The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has selected five British scale-ups to receive enhanced regulatory support through its Scale-up Unit, as the watchdog seeks to ease the compliance burden on fast-growing firms.

Zilch, ClearScore, Modulr, Teya, and Urban Jungle have become the first companies regulated solely by the FCA to join the unit, which provides each firm with a dedicated FCA contact to assist with regulatory questions as the business expands. The support covers areas such as launching new products and adapting to shifting regulatory rules. The five span a cross-section of consumer-facing fintech: buy now, pay later credit (Zilch), credit-score and financial comparison services (ClearScore), embedded payments infrastructure (Modulr), merchant payments (Teya), and insurance aimed at underserved renters and young drivers (Urban Jungle).

Philip Belamant, chief executive and co-founder of Zilch, described the company's selection as "recognition of what we've built" and expressed hope that Zilch could help shape how regulation evolves for growing businesses.

The announcement comes amid mounting pressure on the FCA from both government and industry to make Britain a more attractive jurisdiction for building and expanding financial services firms, while still maintaining consumer safeguards. The regulator has operated under a secondary objective to support UK growth and international competitiveness since 2023, and has since faced calls to show how that commitment translates into practical changes rather than simply lighter regulation. That push carries particular weight as London competes with Amsterdam, Paris, and Frankfurt for fintech listings and venture funding following Brexit.

Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, information and innovation officer, said "high-growth firms play a vital role" in the economy, adding that the regulator wants Britain to remain one of the best places to start and scale a financial services company.

Under the scheme, each participating business receives a dedicated regulatory contact along with support for regulatory processes and incoming policy changes.

An earlier cohort, admitted in February, comprised six companies overseen jointly by the FCA and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority: Allica Bank, ClearBank, Monument, Nottingham Building Society, OakNorth, and Zopa.

Growth push amid tougher scrutiny

The closer relationship with the FCA does not mean reduced scrutiny for the participating companies. The announcement coincides with the watchdog tightening rules in parts of the consumer finance market, including the buy now, pay later sector, where Zilch is a major player. That sector is being brought within FCA regulation following concerns that customers could accumulate debt without the protections applied to traditional forms of borrowing.

Zilch has engaged with the FCA for years, including through its regulatory sandbox programme, which allows businesses to test new financial products under regulatory supervision.

"We've never shied away from engaging with regulation," Belamant said, adding that working with the FCA had been "to our benefit."

Myles Stephenson, chief executive of Modulr, said "strong collaboration between industry and the FCA is critical" for companies to continue investing and expanding in Britain.

"While we are also expanding in global markets like the US, it was initial UK growth and investment that allowed us to do this, and we remain focused on the continued scaling and success of our UK business," Stephenson told City AM.

The FCA has itself acknowledged that rapid growth can introduce risks. Findings published alongside Monday's announcement, drawn from an earlier pilot involving 15 high-growth firms, indicated that businesses needed to strengthen management and risk controls early enough to keep pace with their expansion.

Teya, founded in 2019, illustrates the scale companies can reach before entering the programme. The payments business says it now serves more than 75,000 businesses across nine European markets, including over 30,000 in Britain, and employs approximately 1,500 people.

Since launching its various innovation programmes, the FCA has supported more than 1,000 growing businesses.