Zilch Up launches to empower credit invisible customers in the UK

By Gloria Methri

Zilch, the UK-based ad-subsidised payments network, has launched Zilch Up to empower those who are excluded from mainstream credit. The company aims to create access for millions to build their financial profiles safely and without paying any interest.

The new product comes with all the benefits of Zilch’s zero-interest, ad-subsidized borrowing with the ability to improve your credit score, which wasn’t possible before. Starting with credit limits of as little as £50, Zilch Up has all the same features as the classic product with a few important changes designed to suit its target user.

Zilch Up customers have the option to pause credit and still use Zilch as a debit card via the Pay Now option and earn rewards. Or with total control, they can toggle in-app to Credit and pay a first instalment of 50%, with the remaining 50% payable over six weeks. In addition, customers can receive financial support in the form of credit coaching, and the ability to view their credit score in the Zilch app.

The innovative approach gives customers a regulated offering which, in partnership with leading CRAs, means that consumers can improve their credit scores by spending on interest-free credit via BNPL borrowing and enjoy all of the consumer protections they would expect from a regulated product.

Philip Belamant, CEO and co-founder of Zilch said, “For too long millions of people in the UK have had to struggle with limited or no access to credit due to thin and weak files. In a digital finance world, this is causing them the stress and crippling pain of funding unaffordable high-interest costs plus the danger of hard-to-understand late fees, merely to access credit.”

“We want to change this status quo by democratising access to interest-free and affordable credit, advancing the lives of millions of families and individuals in managing and planning their day-to-day financial health. In testing, our new product, Zilch Up, has already lifted over 25,000 customers into mainstream credit and we intend to help many more.”

Thousands more people now have enough detail in their credit records to be deemed to have a valid credit history.