Zilch lands FCA payments licence

Zilch has secured a payments services licence from UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, allowing the company to build more payments methods in-house and reduce reliance on third-party providers.

The 'buy-now-pay-later' fintech said, in a statement, the licence will speed product development, enable earlier testing and deeper commercial partnerships, and support new technologies such as stablecoins.

It added that the move follows two major product announcements, including Zilch Pay, set to go live in H1 2026, and Intelligent Commerce, an AI-powered platform.

“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.”

The company said its FCA application faced heightened scrutiny similar to that of a new bank and that it has also secured Principal Membership of Visa.

“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.

Zilch recently raised over $175 million in debt and equity, expanded a securitisation led by Deutsche Bank, and became the 'Official Way to Pay' for Arsenal Football Club.

The Recap

• Secured an FCA payments services licence.
• Deepened payments collaboration with Visa.
• Zilch Pay is set to go live in H1 2026.