Loot is a financial services company based in the UK, founded in 2014 by then-student Ollie Purdue. It offers a digital-only current account specifically aimed at students and millennials. It is focused on allowing customers to track their spending and manage their budget in real time.
Loot is a financial services company based in the UK, founded in 2014 by then-student Ollie Purdue. It offers a digital-only current account specifically aimed at students and millennials. It is focused on allowing customers to track their spending and manage their budget in real time.
Loot is a financial services company based in the UK, founded in 2014 by then-student Ollie Purdue. It offers a digital-only current account specifically aimed at students and millennials. It is focused on allowing customers to track their spending and manage their budget in real time.
Loot currently has more than 50,000 customers and has raised more than £6million since being founded, including £2.2million in Series A funding and a number of anonymous angel investors.
Unlike several competitor companies, Loot does not have a banking licence, nor any plans to apply for one in the future. Instead, the company operates under an electronic money licence, via a partnership with Wirecard. Despite this, the current account is intended to serve as a replacement for a traditional bank account; customers receive a sort code, account number and debit card and can make bank transfers via Faster Payments.
Loot has a range of features designed to make it easier for customers to manage their money. The app allows for the setting of daily and weekly budgets, with the ‘remaining spend’ a prominent feature of the screen. If there is any money left over in the budget, it can be transferred to a Loot Goal (these goals can be set in the app as savings amounts customers would like to reach).
As it offers a quick and convenient way to access a current account, Loot has proved especially popular with international students who may struggle to open a bank account on arrival in the UK. In future, the company plans to introduce lending products, wealth management services and foreign exchange.
Loot customers can also spend money abroad using the live exchange rate, in more than 210 countries, with no additional fees. There may be ATM charges for cash withdrawals.
As Loot doesn’t have a banking licence, it is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Money is kept in a separate account controlled by Wirecard, and deposits are covered up to the value of £85,000 in the event that Wirecard were to become insolvent.
26 Red Lion Square
London
WC1R 4AG
Find answers in Q&As and ask your question
