- Zilch charges ahead with enhanced AI capabilities via AWS

- Zilch’s total GMV now over $3 billion, 50% of which was generated in the last 12 months

LONDON: Zilch, the world’s first ad-subsidised payments network (ASPN), today announced its latest milestone: surpassing 4 million registered customers within just 44 months of launch.

"In less than four years, we’ve transformed how millions experience, engage and - most importantly - are rewarded with their daily payments, generating our customers over $500 million in savings and counting," said Philip Belamant, CEO and co-founder of Zilch.

Zilch currently adds over 100,000 new customers each month and now around 12% of the UK’s 33 million adult working population has a Zilch account. Since its launch, the platform has created over $3 billion in commerce, or Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), for retailers, with over half of this GMV generated in just the last 12 months, reflecting an accelerating pace in its rapidly growing business activities.

Zilch customers today interact with the platform 10-15 times more frequently than users of peers. This high customer frequency not only drives Zilch’s continuous growth but also attracts an increasing number of retailers to the platform, who are eager to connect through data-led ad targeting with Zilch’s hyper-engaged and growing user base. Through Zilch’s ASPN services, any of the c.37 million retailers on Mastercard can offer attractive contextualised deals and discounts on everyday purchases the customer makes, online or in-store via tap-and-pay. This virtuous cycle of value draws more consumers to use Zilch’s array of features, all of which are subsidised by retailers’ advertising spend.

Years of high recurring transaction activity with Zilch’s now 4-million-strong customer base have given the company a uniquely rich data set to train and optimise its AI engine. Following the recent enhancement of its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Zilch continues to push the boundaries of innovation in Artificial Intelligence across its business operations. Leveraging AWS's powerful machine learning (SageMaker) and GenAI (Bedrock) services, Zilch has unlocked its deep lake of customer behavioural data. In April, AWS invited Zilch’s CEO to present the opening keynote at its annual AWS Summit, where he announced that, over the past year, these technologies have enabled the company to further develop and deploy sophisticated AI tools that have advanced credit underwriting, fraud prevention and customer servicing.

Belamant added: "Our advanced use of GenAI and machine learning, backed by AWS’s robust cloud capabilities we’ve been building with for years, allows us to continuously innovate our flywheel of value at the sustainable operational pace and scale necessary to lead the revolution in payments - such as live, personalised affordability limits and buyer intent prediction."

Zilch’s momentum in 2024 is highlighted by several strategic initiatives, including the introduction of a new ‘Pay over 3 Months’ zero-interest regulated credit option, the co-founding of the Unicorn Council for UK FinTech (UCFT) and the partnership with Checkout.com as its global acquiring partner. These developments, combined with the ongoing AWS collaboration, are expected to further accelerate the deployment of next-generation AI capabilities, ensuring Zilch remains at the forefront of technological advancements in fintech and cutting edge of consumer financial services.

For more information on Zilch, ASPN and its innovative payment solutions, visit www.zilch.com.

About Zilch

Zilch’s vision is to eliminate the cost of consumer credit. For good.

Zilch is a multi-award-winning pioneer of the world’s first direct-to-consumer, ad-subsidised payments network (ASPN). Leveraging its unique, vertically integrated, first-party-data business model, Zilch sets itself apart from the incumbent fintech industry with a profitable global revenue source, bringing unrivalled value to customers and marketers alike. Today Zilch is revolutionising the $50 trillion advertising and payments industries by merging the very best of debit, credit and savings.

Zilch provides millions of customers the freedom to go anywhere in the world (online or offline) and, when they pay, earn up to 5% cashback & rewards on debit payments (‘Pay Now’) or spread interest-free credit repayments over six weeks or three months. In the process, Zilch helps customers build their credit profiles with the major credit agencies. Within 44 months of launch in 2020, Zilch amassed more than 4 million registered customers.

In 2023, Zilch launched its proprietary ASPN service, which allows retailers worldwide instant connection with millions of Zilch’s first-party data, closed loop network of high-intent customers, while offering customers personalised savings, deals and discounts codified to their habitual daily spend.

In January 2023, Zilch struck a ground-breaking reporting agreement with the UK’s prime credit reference agencies, transforming the UK lending ecosystem by enabling all adults to build their credit records using interest-free credit rather than high-cost revolving credit products.

Since April 2020, Zilch has been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), obtaining a consumer credit licence through the Regulatory Sandbox Programme.

Driven by innovation and a commitment to excellence, Zilch is setting new benchmarks in the industry to create a more inclusive and efficient ecosystem, empowering millions of users to budget and manage their financial lives more effectively and transparently.

For more information, visit: www.zilch.com

Fonte: Business Wire