London-based fintech group Zilch will launch its first-ever physical payment card in a new partnership with Visa.
The provider of advertising-subsidised buy now, pay later services will work with Visa to develop new financial products as it looks to capture a greater share of customer wallet spend.
Zilch, which recently surpassed five million customers, will offer a physical card to its existing customers in the hopes of cementing its service as part of users’ routines.
The company said that by expanding its offering beyond the existing digital card, customers can use their Zilch cards for key transactions like hotel check-in and car rentals.
“Today’s announcement is about scaling reach, deepening utility, and setting the stage for the next era of Zilch,” said co-founder and chief executive Philip Belamant.
“This move will allow us to fully deploy our ad-enabled payments technology across both digital and physical retail, bringing measurable savings to consumers and margin efficiencies to merchants.”
According to figures cited by the company, as much as 80% of the British adult population does not use digital wallets, still relying on physical currency and cards.
“This move is Zilch executing its model at scale – removing cost from payments, increasing behavioural intelligence, and converting that into enduring value for both users and the ecosystem,” Belamant added.
Fintechs are shaping the future of commerce and we’re proud to support UK unicorns such as Zilch with their growth ambitions as they provide innovative services to consumers and businesses, while driving financial inclusion through their core offering,” said Visa’s UK and Ireland managing director Mandy Lamb.
Zilch hit its first-ever month of operating profit in September last year but recently paused plans for a major US expansion to focus on profitable growth in the UK.