Zilch Lands FCA Payments Licence Marking Major Strategic Growth Milestone

Alongside the licence, the UK and EMEA’s fastest-growing fintech unicorn has also deepened its relationship with Visa, becoming a direct, principal member

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Zilch, the consumer payments platform powering the future of commerce, has announced that it has secured a payments services licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), further cementing its position as a trusted leader within the market.

The licensing marks a significant milestone for Zilch, removing the reliance on third-parties and enabling the business to build more payments methods in-house, develop and bring new products to market even faster and innovate quickly as new technologies in the market unfold – such as stablecoins.

It follows two major product launches for Zilch, including Zilch Pay, set to go live in H1 2026, that will capture an increasing share of consumers’ wallets and enhance the customer experience with a one click checkout experience, and Intelligent Commerce, an AI-powered platform that transforms unmatched live engagement data into real-time insights.

The FCA licence turbocharges this already impressive product development ability with direct access to roadmap discussions, early testing of new products and deeper commercial partnerships, setting the business up to continue pioneering the future of the payments industry.

“This is a major step change for Zilch, bringing us firmly into the payments tent and giving us a true seat at the table to shape the ecosystem,” said Philip Belamant, Co-Founder and CEO of Zilch. “It opens the door to new opportunities, setting us up to move even faster, more efficiently and cost-effectively. In just five years, we’ve amassed over 5.3 million users and thousands of retail partners based on the strength of our proposition and product. Now with our licence, we are even better positioned to develop this further and take advantage of new innovations as they mature to support the next phase of our rapid expansion.”

FCA licences have become increasingly difficult to secure, raising the bar for payments firms to ensure only the highest standards are met. Amidst this landscape, Zilch was subject to even greater scrutiny – similar to that of a new bank – with the successful application serving as strong testament to its regulatory credibility and operational governance.

In parallel, Zilch has also secured Principal Membership of Visa for the first time, reinforcing its collaborative relationship. Zilch and Visa intend to explore new opportunities to collaborate together on payments, leveraging technologies such as agentic commerce.

“We’re excited to continue supporting Zilch’s growth to bring new, cutting-edge solutions to the UK market,” said Mark Berry, Head of UK Clients at Visa. “Working together, we can deliver smarter ways to pay and be paid for people and businesses across the UK at scale.”

The news follows a momentous few months for Zilch, having raised over USD $175 million in debt and equity, including the expansion of its securitization led by Deutsche Bank, and also becoming the Official Way to Pay for Arsenal Football Club.

About Zilch.

Zilch is the London-headquartered consumer payments platform making money go further. Launched in 2020 with a mission to eliminate high-cost credit, Zilch offers a new type of payments experience combining flexible ways to pay with meaningful rewards, putting consumers in control of their finances while bringing them closer to the brands they love.

With over 5 million registered customers, Zilch uses its technology to connect its highly engaged user base with retailers and brands helping them acquire customers more efficiently whilst delivering consumers personalised rewards, benefits and discounts. Backed by leading global firms including AWS, Deutsche Bank and Visa, the business has rapidly scaled to become the UK and EMEA’s fastest-growing fintech unicorn, harnessing the power of credit, AI technology and data to improve financial outcomes for consumers and drive growth through rewiring the economics of global commerce.

Learn more at www.zilch.com.