Zopa Wins UK's First 'Targeted Support' Licence for Investment Advice

Digital lender Zopa has received authorisation from UK financial regulators to provide targeted support for its retail investment customers, becoming the first British bank among more than 350 institutions to gain the new permission.

The approval stems from a regulatory framework launched on April 6, establishing a middle tier between generic guidance and fully regulated financial advice.

Zopa can now leverage customer data to deliver personalised prompts, showing users how consumers with similar financial profiles allocate their portfolios. The initiative aims to encourage an estimated 15 million Britons who hold excess cash to begin investing with greater confidence.

The move addresses the UK's longstanding "advice gap," a structural barrier that has left mass-market consumers without accessible tools to transition from cash savings into wealth-building products.

Investing has felt too complex, intimidating and inaccessible for far too long, said Merve Ferrero, chief strategy officer at Zopa Bank. At Zopa, we're changing that by removing unnecessary jargon and friction, and giving customers the confidence to grow their wealth with peace of mind. Our new permissions allow us to take that mission even further—delivering more tailored support and an intuitive investing experience.

Kate Dwyer, head of UK and Northern Europe Distribution at Invesco, added that the targeted support permissions could significantly boost early-stage investor engagement. She noted that Zopa's emphasis on simplicity and customer experience is making investing more accessible.

Zopa launched its investment platform last year in partnership with Invesco, which manages more than $2trillion in assets globally. The platform caters primarily to first-time investors seeking better returns on their cash.

Two ready-made portfolios are available:

• Balanced Fund: Designed for moderate risk, delivering 4.5 per cent average annual returns historically.
• Bold Fund: Calibrated for higher growth, achieving 9.3 per cent average annual returns over the same period.

The investment infrastructure integrates with Zopa's banking platform via API connectivity from Berlin-based fintech Upvest. Users can open an investment account in minutes with a minimum deposit of just £1.

The regulatory milestone follows a year of strong financial performance for Zopa, which now serves over 2 million customers. For the year ending December 31, 2025, the digital bank reported profits nearly doubled year-on-year to £65million, supported by sustained double-digit asset growth.

Zopa's proprietary generative AI framework handles approximately 45,000 customer service interactions monthly, fully automating 70 to 75 per cent of all service requests. The automation has also lifted customer satisfaction scores by 10 per cent.

Previously highlighted by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as one of the UK's fastest-growing corporate successes, Zopa's latest regulatory clearance marks a significant step in how digital banks intend to cross-sell wealth management products to a traditionally cash-focused consumer base.