Grace Ashiru
UK-founded cross-border payments startup Leatherback is now called Foren. The rebrand comes three months after Nigerian financial services group Zedcrest Group acquired the company in July 2026, and Foren announced it in a blog post on 5 October.
The company says the new name closes out two years of work inside the business. In that time it rebuilt its technology stack, tightened its compliance and regulatory functions, changed how it runs operations and governance, and put more attention on customer experience. Foren described the name change as the final step in that process, coming only after the business underneath had already changed.
According to Foren, Leatherback’s old setup couldn’t carry its global plans. Serving businesses and individuals who move money across several markets and currencies needed sturdier technology and stronger compliance than the platform had.
Leatherback was founded in the UK in 2019. Its platform lets individuals and businesses send, receive, convert and manage money in different currencies from one place, so a company doesn’t have to stitch together several providers to handle cross-border payments. Business customers get global accounts, international collections, global payouts, currency exchange and treasury management.
Foren says its aim is to make it easier for people and businesses to take part in the global economy wherever they’re based. It also admitted the job isn’t finished; there are more products to build and more markets to add, though the company says the foundation is now in better shape.
Zedcrest Group was founded in 2013 and works across investment banking, asset management, securities, financing and fintech. When the acquisition was announced in July, Group Managing Director Adedayo Amzat said the deal reflected the group’s view that technology and global connectivity will shape the future of financial services.
