At IFGS 2025, TFN had the privilege of being the media partner for one of fintech’s most anticipated gatherings, with over 1,500 attendees from around the world convening at London’s historic Guildhall.
As part of our coverage for TechtalkswithTFN, we met with some of the industry’s most influential voices — including Zitah McMillan, whose insights on innovation in financial services are featured in a companion video interview. In this piece, we turn our focus to Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa Bank, who walked us through the four strategic phases that have shaped Zopa’s rise from peer-to-peer pioneer to a full-service digital bank — and what’s next.
Under his leadership, Zopa reached the unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. In September 2023, it raised £75 million and surpassed the milestone of one million customers. Most recently, Zopa secured an additional $87 million in funding, reinforcing its position as one of the UK’s top neobanks.
During our conversation, we explored how London-based Zopa transformed into a formidable UK fintech unicorn. What follows is not just the story of a company, but a blueprint for fintech reinvention.
Have a look at the full interview below:
Building a best-in-class lending engine
Zopa was already founded in 2005 and an established fintech when Janardana joined Zopa in 2014, the company had already made history as the world’s first peer-to-peer lending platform. But to truly scale, it needed to evolve. “Our first priority was to build a world-class lending business,” he explained. Loan approvals that once took days were reduced to seconds, thanks to the adoption of AI-powered credit decisioning. “We built systems where within five seconds, a customer could know if they’d get a loan and at what price.”
Becoming a fully licensed bank
Zopa’s ambition outgrew the peer-to-peer model. The next step: a full UK banking license.
“We wanted to offer more to our customers — not just loans, but a broader suite of financial products.” Despite pandemic disruptions, Zopa secured its banking licence in 2020. “We got our licence during lockdown — we couldn’t even meet to celebrate,” Janardana recalled.
This marked the company’s official shift into regulated banking.
Scaling a challenger bank
With a license secured, Zopa began its third phase: offering savings and borrowing products at scale. “Today, nearly 1.5 million customers use us for their borrowing and savings needs,” Janardana shared. The bank’s lending operation now exceeds £3 billion, while customer deposits have surpassed £5 billion. In 2023, Zopa raised £75 million and crossed 1 million customers which is a milestone for any digital bank.
Reimagining everyday banking
Now, Zopa is preparing for its boldest move yet: launching a current account and entering everyday banking. “Our aspiration is to be as easy as a neobank, as trusted as an incumbent, and more helpful than both,” Janardana said. Last year, Zopa raised another $87 million to support the expansion, signaling strong investor confidence. ““We are going beyond borrowing and savings, and this year, we want to launch a current account and really give our customers a more holistic banking experience.”
Beyond the phases: What’s next for Zopa?
Janardana sees a fintech sector still ripe with opportunity, especially for profitable, customer-first players. He also sees AI as an ongoing driver, not a trend. “We’ve used predictive AI since 2015. We’re on our fourth or fifth generation of models now.” As for competition? “We’re not just targeting neobanks. Our real competition is the high street giants. And we’re ready.”
Jaidev Janardana: Behind the local disruptor
Zopa’s transformation is inseparable from the global journey of its CEO. Jaidev Janardana’s career has crossed continents and industries, shaping the perspective he now brings to leading one of the UK’s most ambitious fintechs.
“I was born in Kochi, but I’ve kind of lived all around India,” he shared. After a brief stint in telecom, he pivoted to financial services through business school. His move to the US led to a pivotal role at Capital One as it evolved from credit cards to full-scale banking — a transition that mirrors Zopa’s own trajectory.
From India to the US to London, Janardana’s path has prepared him to lead Zopa through each bold phase of fintech success.
This video series is brought to you by Finexos and in media partnership with IFGS 2025.
