FCA appoints five fintechs for Scale-up Unit support

The Financial Conduct Authority has chosen five prominent UK financial technology scale-ups to join its latest cohort within the dedicated Scale-up Unit programme. The selected organisations include ClearScore, Modulr, Teya, Urban Jungle and Zilch. These firms will collaborate with the regulator on initiatives designed to offer tailored assistance regarding new product launches and evolving policy landscapes.

The participating companies operate across diverse sectors including payments, consumer credit, credit scoring and insurtech. This group marks the first cohort of entities regulated exclusively by the FCA to receive such specific scale-up backing from the authority. The announcement coincides with the publication of insights derived from a pilot scheme involving fifteen other scale-ups.

These findings highlight that early investment in regulatory risk management and control frameworks is essential for fostering sustainable long-term commercial expansion within the industry. This new group succeeds an initial batch of six dual-regulated firms announced earlier this year, which comprised Allica Bank, ClearBank, Monument Bank, Nottingham Building Society, OakNorth Bank and Zopa Bank.

Jessica Rusu, chief data information and innovation officer at the FCA, noted that high-growth companies are vital for driving economic progress across the United Kingdom. She emphasised a desire to ensure the nation remains one of the premier global locations for establishing and expanding financial services businesses. Consequently, the regulator aims to support ambitious enterprises as they scale, assisting them in navigating complex regulations while innovating with confidence.