ZILCH
CREDIT: ZILCH
DIGITAL BANKING
When Philip Belamant launched Zilch in 2020, a venture capital firm had just reneged on a term sheet and the co-founders were forced to fund the business themselves. Five years later, that same company has secured a payments services licence from the UK’ s Financial Conduct Authority and become a principal member of Visa, removing its reliance on third-party payment service providers and enabling the London-based firm to develop payment methods internally.
The licence grants Zilch direct access to regulatory roadmap discussions and early testing opportunities for new products, placing it at the centre of conversations about emerging payment technologies including stablecoins.
The company, which reached quarterly profitability in July 2024, is now preparing to launch two products that Philip describes as transforming the business. Zilch has built its business around an ad-subsidised payments network that combines advertising revenue with payment processing, accumulating over five million registered customers while offering consumers flexible payment options without relying solely on fees.
ZILCH
HEADQUARTERS: LONDON NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 201-500