Big Hires, Bold Moves: What’s New in Fintech This Fortnight

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📈 Key Executive Appointments: Leadership Shifts That Matter

Jeeves has tapped former Brex and SAP leader Jordan Bulkoski as its new Chief Revenue Officer, signaling an aggressive international expansion, particularly in Latin America. Expect more innovations like advanced card controls and invoice automation soon.

Stacks AI, the startup automating the financial close process, has appointed ex-Plaid and McKinsey exec Farid Sedjelmaci as COO. Based in London, he'll lead UK expansion as Stacks boasts a 97% reduction in manual finance work since its February launch.

Napier AI, a UK-based regtech firm, welcomes Kenneth Paqvalén as CFO. Formerly of Matillion, Paqvalén joins as the firm pushes global growth post-acquisition by Marlin Equity Partners.

Over at Azentio Software, Harikrishnan Venkataramanan steps in as President of the ERP division, bringing over two decades of enterprise tech leadership to scale innovation across high-growth sectors.

Not to be outdone, Rostro Group named Constantina Georgiadou as head of PR and communications, aligning with their global expansion in brokerage, payments, and banking.

Other noteworthy appointments:

• Ethan Silver joins InvestiFi as strategic advisor, enhancing regulatory strategy.

• Gary Abela takes charge of enterprise partnerships at Saturn, post-Ateb acquisition.

• Bogdan Levchenko, former Man Group exec, joins Premialab to steer EMEA growth.

• Alex Pearson becomes CRO at iProov, set to scale biometric identity verification globally.

• And a royal twist: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands now chairs the advisory board of Singapore-based GFTN, joined by Agustín Carstens and Sanjiv Bajaj.

🤝 Deals & Partnerships: Where Collaboration Meets Innovation

• Orbital teams up with ClearBank Europe to offer real-time euro payments via SEPA — a game-changer for digital treasury functions blending stablecoins with fiat.

• IDnow and Keyless partner on a “continuous trust” solution — enabling silent biometric enrollment to tackle deepfakes and AI fraud.

• Curve expands its partnership with Thales, rolling out Curve Pay NFC payments on iOS. Powered by Thales’ cloud platform, Curve Pay aims to simplify spending across Europe for 6 million+ users.

• Banqup Group joins forces with iPiD to combat invoice fraud using real-time payee verification — a nod to tightening European regulations.

• In a major sports-meets-fintech move, Xapo, the Bitcoin-first private bank, partners with Aston Villa FC, boosting visibility across the UK and Premier League fans worldwide. The sponsorship includes Villa’s U.S. tour and stadium branding for the 2025/26 season.

💸 Funding Frenzy: Billions Raised, Bold Visions Ahead

Propel Finance secured a massive £1.5 billion to back UK SMEs with asset finance. Supported by Barclays, Citi, and others, Propel aims to double its lending within three years.

On the crypto front, Coinstash raised AU$4.7 million in Series A to grow its secure trading platform, offering access to 1,000+ digital assets.

The UK tech sector hit $7.8 billion in H1 2025, second only to the U.S., with London contributing 77% of the total. Notably, Worldpay’s $24.3B acquisition led the charts.

Other funding highlights:

• Savvy Wealth (NY) bags $72M Series B for AI-powered advisory growth.

• Yaspa (London) lands $12M to boost U.S. expansion and enter the gambling payments space.

• PetroApp (Saudi Arabia) grabs $50M to scale globally and prepare for IPO.

• MOGOPLUS (Australia) raises AU$1.5M for AI credit decisioning.

• Arāya Ventures closes a $26.3M fund backing 60+ early-stage startups across fintech, AI, and the future of work.

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🎉 Milestones & Metrics: Progress Worth Applauding

• Triodos Bank UK celebrates £2.5B in social and environmental lending as it turns 30. A major milestone for ethical finance in the UK.

• Temenos is now the 4th most sustainable company globally, per TIME and Statista. It’s also the highest-ranked Swiss firm and only core banking software provider in the top 40.

• Guavapay joined the Lord Mayor of London’s Gulf fintech mission, eyeing partnerships and co-investments across Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

• MetaWealth, a tokenized real estate platform, became the first to distribute $1 million in rental income to investors — a major win for real-world asset (RWA) platforms.

• And PancakeSwap smashed records with $325B in trading volume in June, more than doubling its Q1 total and hitting $1.8T in cumulative trades, thanks to cross-chain swaps and its new “Infinity” upgrade.

💬 Final Thought

This edition showcases a fintech sector that’s rapidly maturing — with strategic hires, cross-border collaborations, and tech-driven compliance at the forefront. Whether you’re watching emerging AI trends or cheering Xapo’s pitch-side move, one thing’s clear: fintech isn’t just forward-thinking — it’s sprinting into the future.