NALA Names Ashraf Aly Global Head of Compliance and Risk

In Short

NALA has appointed Ashraf Aly as Global Head of Compliance and Risk.

Aly will lead compliance and risk across the NALA app and Rafiki, NALA’s stablecoin payments infrastructure for banks and enterprises.

What Happened: Ashraf Aly Joins NALA To Lead Compliance

NALA says Aly has more than 15 years of experience building compliance for regulated financial businesses.

Most recently, Aly was Group Head of Compliance at TerraPay, a cross-border payments network that settles with banks and mobile wallets in 158 countries. NALA says he spearheaded TerraPay’s monitoring and screening platform, TerraPay Lens.

Before TerraPay, NALA says Aly was Director of Compliance at Careem. He also spent four years at iwoca as Head of Compliance, MLRO and DPO. NALA notes that as MLRO, he held personal regulatory accountability for the firm’s anti-money laundering controls.

Earlier in his career, NALA says Aly worked in PwC’s Financial Services Regulatory Practice and at the Financial Ombudsman Service. He also worked at RateSetter, began his career at Lloyds TSB, and trained in law.

At NALA, Aly will own the company’s global compliance strategy across anti money laundering, sanctions, consumer protection, licensing and financial crime. NALA says he will lead compliance officers across the UK, EU, US and Canada, and run its enterprise risk framework, reporting to founder and CEO Benjamin Fernandes.

Why It Matters: Stablecoin Rules And Enterprise Trust

NALA says stablecoins, crypto tokens designed to hold a steady value, are becoming a settlement layer for cross-border payments. It also says new rules for stablecoins are arriving in the US, the UK and Europe.

Benjamin Fernandes said banks and enterprises “need that done to the highest standard,” and that Aly “knows how to help a business scale without cutting corners.”

Aly said stablecoins “only work when banks, partners and regulators can trust every transaction,” and that he is joining to “build a compliance function that lets NALA grow fast and grow safely.”