UK fintech startup Stoa has launched its new ‘Stoa Pots’, offering consumers a new model for their savings. Instead of earning traditional interest rates, the platform turns savings deposits into free subscriptions and one-off lifestyle perks, such as Netflix, Strava, Apple devices, and flights.
Stoa is positioning its model as a “third destination for money,” creating a new option that is distinct from the traditional choices of spending or investing.
Tackling an “outdated” savings market
Stoa is launching into a UK savings market that it describes as “vast but outdated.” The company cites recent research showing that UK savers are sitting on more than £614billion in “spare cash” – a figure that has grown by a third since 2022.
This highlights a significant consumer preference for holding cash rather than investing, which the company attributes to risk aversion, lack of knowledge, inertia, or fear driven by inflation and recession. With around 15 million adults now holding excess cash, Stoa argues there is a clear lack of innovation and choice in the current system.
The company noted that in 2024, deposits in UK savings accounts exceeded £2trillion, yet most options for everyday savers remain limited to traditional accounts, ISAs, or fixed-term products that deliver modest, often-taxed returns which rarely beat inflation.
A “healthier alternative” to BNPL
Stoa is positioning its “save, we pay” model as a direct and “healthier alternative” to the credit-fuelled ‘buy-now, pay-later’ (BNPL) boom.
“BNPL makes you buy things you don’t need with the money you don’t have,” said Mike Saraswat, co-founder and chief executive officer of Stoa. “Stoa is the opposite. Our message is simple: you save, we pay. By turning savings into instant lifestyle rewards – from FT and Third Space to private club memberships and NordVPN – we’re making financial discipline feel as good as spending, but without the debt hangover.”
The platform works by having users deposit money into a ‘Stoa Pot’, which in turn immediately unlocks rewards. These rewards can be ongoing subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify, or Strava, or one-off perks such as flights, Amazon vouchers, Waitrose shopping, or Apple devices. The goal is to make the act of saving as “satisfying as spending.”
A “middle technology layer” for the savings ecosystem
Sam Goodenough, co-founder and chief technology officer of Stoa, described the concept as creating a “third destination” for consumers’ money.
“For years, UK consumers have only had two destinations for their money: spend it, or invest it,” said Goodenough. “But not everyone wants to invest, and spending – often fuelled by overconsumption — can create regret. Stoa creates a third destination: a place where savings are safe, measurable and instantly rewarding.”
Fundamentally, the Stoa platform is a smart “middle technology layer” designed to sit within the savings ecosystem, working with banks, building societies, merchants, and end customers. By connecting deposits directly to rewards, Stoa aims to enable financial institutions to engage customers in new ways, while simultaneously helping merchants acquire and retain those customers more effectively.
Guy Pantall, head of financial product architecture at Stoa, added: “As rates and consumer behaviour evolve, cash management needs to evolve too. The challenge is to make cash work harder without pushing people into investments they don’t want or debt they can’t afford. Stoa creates innovative ways for consumers and institutions alike to turn cash into real value — instantly and responsibly.”
Stoa was founded in 2022 with a mission to “make your savings power your lifestyle” by rewarding financial stability instead of debt.