Wagestream secures £17.5M funding boost to serve the millions overlooked by banking

Wagestream, whose financial benefits platform is used by employers like Asda, Burger King, Bupa and Hilton, has raised a further £17.5 million in funding from new and existing investors. The round includes funding from new investors British Patient Capital, Lombard Odier Investment Managers, and participation from existing investor Northzone. Balderton co-led the company’s Series A with Northzone in 2019.

Wagestream was founded in 2018 to tackle the £430 ‘premium’ low and middle-income households pay for essential services – because high street providers overcharge them for inflexible products designed for higher-earners, or exclude them altogether. Offered through 1,000 employers in the U.K., Spain and United States, its platform already allows 3 million people – mainly shift and frontline workers – to access an interactive payslip, choose when they get paid, save directly from their pay, save money on bills and get free debt advice.

Wagestream will use the latest funding to expand that range of services and become a ‘complete financial platform’ for low and middle-income workers. New services this year will include a credit-builder card for those previously denied access to credit, shopping discounts for those impacted by soaring inflation, AI-powered coaching for those priced out of the financial advice sector, and loans for those previously overcharged by credit providers.

Financial wellbeing has never been higher on the national agenda, with recent data revealing one in six UK adults have no savings, and over a fifth are borrowing more money as a direct result of the cost of living crisis. It has also become a major issue in the boardroom: 81% of UK businesses say they’ve introduced new financial support for staff recently, citing improvements across recruitment, retention and productivity as a result.