Zopa Bank, previously Zopa the P2P or Marketplace lender, is now profitable according to a note from the company. The news arrives 21 months after Zopa was approved to operate as a digital bank in the UK. Zopa did not provide details as to how profitable the operation is, at least not yet.
Zopa expects to remain profitable going forward so this is not just a quarter or month of operating in the black.
Zopa explains that the last 12 months have been good for the Fintech as they have exceeded their targets across new and existing products while raising $300 million in a funding round led by Softbank
To date, Zopa Bank has garnered over £1 billion in deposits, more than £1 billion in loans held on the balance sheet, while issuing over 250,000 credit cards to its customers. Zopa Bank claims to be a top five card issuer in the UK.
Zopa reports that their fixed-term savings account holds £1 billion in customer savings and their recently launched “Smart Saver” savings account (available in February) has captured 10,000+ customers and £8 million in deposits in about a month.
In February we launched the Smart Saver, a “hybrid” savings account (easy access / notice) to help young users at the beginning of the saving journeys better save in a post-pandemic world – it attracted 10k customers and £8m deposits in less than a month. Zopa anticipates that it will end 2022 with a balance sheet of around £2 billion while doubling top-line revenue.
Later this year, Zopa states that is will offer a buy now – pay later (BNPL) service as well.
Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa bank has issued the following comment on Zopa becoming profitable:
“The past year has been a highly successful one for Zopa as we’ve exceeded our targets across new and existing products and raised $300 million led by Softbank to fuel our accelerated growth. Hitting profitability in just 21 months is a testament to our unique model that meets customer needs by focusing on how they borrow and save – the two things with the most impact on finances. Today’s news makes Zopa one of the fastest digital banks to achieve profitability ever and reinforces our thesis on the importance of sustainable growth as a catalyst for accelerated product and market expansion.”
So what is next for Zopa? Will it list on the London Stock Exchange? Will it cross the channel to offer services in Europe? All of the above? Probably.
Zopa Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority