, purchase and transfer of land.
Alfalah Co-operative Housing SocietyUSD 110 mLand acquisition, development, financing and approvals.
Takmeel Square, DHAUSD 50 m+Commercial project. Counsel to the project company.
J.W. Marriott, LahoreCompany set-up, land, approvals, non-recourse financing and EPC contracts for a five-star hotel.

Also acted on

Gulberg GalleriaXinhua MallRiver EstateAskari TowerAl-Mubarak TowerThe Elite EstateAkkadian joint ventureAl-Amwal joint ventureSuper Asia City HousingKingcrete BuildersQarshi Foundation

Approvals

LDA, CDA, National Highway Authority, Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, TEPA and WASA.

Energy and Industrial

Power Projects Exceeding 2,000 MW

Project company set-up, syndicated and non-recourse financing, PPA, IA and GSA concession documents, EPC contracts, capital markets and regulatory approvals for independent power producers, alongside acquisitions and restructuring in the industrial sector.

Lucky Electric Power, 660 MW, Port QasimUSD 1.08 bnCoal-fired power project sponsored by Lucky Cement.
Sapphire Electric, 225 MW, MuridkeUSD 244 mCombined cycle power plant. Dispute and settlement under the gas supply agreement.
Saif Power, 225 MW, SahiwalUSD 240 mCombined cycle power plant. Initial public offering, including prospectus, due diligence, underwriting and SECP and Karachi Stock Exchange approvals.
Master Wind Energy, 52.8 MW, JhimpirUSD 125 mWind power project of the Master Group.
AM-PowerCompany set-up, syndicated financing, PPA, IA and GSA, EPC contracts and regulatory approvals for a power plant.
Iljin Electric, KoreaAcquisition of Heavy Electrical Complex, Hattar, including due diligence, share purchase and approvals, and a related competition complaint.

Also acted on

Mehak InternationalAH Power with Young Gen PowerDebt restructuring for banks and textile groups

Approvals

NEPRA, PPIB, CPPA, SECP, Karachi Stock Exchange and Competition Commission of Pakistan.

Values are total project costs, from PPIB, NEPRA and published financing reports.

Government and Public Sector

Counsel to Authorities and Ministries

Civil Aviation Authority and Defence Housing Authority
Regulatory compliance with NEPRA and CPPA
US AID construction, road and rehabilitation projects in FATA, including settlement agreements
Ministry of Commerce on EU GSP rules of origin and SAFTA
Advisor to the Ministry of IT and Telecom; retained counsel to the National ICT R&D Fund

Contact

Speak With Hassaan

For fintech licensing, market entry and regulatory structuring in Pakistan.

FirmSalahuddin, Saif & Aslam, Attorneys at Law

OfficesLahore and Islamabad, Pakistan

Emailhassaansalahuddin@ssalaw.co

Webssalaw.co

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Credentials

BarCalled to the Bar of England and Wales, Lincoln’s Inn
PracticeAdvocate of the Superior Courts of Pakistan; reported judgments in the law reports of Pakistan
EducationLLB (Hons), University of Westminster; BVC, City University London
TrainingTrade negotiations and rules of origin, National Board of Trade, Stockholm
MembershipsLincoln’s Inn; Punjab Bar Council; Lahore Bar Association
LanguagesEnglish and Urdu