Cashplus goes after £50m fundraise to fuel £1bn SME lending goal

Newly minted UK bank Cashplus is seeking a £50m investment to support growth in customers and lending.

The digital bank, which launched in 2005 as an alternative lender as well as offering deposits, was granted a full UK bank licence on 3rd February.

It targets both consumers and SMEs and says it now holds c.£500m in deposits and has opened a total of more than 1.6m accounts, including 150k SME accounts, across its digital banking and credit products. Its lending also recently hit more than £640m. 

Rich Wagner, CEO of Cashplus, says the firm's strategy contrasts with other fintech banks operating on growth and venture-backed model (and heavy losses in to get there). Cashplus recorded nine consecutive years of operating profit in its 15 years of operating.

“Where some firms have burned through piles of cash in the pursuit of customer growth at all costs, our cash generative model means that we can grow with confidence and deliver outstanding returns. Now we’re a bank, there is a tremendous amount of potential waiting to be unlocked by an outside investor looking to back a tried-and-true business with an established position in the SME fintech space,” he said.

Its goal with the funding is to be able to lend £1bn to UK SMEs during the post-Covid recovery.