The license, handed down by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), means that Zilch will no longer need to rely on third parties and can now begin to build more payment methods in-house, the company said in a Thursday (Dec. 11) news release.
“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,” Zilch Co-founder and CEO Philip Belamant said in the release. “It opens the door to new opportunities, setting us up to move even faster, more efficiently and cost-effectively.”
The release notes that the license comes in the wake of two major product launches for Zilch: Zilch Pay, set to go live in the first half of next year, and Intelligence Commerce, the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform that turns “live engagement data into real-time insights,” created in response to the rise of agentic commerce.
Zilch added that FCA licenses have become increasingly harder to acquire, requiring payments firms to up their standards.
“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,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Zilch says it has also for the first time secured Principal Membership of Visa for the first time, with the two companies planning to look for ways to collaborate on payments, employing technologies like 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.”
Launched in 2020, Zilch’s offerings include virtual and physical credit cards as well as buy now, pay later (BNPL) products, connecting users to retailers such as Amazon, eBay and U.K.-based supermarket chain Tesco and letting them earn rewards.
Last month, the company raised $175 million in debt and equity, funding that Zilch said it would use for marketing efforts, product development and improvement to Zilch’s platform, along with allowing the company to weigh merger and acquisition possibilities.