LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2025--
Today, Zilch, the consumer payments platform powering the future of commerce, has announced that it has secured a payments services licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), further cementing its position as a trusted leader within the market.
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The licensing marks a significant milestone for Zilch, removing the reliance on third-parties and enabling the business to build more payments methods in-house, develop and bring new products to market even faster and innovate quickly as new technologies in the market unfold – such as stablecoins.
It follows two major product launches for Zilch, including Zilch Pay, set to go live in H1 2026, that will capture an increasing share of consumers’ wallets and enhance the customer experience with a one click checkout experience, and Intelligent Commerce, an AI-powered platform that transforms unmatched live engagement data into real-time insights.
The FCA licence turbocharges this already impressive product development ability with direct access to roadmap discussions, early testing of new products and deeper commercial partnerships, setting the business up to continue pioneering the future of the payments industry.
“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.”
FCA licences have become increasingly difficult to secure, raising the bar for payments firms to ensure only the highest standards are met. 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.
In parallel, Zilch has also secured Principal Membership of Visa for the first time, reinforcing its collaborative relationship. Zilch and Visa intend to explore new opportunities to collaborate together on payments, leveraging technologies such as 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.”
The news follows a momentous few months for Zilch, having raised over USD $175 million in debt and equity, including the expansion of its securitization led by Deutsche Bank, and also becoming the Official Way to Pay for Arsenal Football Club.
About Zilch.
Zilch is the London-headquartered consumer payments platform making money go further. Launched in 2020 with a mission to eliminate high-cost credit, Zilch offers a new type of payments experience combining flexible ways to pay with meaningful rewards, putting consumers in control of their finances while bringing them closer to the brands they love.
With over 5 million registered customers, Zilch uses its technology to connect its highly engaged user base with retailers and brands helping them acquire customers more efficiently whilst delivering consumers personalised rewards, benefits and discounts. Backed by leading global firms including AWS, Deutsche Bank and Visa, the business has rapidly scaled to become the UK and EMEA’s fastest-growing fintech unicorn, harnessing the power of credit, AI technology and data to improve financial outcomes for consumers and drive growth through rewiring the economics of global commerce.
Learn more at www.zilch.com.
Zilch lands FCA payments licence
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — Tens of thousands of residents in western Washington could face evacuation orders when another round of heavy rain drops on the region Thursday, threatening to bring catastrophic flooding as rivers near historic levels.
Days of seemingly unrelenting heavy rain had already triggered rescues and road closures, and by Wednesday, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency, warning that "lives will be at stake in the coming days.” Some residents have already been ordered to higher ground, with Skagit County, a major agricultural region north of Seattle, ordering those within the Skagit River’s floodplain to evacuate.
“Catastrophic flooding is likely” in many areas and the state is requesting water rescue teams and boats, Ferguson said on the social media platform X on Wednesday night
Hundreds of Guard members will be sent to help communities, said Gent Welsh, adjutant general of the Washington National Guard.
In a valley leading out to the foothills of Mount Rainier southeast of Seattle, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday rescued people at an RV park in Orting, including helping one man in a Santa hat wade through waist-deep water. Part of the town was ordered to evacuate over concerns about the Puyallup River’s extremely high levels and upstream levees.
A landslide blocked part of Interstate 90 east of Seattle, with photos from Eastside Fire & Rescue showing vehicles trapped by tree trunks, branches, mud and standing water. Officials also closed a mountainous section of U.S. 2 due to rocks, trees and mud.
More than 17,000 customers in Washington had lost electricity by Wednesday night, according to PowerOutage.us.
The Skagit River is expected to crest at roughly 47 feet (14.3 meters) in the mountain town of Concrete early Thursday, and roughly 41 feet (12 meters) in Mount Vernon early Friday.
“We feel very confident that we can handle a ‘normal flood,’ but no one really knows what a 41, 42 foot river looks like south of Mount Vernon," Darrin Morrison, a commissioner for Dike District 3 in Skagit County, said during a public meeting Wednesday night.
The county was closing non-essential government services on Thursday, including all district and superior court services.
Flooding from the river has long plagued Mount Vernon, the largest city in the county with some 35,000 residents. Flooding in 2003 displaced hundreds of people.
The city completed a floodwall in 2018 that helps protect the downtown. It passed a major test in 2021, when the river crested near record levels.
But the city is on high alert. The historic river levels expected Friday could top the wall, and some are worried that older levees could fail.
“It could potentially be catastrophic,” said Ellen Gamson, executive director of the Mount Vernon Downtown Association.
Jake Lambly added sandbags, tested water pumps and moved valuables to the top floor of the home he shares with his 19-year-old son.
“This is my only asset,” he said Wednesday from his front porch. “I got nothing else.”
Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the weather service in Seattle, described the atmospheric river soaking the region as “a jet stream of moisture” stretching across the Pacific Ocean “with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington.”
In Sumas, a small city along the U.S.-Canada border, a flood siren rang out at city hall and residents were told to leave. The border crossing was also closed to southbound commercial vehicles to leave more room for evacuations, according to the Abbotsford Police Department.
Climate change has been linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say that without specific study they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate change, but in general it’s responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.
Another storm system is expected to bring more rain starting Sunday.
“The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays," Rademacher said.
Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson and Hallie Golden in Seattle; Martha Bellisle in Issaquah, Washington; Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
A flag ripples in the wind as snow falls in Lowville, New York, on Tuesday night, Dec. 9, 2025. The area faces a winter storm warning through Thursday. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)
Rescue workers with Chehalis Fire venture into a flooded neighborhood to pick up evacuees after heavy rains, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Chehalis, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A man checks on a car caught in flooding after heavy rains Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Napavine, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
