Alston & Bird has opened a London office centered around its established finance and payments practices with seven lawyers from K&L Gates and Constantine Cannon.

"There's been a boom in the payments sector, because the way we all pay for things is changing," said managing partner Richard Hays. "We have a significant practice in the payments area, handling digital banking, cryptocurrency, regulatory issues and M&A work."

The new London office will work closely with the Brussels office that Alston, based in Atlanta, opened in 2011 to extend its payments practice to Europe, Hays said. Alston's marquee payments practice originated in Atlanta, a hub for payments processors and fintech companies and has expanded internationally over the years.