Zopa

UK-based Zopa offers savings accounts, credit cards, loans, and investment services to customers via an online platform, and operates under its own license which it received in June 2020. Savings accounts require a minimum deposit of GBP 1,000 and can be deposited for a period of one to five years. The company initially started as a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, although its P2P offering was subsequently shut down in December 2021.

The company also offers “hybrid” savings accounts (introduced in February 2022), targeting younger age groups, allowing them to manage both easy access and fixed-rate accounts from a single dashboard. Customers who choose to lock their money for a longer period are given the opportunity to increase their rates up to 1.05% annual equivalent rate (AER) in the mobile-only Smart Saver account. It also offers a Smart Individual Savings Account (ISA; introduced in June 2023) that allows users to save up to GBP 200,000 without being taxed. Additionally, users can split their allowance among 20 different savings pots, allowing them to divide their savings between immediate “easy access” pots and “fixed term” pots.

The company ventured into the point-of-sale financing solution market with the acquisition of DivideBuy, a buy-now-pay-later provider in February 2023. It will provide financing to customers for purchases between GBP 250 to GBP 30,000 (~USD 300 to USD 36,000). The acquisition is expected to increase Zopa’s revenue by ~20% over the next few years, and it will also benefit from the integration of DivideBuy’s underwriting capabilities, regulatory approvals, and funding.

Key customers and partnerships

As of February 2023, Zopa had over 850,000 customers.

Funding and financials

Zopa raised GBP 75 million (~USD 93 million) in an all-equity investment round at a valuation above USD 1 billion in February 2023. The round saw participation from existing investors such as Uprising and Augmentum, while notable investor Softbank did not participate.. Furthermore, it secured an additional GBP 75 million (~USD 93 million) in Tier-2 capital led by IAG SilverStripe in September 2023. The company planned to use the fresh funds to strengthen its finances, develop new products, and fuel its growth including exploring suitable acquisitions.

The company reported to have surpassed GBP 3 billion in savings deposits, GBP 2 billion in loans, and issued 400,000 credit cards as of February 2023. Furthermore, it claimed to be on track to be profitable for the first time since its inception in 2023.