The Fintech Times Bi-Weekly News Roundup takes a look at the latest fintech stories from around the world on Tuesday 13 May 2025.
Partnerships
Money Wellness has unveiled a new partnership with NatWest Group to support customers showing early signs of financial stress. Through the partnership, NatWest Group customers, including those banking with RBS and Ulster Bank, who may be struggling with debt, budgeting or meeting essential household costs, will be offered the chance to complete a free Money Wellness financial health check.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a UN agency that serves as a forum for cooperation between postal sector players, and Visa, a digital payments company, have announced a strategic collaboration to expand access to digital postal financial services within the UPU network. The collaboration aims to promote financial inclusion and stimulate economic development by leveraging the UN agency’s international postal network and Visa’s payments network.
Trustly has partnered with Sabre Direct Pay, a division of global travel technology company Sabre Corporation to enhance payment solutions for travel agencies across the UK and Europe. Through Sabre Direct Pay, Trustly gains direct access to a wide network of travel retailers across the UK and Europe.
Bullish, a regulated virtual asset exchange, has partnered with the Gibraltar Government and the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to develop the world’s first regulation for the clearing and settlement of derivative contracts settled in virtual assets. This innovation will enable virtual asset derivative contracts to be cleared and settled in virtual assets by a recognised clearing house for the first time.
Capitolis, the financial technology company, has launched an innovative futures porting solution in collaboration with Barclays and Citadel. The solution has been developed for futures market participants, including hedge funds, asset managers, other buy-side institutions, and futures commission merchants, and is designed for scalability and greater management of financial resources.
More collaborations
Onbe, a corporate payouts platform, has expanded Send to Wallet, a capability enabling payout recipients to add virtual cards to a mobile wallet in a click, to EUR and GBP markets. By offering Send to Wallet to their customers and workforces in Europe and the UK, businesses can now empower their recipients to instantly add Onbe virtual cards to Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Astra Tech’s flagship platform Botim has partnered with Mbank, a digital bank in the UAE, to introduce the nation’s first fintech-integrated Jaywan card scheme. The new prepaid card service will provide Botim users with a secure, convenient and fully digital payment solution, enabling cashless transactions across the Emirates.
Ubisoft, a global video game creator and publisher, and Visa, the digital payments company, have unveiled a three-year strategic partnership to enhance gaming experiences across the UK and Europe. The partnership will include the release of co-branded marketing promotions on flagship Ubisoft titles, including the recently launched Just Dance™ 2025.
There’s also a partnership for Quadient, a global automation platform powering secure and sustainable business connections, and Nuvei, a global payments company. Through this partnership, Nuvei’s advanced payment processing technology is now integrated into Quadient’s cloud-based accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) automation solutions, providing businesses of all sizes across North America, the UK and Europe with a unified platform to manage B2B payments more efficiently, securely and at scale.
Appointments
Moneybox, the wealth management platform, has welcomed Melissa Birge as an independent non-executive director to its board. She joined in April 2025 and will also chair a newly established board audit committee, strengthening the company’s financial oversight and risk management as it matures and scales.
PureFacts Financial Solutions, a provider of end-to-end revenue management solutions for the investment industry, appoints two executives to its C-suite: Jennifer Bouyoukos as chief people officer and JJ Jeffries as chief customer officer. PureFacts created both roles to reflect the company’s continued growth and evolving organisational needs.
Byline Bank has expanded its Payments and Fintech Banking division, appointing Paul Garcia, Ashley Kveton and Joe Tarkington to key roles under leaders David Prochnow and Joe Wolsfeld. The team brings deep fintech and embedded payments expertise, reinforcing Byline’s commitment to direct bank-fintech partnerships, regulatory oversight and tailored payment solutions.
Apex Group, a global financial services provider, has appointed Christophe Beelaerts as its new super regional head for MEIAM (Middle East, India, Africa and Mauritius). In this newly created role, he will focus on strengthening Apex Group’s presence in the MEIAM region, driving strategic initiatives, and fostering innovation to support the Group’s success.
Medius, a provider of AP automation and spend management solutions, has appointed Gary Hall as chief product officer. With over 25 years’ experience at GSCF, Wayfair and iRobot, Hall will lead product strategy as Medius advances its AI-powered tools, including the recently launched Medius Copilot and Supplier Conversations.
Funding and investments
Fincom, which offers anti-money laundering (AML) sanction screening and entity resolution technology, has completed a Series B funding round, securing a strategic investment led by Nasdaq Ventures, with participation also from Macquarie Group, G1 Ventures, and existing investors including AnD Ventures and ff Venture Capital.
Addepar, a global investment data and technology platform, has closed a $230million Series G funding round at a $3.25billion valuation. London-based growth equity firm Vitruvian Partners and returning investor WestCap co-led the round, with longtime backers 8VC and Valor Equity Partners also participating. EDBI, operating under SG Growth Capital, also joined the round as a new investor.
RetailBook has raised a £4.5million funding round led by European publicly listed fintech fund Augmentum Fintech plc. Augmentum joins existing investors Peel Hunt, Jefferies, Rothschild & Co and Hargreaves Lansdown in supporting the platform that enables retail investors to participate in primary capital market transactions on the same terms as institutional investors. Following completion of the fundraise, Augmentum CEO Tim Levene will join the Retailbook board.
Fintech platform Stash has secured $146million in an oversubscribed new Series H funding round led by Goodwater Capital, with participation also from returning investors Union Square Ventures, StepStone Group, Serengeti, and the University of Illinois Foundation, as well as funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. This new capital will accelerate Stash’s mission to make expert financial guidance accessible to everyone and deepen Stash’s investment in AI.
Company updates
Temenos will welcome over 1,000 global banking industry representatives to its Temenos Community Forum (TCF) in Madrid on 20 to 22 May. Participants will explore transformative technologies shaping the future of banking. ‘Leading the Way’ is the theme of this year’s TCF, which will feature over 60 sessions highlighting bold ideas, product innovations and technology to help banks address operational challenges.
