Exclusive: Jaja Finance pauses onboarding of waitlist

Fintech credit card Jaja Finance is pausing the onboarding of its 6,000+ waitlist owing to technology delays, according to an update to customers seen by AltFi. 

Jaja Finance snapped up Bank of Ireland’s UK credit card portfolio last year for £530m with help from private equity partners including KKR and Centerbridge Partners. 

“The purchase forms part of Jaja’s strategy to scale our UK credit card business by working in partnership with other financial institutions and consumer brands, as well as providing our own branded credit card,” the firm said in a message to waitlist customers this week. 

In order to be able to complete the transfer of those customers over to Jaja, the firm says that it has been undertaking “a series of major investments and developments into our technology, end to end business operations, and our people".  

“As part of that, one of the major decisions we have had to make is to pause inviting members of our waiting list to apply for our credit card whilst we complete this work, holding on until you can benefit from the services we are currently building,” it said in the same message. 

The group was founded by three Norwegian entrepreneurs Per Elvebakk, Jostein Svendsen and Kyrre Riksen. However, Neil Radley, a former Barclaycard Western Europe managing director, joined the business last year as chief executive.