Zopa raises £220 million to build the UK’s best bank for borrowing and savings
Today we’re proud to announce our latest fundraise of £220 million which will drive our next phase of growth. This round of funding, led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, will further support our plan to help even more UK consumers improve their financial health and access great borrowing and saving products. The round is also supported by a number of existing investors including Silverstripe, Northzone, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP and Augmentum.
This is our largest fundraise to date. It is a hugely exciting moment for Zopa and is a clear validation of our vision.
**Our bank journey so far **
Back in 2016, we first announced our plan to launch a fully regulated bank that would provide a different banking proposition for UK consumers. A proposition built on fairness and which provides simple, transparent products.
We were able to build on our 16 year heritage of award-winning loan products in order to develop credit cards and savings which better meet customer needs, and we launched these shortly after getting our bank licence in June 2020. The initial success of these products speaks for itself. Just over a year on from fully launching our bank, we've attracted £675m in deposits for our fixed savings accounts and issued 150,000 British Bank Award-winning credit cards, making us a top 10 credit card issuer.
Our loan products, across both our personal loans and our online Hire Purchase car finance option, continue to grow and be loved by our customers. This year we’ve hit over £6bn in disbursed loans and we’re currently lending over £150m per year in car loans to keep people on the road.
Not only have we focused on bringing new products to our customers, but we’ve worked hard on tools and partnerships to make sure that we are helping customers improve their financial outlook.
Our recent partnership with ClearScore offered a Zopa pre-approved credit card to users who may have previously been declined credit products, while our integration with CreditLadder made it possible for renters with thin files to improve their credit score by reporting their rental payments.
Our Borrowing Power tool now also includes our loans and credit card, meaning that customers can see all of the Zopa credit options available to them alongside specific actions on how to improve their eligibility and APR.
We have also launched utility switching services to help customers save money and increase their disposable income – a key factor in improving credit worthiness.
We are really proud of what we have achieved so far, but there is plenty more to do.
**So, what’s next? **
We are focused on building a sustainable, profitable business model which works for our customers and our shareholders. This is close to becoming a reality as we are on track to hit profitability within the next 10 weeks, making Zopa one of the fastest digital banks in the UK to do so, just 18 months after gaining our full bank licence.
We want to say a massive thank you to all our customers for their support on our journey so far.
We have some exciting new products in the pipeline and we can’t wait to share them with the world soon.
