The Zilch Fjord Bank acquisition, agreed earlier this year for a sum that sources put at $38m, gives the British fintech a full European banking licence and its clearest break yet from the buy now, pay later identity it has spent years trying to move beyond.
Fjord Bank held approximately $120m in assets at the time of signing, according to FinTech Futures. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals from both the Bank of Lithuania and the European Central Bank (ECB), which jointly authorise the Lithuanian challenger bank.
How the Zilch Fjord Bank Acquisition Reshapes Its European Footprint
Zilch intends to use Vilnius as its operational and regulatory hub for expansion across Europe, per FinTech Futures. Norwegian internet company Opera had previously held a stake in Fjord Bank and divested it in 2024, clearing the path for the sale.
Founder Philip Belamant described the deal as ‘expressly not about banking,’ positioning it instead as laying the foundations to move ‘at pace with the corporate finance strategy.’ Zilch serves over 5.5 million customers and used the deal to cement a broader rebrand as a payments platform.
In October, the firm hosted the inaugural ‘Zilch Summit’, where fitness entrepreneur Joe Wicks delivered a keynote on brand-building and Laura Whitmore played a DJ set, as the company reintroduced itself to UK retailers and partners.
The push to distance Zilch from its BNPL roots comes as the sector faces increased regulatory pressure. The firm secured a consumer credit licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2020 and launched its pay-over-six-weeks model the same year, ahead of most peers. Despite that, a former senior insider described years of boardroom fixation on Swedish rival Klarna as ‘Klarna tourettes.’
Revenue Crosses £100m as IPO Expectations Build
The repositioning arrives on the back of strong trading. Zilch’s revenue crossed £100m for the first time in its latest financial year, a 93% year-on-year increase. Its annual report for the year to 31 March 2024 recorded revenue of £57.135m. Gross merchandise value grew by three-quarters to just shy of £2bn.
Accounts for the year to 31 March 2025 were filed with Companies House on 17 November 2025. In June, Deloitte named the firm the fastest-growing fintech unicorn in Europe for the second consecutive year. Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Deutsche Bank, eBay Ventures and the venture capital arm of the Daily Mail have all backed the business.
That track record has fuelled London float speculation. A source close to Zilch said it could list as early as end-2026 or into 2027, though geopolitical disruption has weighed on the timetable. Treasury and London Stock Exchange officials have held active courtship discussions with the firm.
Belamant, the Unicorn Council and a Seat at the Table
Belamant and chief business officer Ryan Mendy were ‘catalytic’ in co-founding the UK’s Unicorn Council, a $150bn assembly of fintech chiefs, according to one member. One Zilch insider said the council gave the firm ‘as much of a seat at the table as the likes of Monzo and Revolut’ despite being ‘a much smaller and much newer business.’
The firm also convened its own roundtable attended by FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi, focused on accelerating regulatory progress to strengthen the UK’s standing in fintech. One industry source praised Zilch as ‘one of the few industry companies that will say the quiet part out loud,’ adding it helps as ‘a bit of a fintech North Star.’
Belamant’s conditions for a London listing have been consistent. In 2024 he said the firm was waiting to see ‘pension funds investing in high-growth British companies’ and ‘incentives for retail investors to buy and hold British stocks.’ He added: ‘If this all happens, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want to list on the LSE… if it doesn’t happen then we have to take the appropriate decision and that might be to go somewhere else.’
Klarna’s NYSE Stumble Gives Zilch Its Cue
Klarna listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker KLAR after redomiciling to the UK from Sweden, according to Investopedia. The snippet sourced to this article referred to Nasdaq; Investopedia, citing the SEC registration, records NYSE. Its stock has shed over 50% since the September listing, cutting the Swedish firm’s valuation to $7.6bn from $15bn.
One Zilch insider said: ‘Post the IPO, the view was that if we’re pegging ourselves too closely to Klarna, then we’re not going to achieve the target valuation.’ A conclusion followed: ‘We can’t continue down this narrative.’
A Zilch spokesperson said the company was ‘committed’ to its mission of transforming consumer credit and was continuing to expand into Europe. Whether a London IPO comes at the end of 2026 or slips to 2027 will rest in part on whether Belamant’s lobbying on pension fund reform and retail investor incentives delivers concrete policy change before the window closes.
