Zilch, the London-headquartered consumer payments platform and fintech unicorn, has raised over $176.7million in a new debt and equity funding round. The round was led by KKCG, with participation from BNF Capital and several other strategic investors. The raise also includes an expansion of Zilch’s securitisation facility led by Deutsche Bank.
The funding positions the company for its next phase of growth as it scales two major new products: ‘Intelligent Commerce’, an AI-powered platform for retailer insights, and ‘Zilch Pay’, its upcoming one-click checkout solution.
The new capital will be invested in driving brand visibility through increased marketing spend, further product development and platform enhancement, and exploring strategic M&A opportunities.
Funding follows major AI product launch
The successful raise comes on the heels of Zilch launching ‘Intelligent Commerce’, an AI-powered platform that transforms live engagement data into real-time insights for merchants. The company states this new tool is a response to the fast-evolving ‘Agentic Commerce’ landscape and has already become one of its fastest-growing revenue streams.
This will be followed by the launch of ‘Zilch Pay’ in the first half of 2026, a one-click checkout experience designed to enhance the customer experience and capture a larger share of consumer spending.
Philip Belamant, chief executive officer and co-founder of Zilch, commented: “In just five years, we have rewired the relationship between brands and their customers, offering a different way to pay that brings mass benefits to both consumers and merchants. This funding reflects strong confidence in our team, strategy and execution, enabling us to continue scaling at pace.”
Belamant highlighted the difficulty of the current fundraising market, adding: “Our newly launched products are already driving outsized growth, and with the support of a world-class group of debt and equity investors, we’re well positioned for the next phase of expansion. In a market where many have found raising capital difficult, the network and strategic leadership of my co-founder, Sean O’Connor, have been instrumental in helping us achieve this outcome and we are excited for the year ahead.”
Investor confidence in a challenging market
Since its launch in 2020, Zilch has acquired over 5.3 million customers, who use the platform almost 60 times a year on average. The platform connects these users to thousands of retailers, including Amazon, eBay, Tesco, and Sports Direct, and has processed over £5billion of commerce.
Zilch’s ability to attract significant capital in a selective market was noted by its leadership as a testament to its strong fundamentals and diversified revenues.
Hugh Courtney, chief financial officer at Zilch, said: “Our ability to attract world-class investors at a time when many remain highly selective in their capital deployment is testament to the strength of the business we are building. Future-proof innovation, diversified revenue streams and a highly engaged customer base are all critical factors in our rapid growth and we look forward to working with our shareholders to build on these successes, eliminate high-cost credit and rewire the economics of commerce.”
Lead investor KKCG echoed this confidence. Karel Komarek Jr., chief financial officer of KKCG US Advisory, commented: “KKCG is all about finding new solutions in established industries and creating sustainable value. Zilch’s impressive track record demonstrates that its approach to using technology to challenge the status quo and re-engineer the credit landscape delivers exceptional value for consumers and businesses. We’re looking forward to being part of this exciting next stage of their journey.”
