Over therea London-based rewards credit card startup backed by investors including GoCardless’ Matt Robinson, Cred’s Kunal Shah and Rio Ferdinand, today launched free membership as part of its latest initiative to rebuild young consumers’ relationships with credit.
Designed for ‘adventurous’ millennial and gen Z professionals, Yonder’s new membership has no monthly fee and allows members to earn 1 point for every £1 wherever they spend, with no exchange fees charged when their expenses abroad.
The startup’s proposition centers around a unique rewards program that allows users to integrate the card into their daily lifestyle, prioritizing discovery as a key element of its program. The new membership allows points earned to be used for selected dining, travel, fitness and lifestyle partners in London and the UK that change monthly, such as Thai restaurant Speedboat Bar, bars at Swift cocktails, F45 fitness classes, Lions Prep meal prep service and Turo carpool marketplace.
Yonder – whose customers have spent more than £82 million, redeemed £600,000 in rewards and saved more than £470,000 in exchange fees since launching its flagship membership in 2022 – has raised £62.5 million sterling in 2022. Series A Equity and Debt Funding in April 2023 which resulted in a post-money valuation of over £70 million. Its free card has been launched as the next step in its mission to reshape credit for UK consumers, offering rewards and features designed to be more relevant to younger people’s lifestyles.
In addition to its rewards program, Yonder’s free membership offers weekly and bi-weekly bill payment options as well as design features that encourage full bill payment each month, aimed at helping young consumers adopt healthy lifestyle habits. credit habits before future purchases.
Tim Chong, CEO and co-founder of Yonder, said: “There are almost 59 million credit cards in the UK and the market has historically been dominated by the same major players. But despite all the technological advances, credit cards have fundamentally not changed and customers have been misled for decades by attractive minimum monthly payments and hidden fees.
“The market is ready for disruption and we believe young people deserve something different: credit card rewards that feel more relevant to their lives and support to help them develop better credit habits for the future . Launching our free membership from beta is another important step in our mission to completely rebuild the UK’s relationship with credit. Whether it’s discovering great places in their city or earning free points abroad, we want to empower people to use credit in the way that suits them.
The launch of Yonder’s free membership is one of several investments by the startup following its Series A raise last year, which included doubling its headcount to 35 people as well as plans to expand across the UK later this year.