The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup takes a look at the latest fintech stories from around the world on Thursday 10 July 2025.
Appointments
The Bank of London has appointed Hana Rolles as chief commercial officer as part of its ongoing leadership refresh. Rolles was previously CEO of Paynetics UK and has held senior roles at Visa, Vodafone and McKinsey. She will focus on revenue growth and client partnerships as the bank scales its business banking and payments platform.
Ray Barry has joined Finova as customer success director, leading the mortgage and savings software provider’s new client success division. Barry, who has held senior roles at Microsoft, Salesforce and IBM, will build the team from scratch. The move supports Finova’s broader strategy to improve client outcomes, led by chief customer officer Richard Marsh.
Finom, a Netherlands-based digital financial platform for SMEs, has appointed Tijana Kovacevic as chief people officer. She joins from refurbed and brings experience from Wise and Coca-Cola HBC. Her appointment comes as Finom scales its 500-strong workforce following a €92.3million investment. The company serves over 125,000 businesses across Europe and is targeting further expansion.
Bitwise, a global crypto asset manager, has appointed Max Shannon as senior research associate within its European team. Shannon joins from CoinShares, where he focused on token analysis and crypto equities. His appointment supports Bitwise’s expansion in Europe, where it offers a range of crypto exchange traded products, including Bitcoin and Solana ETPs, from its German base.
Paymentology, a global issuer processor, has appointed Julie Sutton as head of growth for Europe. Sutton brings senior experience from firms including Soldo, Marqeta and Modulr, and will lead regional expansion and client partnerships. Her hire reflects Paymentology’s focus on scaling card programmes across Europe as fintech and digital banking demand continues to grow.
Partnerships
The ai Corporation, a UK-based payments and fraud prevention provider, has expanded its partnership with Circle K, a global convenience and mobility retailer. Circle K will roll out ai’s aiEazyFuel platform to support B2B fleet payments across sites in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, following its acquisition of assets from TotalEnergies in those markets.
Worldline, a global payments provider, has partnered with commercetools, a composable commerce platform for enterprise retailers. The collaboration allows commercetools customers to integrate Worldline’s payment solutions, including fraud detection, local methods and real-time monitoring. Worldline clients will also gain access to commercetools’ commerce tools, supporting streamlined checkout and omnichannel growth for digital merchants.
Rain, a US-based earned wage access provider, has launched a fully embedded on-demand pay solution within Workday. The integration allows employers to activate Rain directly through the Workday platform, streamlining access to wages without system changes. Used by over 3.5 million employees, Rain aims to improve retention and financial wellness through embedded payroll access and related benefits.
Sovos, a US-based tax compliance software provider, has teamed up with Tungsten Automation, a workflow automation company formerly known as Kofax, to launch a joint accounts payable solution. The integrated platform combines invoice processing with real-time tax compliance, helping multinational firms meet evolving regulatory requirements such as the EU’s ViDA initiative while streamlining procure-to-pay operations.
Company milestones
Lloyds Banking Group has launched its largest Data & AI Summer School, running through July and August with over 250 sessions. Aimed at building digital confidence across its workforce, the initiative follows Lloyds’ recent AI partnership with the University of Cambridge. The UK’s largest digital bank is investing £4billion in technology and has more than 100 AI use cases in progress.
Klarna, the global digital bank and payments provider, has been ranked 10th in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index – its first appearance in the study. Published by the Institute of Customer Service, the index is based on 59,500 customer responses. Klarna also placed in the top 10 for customer ethos, ethics and overall experience among 267 organisations across 13 sectors.
M&As
Stitch, a South Africa-based payments infrastructure company, has acquired local fintech Efficacy Payments, enabling it to offer direct card acquiring services as a Designated Clearing System Participant (DCSP). The deal makes Stitch one of the first fintechs in the region with end-to-end card clearing capabilities. Efficacy was founded in 2016 and gained DCSP status in 2021.
Clarity AI, a global sustainability tech firm, has acquired ecolytiq, a Berlin-based provider of climate engagement tools for banks. The deal expands Clarity AI’s reach into retail banking by adding ecolytiq’s consumer-focused platform, which uses payment data to track environmental impact. Visa, a long-term partner of ecolytiq, joins as an investor and strategic partner to Clarity AI.
Alpaca, a US-based brokerage infrastructure provider, has announced plans to acquire WealthKernel, a UK and EU-licensed wealthtech firm. The deal will give Alpaca regulated access to European markets and expand its offerings with ISAs, SIPPs and other tax-advantaged products. The acquisition supports Alpaca’s global growth strategy and is subject to regulatory approval in the UK and Spain.
Funding and investments
Wrisk, a UK-based provider of embedded insurance for the automotive sector, has raised £12million in a Series B round co-led by Mundi Ventures and Opera Tech Ventures. The funding will support Wrisk’s European expansion and partner growth. The company, which works with brands like BMW and Jaguar Land Rover, reported strong revenue growth in 2024.
Gradient Labs, a UK-based AI startup focused on customer service for regulated industries, has raised $13million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures. Founded by former Monzo staff, the company offers an AI agent that automates complex support tasks. The funds will support product development and expansion as Gradient targets financial services and similarly regulated sectors.
