History
Zopa was launched in the UK in March 2005 as an arranger of peer-to-peer lending, connecting investors with individuals seeking loans. [7] [8] It was founded in Buckinghamshire in 2004 by a team from the internet banking company Egg Banking. [9] [10]
Zopa grew steadily [11] in the years prior to the financial crisis of 2007–2008. It navigated the period with no losses to investors' capital and only a small dip in returns during 2008. [12] [13]
In September 2016, the first portfolio of Zopa loans was securitised on the European markets. [14]
In January 2017, Zopa became the first UK based peer-to-peer lending company to lend more than £2 billion worth of loans. [15] Zopa became fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in May 2017. [16] [17] Following FCA authorisation, and HMRC approval as an Individual Savings Account (ISA) manager, Zopa started offering Innovative Finance ISA products in June 2017. [18]
In November 2016, Zopa announced its intention to apply for a banking licence so it could expand the range of financial products it offers to UK consumers. [19] [20] In August 2018, Zopa obtained £44 million in funding for the launch of its new digital challenger bank. [21] In December 2018 the company was awarded interim banking licences by the UK financial regulators, the FCA and PRA. [22]
Retail banking services – including deposit accounts and a credit card – were launched in June 2020, soon after a full banking licence was awarded. [23] By March 2021, Zopa had attracted around £250m in fixed-term savings accounts and had become a "top ten" credit card issuer. In the same month, the company raised £20m further capital from its existing lenders. [24]
In June 2021, CEO Jaidev Janardana stated that Zopa could be taken public as early as the last quarter of 2022. [25] In October of that year, the company raised $300 million from Softbank Vision Fund and other investors, implying a $1 billion valuation. [26] A further £75m was raised from existing investors, not including Softbank, in early 2023. [27]
In December 2021, Zopa announced it would be winding up the peer-to-peer side of its business, including buying back the existing loans of investors. [28]
In early 2023, Zopa had around 850,000 customers, over £3 billion in deposits and £2 billion on loan. The company indicated that it expected to make a profit over the full year for the first time in its history. [27]
In February 2023, it was announced Zopa had acquired the Newcastle-under-Lyme-headquartered, 'buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) platform DivideBuy. [29]
In December 2024, Zopa raised $87 million in equity at a valuation exceeding $1 billion, prioritizing profitability and growth over an IPO amidst a sluggish tech IPO market. [30]
Products and services
Peer-to-peer lending
Zopa enabled investors to lend to UK consumers through its peer-to-peer lending platform. [31] By 2021, around £6 billion in loans had been processed. [26] Borrowers could take out loans between £1,000 and £25,000. [32] Typically individuals used these to funds to help buy a car, consolidate debts, cover home improvements or weddings. [2]
Investors could choose from four investment products [33] based on their risk and return appetite. Investors' money was split across multiple borrowers. [34] Investors then received monthly repayments of interest and capital, which they could re-lend to compound the interest.
In December 2021, Zopa announced that it would withdraw from peer-to-peer lending [28] with the intent to repay all investors no later than 31 January 2022.
Banking and credit cards
Zopa offers FSCS-protected deposit accounts, personal loans, credit cards, [35] and a money management app which makes use of data made available by the introduction of Open Banking. [36] A current account was launched in March 2025. [37]
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£222M [5] (2023)
