Zepz Appoints Steven Eisenhauer as Chief Risk & Compliance Officer to Drive Global Growth

Zepz, the parent company of WorldRemit and Sendwave, has appointed Steven Eisenhauer as its new Chief Risk & Compliance Officer. The hire signals a reinforced focus on regulatory navigation and financial crime prevention as the group manages a significant increase in transaction volumes, having processed $17 billion for customers across its global remittance platforms in 2025.

What was announced

Steven Eisenhauer joins Zepz this month to lead the group’s global risk and compliance strategy. In his role as Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, he will oversee the organisation’s investment in fraud and financial crime protection technology. His remit includes working with regulators and partners to support product development as the company scales within an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

Eisenhauer brings over 15 years of experience in risk and compliance leadership across the banking, payments, and cryptoasset sectors. He most recently served as Group Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at EML Payments, where he led global strategy. Prior to that, he was responsible for building and scaling the compliance function at Ramp Network, a crypto infrastructure provider. His career has spanned markets in the UK, EU, US, and Latin America, guiding fintech firms through expansion into new products and territories.

The appointment comes during a period of growth for the payments group. Zepz reported that both revenue and send volumes increased by 25% in 2025. The group’s platforms, WorldRemit and Sendwave, collectively facilitated the transfer of $17 billion for its global user base during that period. Eisenhauer will be tasked with maintaining the group's compliance standards as it continues to grow and innovate while protecting the millions of people who rely on its services for cross-border transfers.

"Strong risk management and compliance have always been fundamental to earning our customers’ trust. Steven has led this work globally across banking, payments and digital assets, and he joins a highly capable team. Compliance is embedded in our culture, with every colleague sharing responsibility for protecting the families we serve. Steven will help us build on that solid foundation. His appointment reflects how central the function is to our business and to the millions of people who rely on us."

Barrie Morris, Interim CEO of Zepz

The companies involved

Zepz is a major player in the global payments landscape, serving as the parent company for two of the industry’s most prominent remittance brands: WorldRemit and Sendwave. WorldRemit, which operates under the Zepz umbrella, provides digital money transfer services to millions of users, focusing on fast and secure international payments. Sendwave, another key component of the group, specialises in fee-free or low-cost transfers, particularly targeting corridors between the West and Africa and Asia.

The group has established itself as a digital-first alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar money transfer operators. By consolidating these brands, Zepz has created a massive infrastructure for cross-border value exchange, competing directly with legacy players and newer fintech challengers alike. The company’s market position is defined by its ability to handle high-volume, small-value transactions across diverse regulatory jurisdictions. As a global payments group, Zepz operates in a highly regulated space where maintaining robust relationships with financial institutions and local regulators is critical to its operational continuity and market expansion.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has previously tracked Zepz’s efforts to leverage data for both market insight and social responsibility. In 2026, the company released data showing a significant demographic shift, noting that 25-34 year olds have become the largest remittance group. This "digital-native" trend was further explored in the Zepz Insights Report, which highlighted how young adults are driving global remittance trends.

Beyond market demographics, Zepz has taken a proactive stance on safety and ethics. The group partnered with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to develop financial risk indicators specifically aimed at identifying and preventing child sexual abuse within the payments industry, demonstrating a commitment to using its platform for broader protection.

What this means

The appointment of a CRCO with deep experience in both traditional payments and cryptoassets highlights a shift in how the sector prepares for a more fragmented regulatory future. As remittance providers face mounting pressure to implement sophisticated AML and KYC protocols, the "move fast and break things" era of fintech is being replaced by a "scale with safety" mandate. For the wider industry, this hire highlights the premium now placed on compliance as a competitive advantage rather than a back-office cost. Competitors in the cross-border space will likely feel the pressure to match this level of institutionalised risk management as regulators globally tighten their grip on digital value transfer.