The British fintech firm Zilch has disclosed its inaugural month of earnings, in a crucial development for the organization as it looks ahead to a possible initial public offering. Competing with entities such as Klarna and Block in the buy now, pay later realm, Zilch informed that it achieved an operating profit in July 2024, reaching profitability within four years of its inception. This timeline outpaced other notable consumer fintech companies that also reached the break-even point.

Other competitors took varying amounts of time to achieve profitability, with Starling and Monzo surpassing three and four years, respectively. In contrast, digital banking startup Revolut managed to break even just two years after its establishment. Zilch also celebrated surpassing £100 million ($130 million) in annual revenue run rate, a significant increase from the previous year.

CEO and co-founder of Zilch, Philip Belamant, emphasized that despite the current climate of high-interest rates, the company attained profitability by expanding its operations rather than resorting to cutbacks, a strategy employed by several other fintech firms in similar situations.

Mark Wilson, the former CEO of Aviva, has been appointed as a non-executive director on Zilch’s board. Wilson expressed excitement about joining the company at a critical juncture and contributing to its sustainable success as a leading entity in the sector.

In his previous statements, CEO Belamant expressed the desire to take the company public within the next 12 to 24 months. Additionally, Zilch secured $125 million in initial debt funding from Deutsche Bank, with the potential to access up to $315 million in credit from multiple banks, aiming to significantly expand its sales volumes in the upcoming years.

Zilch faces competition from Klarna in the U.K., with Klarna’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, hinting at a potential stock market listing in the near future, suggesting that a listing could even happen within the current year.