January 2025: Top five fintech partnership stories of the month
The global fintech industry delivered a range of compelling partnerships over the month of January. Here, we’ve selected five of the top partnership stories of the month, featuring Swift, BMO, CFIT and more.
CFIT aims to help SMEs secure financing with new coalition featuring Mastercard and Lloyds Bank

CFIT set to launch new SME-focused coalition in Q1 2025
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), a UK-based private sector body established in 2023 to help drive growth in the country’s fintech sector, has unveiled the next “blue-chip” financial institutions set to lead its latest coalition focused on improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Launching in Q1 2025, the initiative will be led by Mastercard and Lloyds Bank, with additional organisations expected to join throughout the year.
The partners will look to develop “the technology, policy and regulatory solutions to help the UK’s 5.6 million small businesses raise external finance more readily, successfully and efficiently”, according to CFIT.
Canal Road Group boosts direct lending strategy with BMO partnership
Bank of Montreal (BMO) Financial Group has partnered with Canal Road Group (CRG) to support the alternative asset manager’s direct lending strategy and enable it to invest up to $1 billion in capital to upper middle-market companies across North America.
CRG, which specialises in originating, underwriting and managing senior secured corporate debt investments, will leverage BMO’s “extensive banking client reach, origination, and capital markets expertise” to expand its direct lending activities.
In exchange for supporting the asset manager’s direct lending strategy with credit facilities “over the long term”, BMO will gain a non-voting minority stake in CRG’s management company.
Deutsche Bank teams up with Yonyou to support Chinese enterprises going global

Deutsche Bank signs MoU with Yonyou
Deutsche Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Beijing-based enterprise management software provider Yonyou Network Technology to establish a partnership aimed at “driving innovation in digital financial services and supporting the globalisation strategies of Chinese enterprises”.
The partnership will see the bank connect the financial system of its regional subsidiary, Deutsche Bank China, with Yongyou’s treasury management system (TSM), creating “a new global financial services model with Global Treasury Management (GTM) at its core”.
The model is expected to feature both domestic and cross-border payment solutions, and will enhance the payment order process for Yongyou’s enterprise clients in China, by facilitating easier data access and instruction transmission.
Swift selected to build and operate EPC Directory Service for VOP scheme
The European Payments Council (EPC) has selected Swift to deliver the incoming EPC Directory Service (EDS), which is set to go live on 5 October 2025.
Swift has been tasked with developing and operating the ESD, which will act as a “key component” for payment service providers (PSPs) operating the EPC Verification of Payee (VOP) scheme.
To facilitate interoperability between participants of the VOP scheme, the EDS will store and make available information regarding the identification of PSPs to authorised business users.
EPC director general Giorgio Andreoli describes the selection of Swift as “a significant milestone in advancing the VOP scheme”, which will ensure “greater security and interoperability in payments across Europe”.
SAMA signs agreement to bring Google Pay to KSA in 2025

SAMA to integrate Google Pay with mada
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has entered into an agreement with Google to bring its mobile payment service, Google Pay, to Saudi Arabia through the national payments network mada.
The initiative, which is set to launch “during 2025”, is part of SAMA’s efforts to expand its offerings of digital payment solutions, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and international standards.
SAMA says the partnership reflects its ambition to establish a “robust digital payments infrastructure” which helps the country’s “transformation into a less-cash dependent society”.