London-based fintech Updraft scoops £16m to help people get rid of their credit cards

New fintech on the block Updraft has closed a £16m funding round, which it plans to use to help its users “break up with their credit cards.”

The funding comes in the form of both equity and debt, with investment firm Quilam Capital leading the debt and another chunk coming in the form of a convertible loan from the government-backed Future Fund as well as other high-net-worth investors.

Updraft was founded by finance veteran Aseem Munshi, who worked at HSBC for over 14 years in a variety of roles, including most recently as head of unsecured lending.

Using open banking and credit report data, Updraft creates a comprehensive view of a customer’s spending and borrowing and provides a series of interventions to get them back into the black.

Sarah Watts, director at Quilam Capital, said: “Over the years we’ve seen innovators making use of open banking, shed light on financial health and provide credit, however, Updraft provides a truly unique offering across all of these aspects with a market-leading solution to give customers the fairly priced credit they deserve.”

“We’re delighted to invest in Updraft and support the business on their mission to give consumers the tools to save and reach their life goals faster.”

According to the fintech, the average Updraft customer has been able to reduce their borrowing charges by up to 50 per cent and the fintech has already refinanced millions of pounds of borrowing using their own borrowing sheet. 

Aseem Munshi, CEO and founder of Updraft, added: “We are thrilled by this vote of confidence from a respected institution like Quilam. This funding gives us the firepower to take on the UK’s spiralling consumer borrowing.”

As well as scooping the £16m investment, Updraft also made several additions to its board. 

The fintech has appointed brand founder of Just Eat Mat Braddy, Philip George, founder of Shawbrook Bank and Sanjiv Sud, the former head of HSBC’s retail bank in India.