About

Mastercard’s “LFI” (Law, Franchise and Integrity) team led by David Barajas is responsible for commercial law, regulatory and compliance matters, public policy, franchise development and integrity across Central America and Mexico. Over the past three years, the team has demonstrated strength in its work at the forefront of regulatory change that has affected Mastercard in five distinct jurisdictions. ‘These changes have their own complexity and require a different approach’, Barajas says. ‘Therefore, such changes impact our business in every single aspect from an operational, commercial, administrative, and last but not least regulatory compliance perspective. All have required us to think out of the box and support the business in the best and most efficient way possible’. The team has also contributed immensely to Mastercard’s regional effort to combat technologies used to hack and interfere with its payment system and has worked on initiatives that have enabled the business to cope with the current diversification taking place in the payment industry. ‘I wake up in the morning thinking how we can do things different’, Barajas articulates. ‘How can we be a modern, efficient and a proactive support area that enables the business rather than delays it? How can we be a trusted advisor instead of being a process to comply with? My answer is the value add that we bring to every single interaction that we have with our internal customers’. Besides Barajas himself, who is amongst Central America’s brightest in-house lawyers, the team features five gifted and highly experienced experts: Rocio Murillo, Fernanda Lucio, Salvador Salgado, Flavio Torres and Guillermo Maniaux.