The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup takes a look at the latest fintech stories from around the world on Tuesday 15 July 2025.
Appointments
Community finance provider Salad has appointed Craig Pennington, formerly of Fair4All Finance, where he led investment partnerships to support inclusive lending. Salad, a UK CDFI and Fair4All investee, serves full-time workers excluded from mainstream credit. Pennington brings experience across finance, social enterprise and investment as the government looks to expand access to affordable credit for vulnerable borrowers.
Fairer Finance appoints Helene Brichet as chair of its consumer advisory board, replacing Chris Pond as he moves to lead the FCA’s Financial Services Consumer Panel. Brichet, a former CFO of Capital One UK, brings over 30 years’ experience in financial services. The board oversees Fairer Finance’s transparency, research and independence as a consumer-focused ratings and advocacy group.
DBS Bank is expanding its private banking presence in the Middle East and Africa with the addition of Loic Voide as head of private banking for the region. Based in Dubai, Voide brings senior experience from Deutsche Bank, UBS and Credit Suisse, and will focus on serving ultra-high net worth clients across key Gulf and African wealth corridors.
Raul Villar Jr., former CEO of Paycor, is stepping in as chief executive at AuditBoard as it enters a new phase of global growth. Known for leading Paycor’s $4.1bilion sale to Paychex, Villar brings enterprise SaaS expertise to the AI-powered risk platform. His appointment follows AuditBoard’s recent international expansion and continued momentum in connected risk management.
Megan Easey is taking the helm at Xace as chief executive, bringing over 20 years of leadership in igaming, fintech and banking. Her arrival signals a new phase of growth for the alternative banking provider, which focuses on high-risk and regulated sectors. Easey’s background spans international expansion, compliance and scaling operations in complex markets.
Funding and investments
Barcelona-based startup Murphy has raised $15million in pre-seed and seed funding to expand its AI-driven debt servicing platform across Europe and the US. Backed by Northzone, Seedcamp and Lakestar, Murphy replaces traditional call centres with multilingual autonomous agents. The platform is already used by major banks and telecoms, aiming to improve recovery rates and reduce operational costs.
Saudi-based insurtech startup Yasmina has raised $2million in seed funding to expand its embedded insurance platform across the MENA region. Scene Holding led the round, with participation from Access Bridge Ventures, Arzan VC and 500 MENA. Founded in 2023, Yasmina enables digital platforms to offer personalised insurance at checkout, and plans to enter the UAE and Egypt.
Backed by €13million in new funding, Oslo-based B2B payments platform Two is expanding into the US and Western Europe. The company, which aims to simplify business transactions with real-time underwriting and embedded credit terms, is growing fast, with revenue and payment volume up over 150 per cent year-on-year. Investors include Idékapital, Shine Capital, Investinor and Sequoia.
Portman Finance Group is set to expand its SME lending activity following a new £10million funding line structured by Shawbrook’s speciality finance team. The Northampton-based lender-broker, named in the 2025 FEBE Growth 100, plans to broaden its offering with larger and longer-term loans. Portman has supported over 20,000 UK businesses since launching in 2007.
Partnerships
EBANX has integrated directly with Yape, Peru’s largest digital wallet, enabling global merchants to offer recurring and one-click payments to local consumers. Yape handled the largest share of Peru’s online wallet transactions in 2024 and serves over 14 million users. The partnership supports EBANX’s push into high-growth markets as Peru’s e-commerce sector nears $60billion by 2027.
Episode Six is expanding its partnership with UK-based payments and BIN sponsor platform Monavate to support its international growth. The collaboration enables Monavate to scale card issuing and processing infrastructure across new markets using Episode Six’s configurable platform. The move reflects growing demand from sectors like crypto and supports faster deployment of fintech products globally.
Blue Remit, the remittance arm of Al Ansari Financial Services, has partnered with TerraPay to expand real-time cross-border payouts. The deal connects Blue Remit’s digital platform with TerraPay’s global infrastructure, enabling faster, compliant transfers to mobile wallets, bank accounts and cards, especially in underserved regions. The move supports both firms’ focus on accessible and inclusive financial services.
MoonPay has integrated Revolut Pay, enabling UK and EEA users to buy crypto with one click directly from their Revolut accounts. The move simplifies transactions and supports over 500 MoonPay partner apps. By reducing friction at checkout, the integration expands MoonPay’s reach while offering Revolut users faster access to crypto purchases.
More collaborations
AuditBoard, a US-based platform for audit, risk and compliance management, has expanded its partnership with Deloitte to support clients across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Deloitte Germany will establish a Centre of Excellence to implement AuditBoard solutions. The alliance targets growing demand for AI-driven governance tools as organisations modernise manual GRC processes.
Aberdeen Group, a UK-based investment management firm, has selected NiCE Actimize’s AI-powered solutions to enhance its anti-money laundering operations. The deployment includes suspicious activity monitoring and watch list screening tools to detect illicit behaviour more efficiently. NiCE Actimize, a unit of US-listed NICE, provides financial crime prevention technology to firms in over 70 countries.
