UK Digital Bank Zopa Raises $85 Million for Expansion and GenAI
British digital bank Zopa has raised 80 million euros (about $85 million) in an equity funding round to accelerate its growth and launch new products.
The bank expects to double its profits and increase its annual revenue by 35% in 2024 and is set to launch a flagship current account in 2025, Zopa said in a Friday (Dec. 6) press release emailed to PYMNTS.
With its strong business performance, Zopa also sees opportunities for “imminent market expansion, acquisitions and [a] major [generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)] push,” the release said.
“We are thrilled to have investors who share our excitement at the opportunity to serve more customers across more product categories as we aim to become the go-to bank for millions of consumers,” Zopa Bank CEO Jaidev Janardana said in the release.
Launched in 2020, Zopa holds a full banking license and has 5 billion pounds (about $6.4 billion) in deposits and 3 billion pounds (about $3.8 billion) in loans on its balance sheet, according to the release.
The bank’s latest funding round was led by A.P. Moller Holding, per the release.
“Zopa’s remarkable customer centricity enables it to deliver lasting value and positive impact in the financial lives of millions of U.K. consumers,” Chetan Mehta, head of growth equity at A.P. Moller Holding, said in the release. “Today’s investment also reflects our confidence in Zopa’s robust and profitable business model that aligns with our commitment to sustainable, long-term growth.”
The bank announced a partnership with John Lewis Money in October, saying that it allows Zopa to offer personal loans directly to that company’s 23 million customers. Consumers can access Zopa personal loans through the John Lewis Money website, get a personalized loan quote in three minutes and, once their loan has been approved, access their money within two hours.
In May, Zopa entered the U.K.’s renewable energy market by partnering with electricity supplier Octopus Energy. In this partnership, Zopa offers its suite of buy now, pay later (BNPL) and retail finance products to Octopus Energy’s customers across the U.K., financing products like solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
Zopa made its first-ever acquisition in February 2023 when it bought BNPL firm DivideBuy. The bank said at the time that its BNPL lending will only offer affordable credit by “running credit checks and affordability assessments for all customers.”
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