4 clauses your fintech BD hires contracts must have

Words are cheap. Actions aren’t.

It’s easy to agree in conversation. Easy to say, “We’ll handle that,” “We’re aligned,” or “We’ll take care of it.” But promises spoken aloud only carry weight when backed by real follow-through.

That’s why I’ve learned to value what people do more than what they say. And that’s exactly why contracts exist, not because people are dishonest, but because memory fades, pressure changes behavior, and what seems reasonable today can feel risky tomorrow.

A contract turns intentions into commitments. It turns “we’ll try” into “we will.” And that clarity always beats a handful of hopeful words.

Right now, during the fintech hiring surge, I’m seeing lots of Business Development and Growth roles being posted.

These roles are important as they directly impact revenue, partnerships, and market expansion. But they can also be high-risk if contracts aren’t airtight.

A BD or Growth hire might commit to partners, promise exclusivity, or sign revenue-sharing deals without full alignment with your legal and compliance teams.

Without clear contractual boundaries, you expose yourself. So here are the 4 essential clauses every fintech employment contract needs when hiring Business Development, Growth, or Partnership roles.

4 Essential Clauses for Fintech BD/Growth Employee Contracts

1) Authority and Approval Limits (Who Can Actually Commit the Company)

A growth hire's job is to close partnerships and deals. But not every partnership is good. You need them to know exactly what they can and cannot commit to without escalation - both in terms of contract value and business model impact.​

What to Include:

• Deal approval authority matrix:

  • Deals under ₹5 lakh/month: BD employee can commit with CFO/COO sign-off

  • Deals ₹5-20 lakh/month: Requires CEO/Founder approval

  • Deals above ₹20 lakh/month: Requires board-level discussion and legal review​

  • Compliance exceptions: Any deal involving data sharing, customer direct access, or payment processing requires legal pre-approval, regardless of size​

• Template agreements they can use: Provide pre-approved contract templates for standard partnerships - they can't freelance with custom terms.​

• Escalation requirement: Any push-back from partner legal teams goes immediately to your legal counsel, not back-and-forth with BD alone​

A growth hire might sign a revenue-sharing agreement that bypasses your compliance team, exposing you to KYC/AML or data protection violations. Or they might promise exclusivity you can't deliver, creating breach liability. Clear authority limits prevent this.​

2) Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation (Protecting Your Relationships and Secrets)

A growth hire gets deep access to your partner network, customer pipeline, deal structure, and pricing.

If they leave, they could walk straight to a competitor or start their own fintech with your playbook. Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses protect against this, but they must be reasonable to survive legal scrutiny.​

What to Include:

• Non-compete period and scope:

  • Duration: 6-12 months post-employment (fintech moves fast, so longer than 12 months may not be enforceable)​

  • Geography: India or specific metro areas where you operate​

  • Definition of "competing business": Don't make it too broad (e.g., "any fintech" is likely unenforceable; "payment aggregators and BNPL platforms" is more reasonable)​

• Non-solicitation of customers and partners:

  • 12-24 months post-employment, employee can't solicit customers they directly worked with​

  • Can't convince existing partners to switch to a competitor or their new venture​

• Non-disclosure and confidentiality:

  • Partner lists, deal structures, pricing, customer acquisition costs, and internal processes remain confidential indefinitely.​

  • Trade secrets are protected during and after employment.​

A growth hire with deep partner relationships who leaves to start a competitor could recreate your entire partnership strategy with your own partners.

Reasonable non-compete and non-solicitation language prevents this. Courts uphold these if they're limited in time and scope, but reject them if they're overly broad.​

3) Commission Structure and Clawback Clauses (Aligning Incentives Without Surprises)

Growth hires are often incentivized by commission, but vague commission structures lead to disputes.

And once they've earned (or think they've earned) commission, clawing it back for failed partnerships is messy. Clear terms up front prevent post-employment disputes.​

What to Include:

• Commission trigger definition:

  • Is commission earned when the partnership is signed, when it goes live, or when the first customer transaction occurs?​

  • What if the partner signs a contract but never launches? (You likely don't pay commission until actual activation)​

  • What if the partner launches but churns after 2 months? (Do they get partial credit?)​

• Commission amounts and caps:

  • Standard: 10-15% of the first 12 months recurring revenue or a one-time fee (whichever is negotiated)​

  • Cap (if any): Some roles cap total annual commission at 2-3x base salary​

• Clawback provisions:

  • If the partnership is terminated within 6 months due to the partner's non-performance or compliance breach, 50% of the earned commission is clawed back.​

  • If the partner fails KYC/AML or regulatory screening, all associated commission is forfeited.​

  • If the employee breach caused the partnership termination, full commission clawed back​.

• Payment timing: Commission paid quarterly in arrears (not upfront), once the partnership actually activates​.

Without clawback clauses, a growth hire could close partnerships that look great upfront but fail after 3 months, and they keep the full commission.

Or they could close partnerships without proper due diligence, exposing you to regulatory violations, and still keep commission.

Clawback clauses align incentives: they're motivated to close good partnerships that stick, not just any partnership.​

4) Data Handling, IP Ownership, and Regulatory Compliance Responsibility

Growth/BD hires handle customer data, partner information, deal terms, and potentially sign commitments on behalf of your company.

Without clear clauses on data handling and IP ownership, you end up with disputes about who owns the relationships, and you expose yourself to data protection and regulatory violations.​

What to Include:

• IP and relationship ownership:

  • All partnerships, customer relationships, and deal structures developed during employment belong to Company (not the employee personally)​

  • Employee cannot claim ownership of any partnership or customer list​

  • Upon termination, all documents, notes, proposals, and relationship records remain Company property​

• Data protection compliance:

  • Employee must comply with DPDP Act 2023, customer privacy policies, and Company data classification rules​

  • Employee cannot share customer data, partner lists, or pricing information externally without legal approval​

  • All partner communications logged and archived for compliance/audit purposes​

• Regulatory accountability:

  • Employee responsible for ensuring partners comply with KYC/AML, data protection, and financial regulations before deal closure​

  • Employee must inform Company Legal immediately of any partner regulatory concerns or red flags​

  • Employee liable for any partnerships closed in violation of compliance requirements (can result in bonus clawback or termination for cause)​

• Conflict of interest disclosure:

  • Employee must disclose any prior relationships with potential partners​

  • Employee must disclose if they or family members have financial interest in partner companies​​

A growth hire could inadvertently expose you to data protection violations by sharing customer information with partners.

Or they could close partnerships with relatives/friends without disclosure, creating conflicts.

Or they could fail to perform due diligence, bringing you a partner that fails the compliance review. These clauses hold them accountable.​

The Bottom Line

A growth hire's job is to bring revenue in. Your job is to make sure they bring it in safely.

Clear authority limits, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, transparent commission structures with clawbacks, and tight data/compliance responsibilities turn loose intentions into enforceable commitments.

This isn't about not trusting your hire. It's about turning words into actions - protecting the company when memory gets short, pressure changes behavior, and what sounded reasonable on day one feels risky on day 100.

Hire boldly, but contract carefully. That's how you grow without exposing yourself.