Zopa

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British financial services company

title: "Zopa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["peer-to-peer-lending-companies", "british-companies-established-in-2005", "banks-based-in-the-city-of-london", "banks-of-the-united-kingdom", "online-banks"] description: "British financial services company" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zopa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British financial services company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameZopa Bank Ltd.
logoZopa_Corporate_Logo.svg
typePrivate
foundersRichard Duvall
James Alexander
Giles Andrews
David Nicholson
Tim Parlett
hq_locationLevel 12, 20 Water Street
hq_location_cityCanary Wharf, London
hq_location_countryUnited Kingdom
key_peopleJaidev Janardana (CEO)
industryPersonal financial services
productsP2P lending, retail banking
revenue£303.4 million (2024)
net_income£34.2 million (2024)
foundation
homepage
::

| name = Zopa Bank Ltd. | logo = Zopa_Corporate_Logo.svg | logo_size = | type = Private | founders = Richard Duvall James Alexander Giles Andrews David Nicholson Tim Parlett | hq_location = Level 12, 20 Water Street | hq_location_city = Canary Wharf, London | hq_location_country = United Kingdom | area_served = | key_people = Jaidev Janardana (CEO) | industry = Personal financial services | genre = | products = P2P lending, retail banking | revenue = £303.4 million (2024) | net_income = £34.2 million (2024) | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | subsid = | footnotes = | foundation = | homepage = | dissolved =

Zopa Bank Ltd. () is a British online bank which offers deposit accounts, personal loans and credit cards. It began as the world's first peer-to-peer lending company in 2005 and gained a full banking licence in 2020. The peer-to-peer side of its business closed in December 2021.

History

Zopa was launched in the UK in March 2005 as an arranger of peer-to-peer lending, connecting investors with individuals seeking loans. It was founded in Buckinghamshire in 2004 by a team from the internet banking company Egg Banking.

Zopa grew steadily in the years prior to the 2008 financial crisis. It navigated the period with no losses to investors' capital and only a small dip in returns during 2008.

In September 2016, the first portfolio of Zopa loans was securitised on the European markets.

In January 2017, Zopa became the first UK based peer-to-peer lending company to lend more than £2 billion worth of loans. Zopa became fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in May 2017. Following FCA authorisation, and HMRC approval as an Individual Savings Account (ISA) manager, Zopa started offering Innovative Finance ISA products in June 2017.

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. In August 2018, Zopa obtained £44 million in funding for the launch of its new digital challenger bank. In December 2018 the company was awarded interim banking licences by the UK financial regulators, the FCA and PRA.

Retail banking services – including deposit accounts and a credit card – were launched in June 2020, soon after a full banking licence was awarded. 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.

In June 2021, CEO Jaidev Janardana stated that Zopa could be taken public as early as the last quarter of 2022. In October of that year, the company raised $300million from Softbank Vision Fund and other investors, implying a $1billion valuation. A further £75m was raised from existing investors, not including Softbank, in early 2023.

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.

In early 2023, Zopa had around 850,000 customers, over £3billion in deposits and £2billion on loan. The company indicated that it expected to make a profit over the full year for the first time in its history.

In February 2023, it was announced Zopa had acquired the Newcastle-under-Lyme-headquartered, 'buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) platform DivideBuy.

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.

Products and services

Peer-to-peer lending

Zopa enabled investors to lend to UK consumers through its peer-to-peer lending platform. By 2021, around £6billion in loans had been processed. Borrowers could take out loans between £1,000 and £25,000. Typically individuals used these to funds to help buy a car, consolidate debts, cover home improvements or weddings.

Investors could choose from four investment products based on their risk and return appetite. Investors' money was split across multiple borrowers. 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.

Banking and credit cards

Zopa offers FSCS-protected deposit accounts, personal loans, credit cards, and a money management app which makes use of data made available by the introduction of Open Banking. A current account was launched in March 2025.

Corporate identity

The company's main office is at London Bridge. Since 2017, Zopa also has a development centre in Barcelona, Spain.

The company's name comes from "zone of possible agreement", a negotiating term identifying the bounds within which agreement can be reached between two parties.

References

References

  1. "Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana: Leading UK P2P Lending with Superior Service, Transparency and Cutting-Edge Fintech". [[McGill University]].
  2. (9 June 2014). "A Lift for One of London's Financial Tech Start-Ups". New York Times.
  3. (14 Nov 2024). "Zopa Bank doubles full year profit to £34.2 million".
  4. (5 February 2006). "Where Lender Meets Borrower, Directly". New York Times.
  5. Zopa. (2021-10-15). "Why you should join Zopa: a message from our new Chief People Officer".
  6. Prosser, David. "Happy Birthday Zopa, The Inventor Of P2P". [[Forbes]].
  7. (7 March 2005). "Q&A: Online lending exchange". BBC.
  8. (14 August 2015). "My Money — Giles Andrews, Zopa chief". [[Financial Times]].
  9. (6 September 2007). "Zopa opera".
  10. (19 February 2018). "P2P lending: where will the P2P industry go next? - Verdict".
  11. Ficenec, John. (2015-07-26). "How safe is peer-to-peer lending?". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  12. Jones, Rupert. (2014-02-15). "The major peer-to-peer lenders".
  13. (26 September 2016). "Debut securitisation for Zopa loans". [[Financial Times]].
  14. "Peer-to-peer lender Zopa passes £2 billion loans milestone". Business Insider.
  15. "Zopa gets FCA approval as peer-to-peer lender". [[Financial Times]].
  16. Barber, Lynsey. (2017-05-11). "Zopa just got full approval as a P2P lender from the FCA". [[City A.M.]].
  17. Suter, Laura. (2017-05-26). "Zopa Isa offering up to 6.1pc finally available". The Telegraph.
  18. Hurley, James. (2016-11-17). "Peer-to-peer lender Zopa to launch bank". [[The Times]].
  19. Dunkley, Emma. (16 November 2016). "Peer-to-peer lending pioneer seeks banking licence". [[Financial Times]].
  20. (2018-08-03). "Digital Bank: Zopa Raises £44 Million to Help Fuel Expansion, "Launching Our Bank is a Key Next Step"". Crowdfund Insider.
  21. "Zopa, the UK P2P lending company, secures bank license". [[TechCrunch]].
  22. (2020-06-23). "P2P lender Zopa wins UK banking licence". [[Financial Times]].
  23. Lanyon, Daniel. (22 March 2021). "Zopa raises £20m to expand digital bank, eyes profits".
  24. Finn, Aisling. (29 June 2021). "Zopa is setting its sights on a 2022 IPO".
  25. Lunden, Ingrid. (18 October 2021). "Zopa raises $300M at a $1B valuation to expand its P2P lending and savings neobank in the UK".
  26. Lunden, Ingrid. (2023-02-02). "Zopa, the UK neobank, raises $93M more at a $1B+ valuation".
  27. (7 December 2021). "Zopa exits peer-to-peer lending".
  28. "Zopa acquires BNPL DivideBuy".
  29. (6 December 2024). "Zopa, the UK neobank, snaps up $87M at a $1B+ valuation, eschewing the IPO route".
  30. Lewis, Martin. "Peer to peer lending: boost savings returns? - MSE". MoneySavingExpert.com.
  31. "comparethemarket.com - Zopa loans".
  32. (10 December 2012). "RIT Capital to Take Stake in British Financial Start-Up". [[The New York Times]].
  33. Beioley, Kate. "P2P platform Zopa re-opens to new customers". Financial Times.
  34. (21 June 2016). "Peer-to-peer lending explained - Which?".
  35. "Zopa is 'pretty close to finishing' building its new bank". [[Business Insider]].
  36. "Zopa boss Janardana details plans for customer-centric bank - AltFi Opinion". AltFi.
  37. "Zopa current account". Zopa.
  38. (4 August 2016). "Zopa Relocates: Moves Into New London Bridge Digs". Crowdfund Insider.
  39. (2017-06-07). "Zopa Establishes Development Center in Barcelona". Crowdfund Insider.
  40. Cave, Andrew. (2016-03-05). "Zopa aims for enough growth to stop explaining its name". [[The Daily Telegraph]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

peer-to-peer-lending-companiesbritish-companies-established-in-2005banks-based-in-the-city-of-londonbanks-of-the-united-kingdomonline-banks