UK and EMEA’s fastest-growing fintech unicorn adds open banking to its repayment options, enabling smarter, more flexible payment journeys for its 5 million+ customers

Zilch, the consumer payments platform powering the future of commerce, today announced it has partnered with Plaid to integrate open banking into the heart of its repayment experience. Together, the companies will unlock new, streamlined ways to repay for its 5 million+ customers.

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Zilch partners with Plaid to enable open banking repayments

Zilch customers will now be able to use the Pay by Bank method for one-off repayments, allowing them to repay directly from their bank account with just a few taps. The news comes as open banking usage hits 15 million users, nearly one in three UK adults, marking its fastest growth yet and highlighting increasing customer uptake.

Zilch is also leveraging Plaid’s Virtual Account capabilities to further strengthen its payment operations. Improved settlement tracking and built-in refund functionality will enable Zilch to deliver an even smoother customer experience, while simplifying reconciliation and reducing overheads.

As Zilch continues to scale, open banking is key to delivering on its mission to make payments smarter, simpler and more affordable. Plaid provides secure, reliable connectivity to over 12,000 institutions globally and has deep expertise across 18 European markets, paving the way for Zilch to deliver additional, highly scalable repayment innovations in the future.

Joe Zender, Chief Product Officer at Zilch, said: “We are building a consumer payments platform that drives the future of commerce, and central to this is providing flexible ways to pay. Integrating with Plaid is an important step that allows us to continue to deliver on this, enabling flexible, low-cost repayment options at scale, all while simplifying the experience behind the scenes. This latest announcement is further evidence of how we are evolving to meet the needs of our customers and offer a product that is transparent, cost-efficient and tailored to their needs.”

Zak Lambert, Head of European Products, Plaid said: “Pay by Bank is reshaping the future of payments across Europe. By combining Plaid’s secure, real-time connectivity with Zilch’s customer-first approach, we’re showing how open finance can deliver better outcomes for both consumers and businesses.”

The partnership follows the recent announcement of Zilch Pay. Set to be released in H1 2026, the innovative one-click button will see Zilch available for brands at checkout, connecting its app, digital wallet and card and allowing consumers to purchase products even more seamlessly, enhancing their shopping experience.

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. With a valuation of $2 billion and backed by leading global partners 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.

About Plaid

Plaid is a data network that serves as the analytics layer for financial services. Plaid's data analytics solutions deliver faster, safer onboarding, credit decisioning, payments, and anti-fraud. Plaid works with thousands of companies, including fintechs, Fortune 500 companies, and many of the largest banks to empower people with more choice and control over how they manage their money. Headquartered in San Francisco, Plaid’s network spans over 12,000 institutions across the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Europe. To learn more, please visit plaid.com.

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