FCA Adds Five Fintech Firms to Scale-up Unit
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority launched the Scale-up Unit on Oct. 24, 2025, to give fast-growing regulated financial firms a dedicated contact and tailored guidance. The initiative addresses a common hurdle for fintechs: expanding products, customer bases and markets without allowing governance, risk management or controls to lag. It also advances Britain’s goal of supporting financial-services innovation and competitiveness while maintaining regulatory standards and consumer protection.
On Aug. 10, 2026, the FCA named ClearScore, Modulr, Teya, Urban Jungle and Zilch as the first five firms regulated solely by the agency to join the unit. Their businesses span payments, consumer finance, credit information and insurtech. The expansion follows a February cohort of six banks and building societies jointly overseen by the FCA and PRA. The regulator also said lessons from a 15-firm pilot conducted between July 2025 and March 2026 showed that early investment in governance, risk management and controls supports sustainable growth.
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The history behind this eventFCA Adds Five Fintechs to Scale-up Unit
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority launched the Scale-up Unit in October 2025 to steer fast-growing regulated firms through product innovation, permission changes and policy shifts. For FCA-only applicants, eligibility included annual gross revenue above 100 million pounds or a valuation exceeding 250 million pounds. The program aims to ease regulatory friction without weakening governance, risk controls or consumer protection as companies expand.
The FCA said on Aug. 10, 2026 that ClearScore, Modulr, Teya, Urban Jungle and Zilch had become the first five firms regulated solely by the agency to join the unit, spanning payments, consumer finance, credit information and insurtech. Applications ran from May 20 to June 22. Six FCA- and PRA-regulated firms joined an earlier cohort in February, while a separate high-growth pilot covered 15 firms from July 2025 through March 2026.
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