SteadyPay is a progressive lending platform based in London, UK that uses an AI-based solution to analyze open user data and predict creditworthiness. According to those forecasts the company tops up a user's bank account if their earnings fall below the average monthly income, calculating how much to loan to each client. The platform operates on a subscription model with users charged £7 per week and offers interest-free recharges repaid when users exceed their average monthly income. Average monthly replenishment per person is about £250, and the maximum balance a user can hold on SteadyPay at any time is £1,000. The platform currently has 12,000 active users, most of whom are between the ages of 22 and 40. SteadyPay intends to use the $3M seed funding to accelerate growth and expand operations. SteadyPay, founded in 2018 and based in London, offers an income-smoothing product that tops up a user’s bank account when earnings fall below their monthly average. Users pay a fee of £4 per week (described in the article as just over $5 a month) and can repay top-ups interest-free, repaying only when they earn above their average in a month. The company underwrites customers with an AI-based model that uses open banking data, transactional information and public social media; the average monthly top-up is about £250 and the maximum balance per user is capped at £1,000. Since moving to the AI underwriting model, customer default rates have stayed consistently below 10%. SteadyPay currently makes loans from its balance sheet to retain underwriting control but expects to partner with a local bank for capital in the future. The company has over 9,000 active users and plans to add an embedded B2B offering, expand its product set using its data for AI insights, target small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs, and enter at least one international market (the U.S. was cited as a favorable option). SteadyPay provides an FCA-licensed app for gig-economy workers that automatically tops up bank accounts when earnings fall below average and lets customers repay via easy, interest-free instalments. The subscription-based service uses open banking and a bespoke credit-decision engine to assess the creditworthiness of gig workers often excluded by traditional lenders. Launched in 2018 by co-founder and CEO John Downie, the article also notes the company was founded in 2017 and has nine full-time employees. SteadyPay intends to use new funds to scale up in the UK and target 5,000 customers in the next 12 months. The company raised £2.9m in equity and debt funding to support these plans.

Total raised

$12M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Mar 2023