Zopa will tap into the tech ecosystem in Manchester through a regional office that could eventually house 500 staff. The announcement comes days after the launch of the challenger bank’s current account, known as Biscuit.
Zopa currently has around 900 staff, mainly based in London, a third of whom are technologists, including engineers and data scientists. The central Manchester centre will immediately add 50 people to its ranks, including software engineers.
The bank said the location of the new office, which could open as early as next month, was selected due to the Manchester’s “thriving tech ecosystem, strong financial services presence and deep talent pool”.
Iain Kendrick, chief people officer at Zopa, said the bank wants to be closer to customers and talent: “With more than 85% of our customers based outside the capital, expanding into Manchester allows us to be closer to our diverse, nationwide customer base, access new talent and accelerate our ambitious growth journey.”
The city has a strategy to attract businesses in the digital sector, including banks. Manchester council leader Bev Craig said that Zopa will have access to “an active and ever-growing digital and tech community” built to “support organisations to thrive”.
Zopa bank has 1.5 million customers using its savings and loans products. It had a revenue of just over £300m in its last financial year, which grew about 30% last year. Its profit doubled to just under £35m during the same period, and it currently holds over £5bn in deposits.
The new current account, Biscuit, can be opened in minutes, with virtual cards instantly available.
During a recent interview, Zopa boss Jaidev Janardana said the existing products alone could give the company a similar “growth trajectory” to last year. “We want to do more with our customers, very specifically day-to-day banking,” he said.
Zopa’s beta version of the current account has been available to existing customers since September 2024 and was used by 60,000 people.
Tech drives firm
The company’s tech expertise and adaptability have enabled it to quickly build a current account offering. The current account comes at a time when challenger finance firms are beginning to make inroads into the market domination of traditional banks. A current account is a means of building a wider relationship with customers, who have tended to regard challenger banks as a secondary finance provider.
It came 20 years after the company pioneered fintech through its peer-to-peer lending business, which it shuttered in 2021, and five years after reinventing itself as a bank.
Following the full launch of the current account, Janardana said: “Stepping into everyday banking is a natural next step in Zopa’s mission to build the Home of Money for its customers.”
It was 2016 when Zopa first announced its plan to become a bank, due to what it described as a loss of trust in the fintech segment as well as increasing costs. By December 2018, it had gained a UK banking licence with restrictions and, after receiving a full licence, it launched in 2020 with its first product, which was a savings account that could be set up in seven minutes.