North America Expansion Lead

The Role 

We're looking for a driven North America Expansion Lead to own Nium's regulatory licensing strategy across the United States and Canada. You will lead Nium's efforts to obtain, activate, and operationalise its US Money Transmission Licence (MTL) programme, pursue crypto-specific licences and variations on a state-by-state basis, and support Nium's integration with Canada's real-time payment infrastructure. 

This is a high-impact, execution-focused role that sits at the intersection of regulatory strategy, licensing operations, and cross-functional delivery. You will collaborate closely with Legal, Compliance, Product, Treasury, Tech, Ops, and Commercial teams to deliver successful market launches across North America. We’re looking for individuals with a regulatory background (be that legal or compliance) who have a hands-on operator / product mindset.  

What You'll Own 

Working with the Head of Global Expansion, you will execute Nium's North America licence roadmap across four core workstreams: 

1. US Money Transmission Licences (MTLs) 

• Lead the end-to-end strategy and application process to obtain outstanding US MTLs, with a particular focus on securing licences in California and New York. 

• Manage regulator relationships, respond to examiner queries, and drive applications to completion with minimal delay. 

• Track and manage all MTL applications across states, maintaining a live view of status, timelines, risks, and costs. 

• Coordinate with external counsel and internal stakeholders to ensure application quality and completeness. 

2. MTL Activation and Operationalisation 

• Transition states currently operating under a bank partner programme onto Nium's own MTL as licences are obtained, working cross-functionally to ensure operational readiness. 

• Define and execute the activation playbook for each state, covering compliance obligations, product configuration, treasury requirements, and go-live processes. 

• Identify and resolve blockers to operationalisation, including bond requirements, net worth obligations, reporting cadences, and agent registration. 

• Maintain a clear state-by-state activation tracker and report progress to the Head of Global Expansion and senior leadership. 

3. Crypto-Specific Licences and Variations 

• Identify states where Nium's product suite requires a crypto-specific licence or a variation to an existing MTL (e.g. BitLicence in New York, virtual currency transmitter endorsements). 

• Lead applications and regulatory engagement for crypto licence variations on a state-by-state basis, working closely with Legal and Product. 

• Monitor evolving US state-level crypto licensing requirements and proactively assess impact on Nium's licensing posture. 

• Engage with regulators on the regulatory treatment of stablecoins and digital asset transmission where relevant to Nium's roadmap. 

4. Canada – Real-Time Rails and Interac Integration 

• Support Nium's integration with Payments Canada's Real-Time Rail (RTR) and the Interac network, working alongside Product and Tech to navigate regulatory and membership requirements. 

• Engage with Payments Canada, Interac, and relevant Canadian regulators to understand access models, participation requirements, and compliance obligations. 

• Coordinate internal readiness for Canadian real-time payment capabilities, ensuring alignment across Legal, Compliance, Treasury, and Product. 

• Identify and manage any licensing or registration requirements arising from expanded Canadian payment capabilities. 

Across all workstreams: 

• Track budgets, risks, and timelines, and report on a periodic basis to the Head of Global Expansion and senior leadership. 

• Build strong relationships with state and federal regulators across the US and Canada. 

• Contribute to Nium's broader global licensing strategy and share North America market intelligence with the wider expansion team.