Tandem
“Can a UK challenger bank with a full banking licence profitably serve mainstream and near-prime borrowers through a digital-first, multi-brand lending and savings model?”
Founded in 2014, Tandem launched as one of the UK's original app-based challenger banks without branches. The 2017 acquisition of Harrods Bank gave Tandem a full banking licence, enabling savings and lending products. The company grew to include home loans and motor finance under a group structure (also trading as Oplo, Allium Money, and GDFC), consolidating sub-prime and near-prime lending alongside its digital banking proposition. Early open-banking-style savings automation (via Stripe in 2018) signalled a data-driven savings angle, though the core business evolved toward secured and unsecured consumer lending across the group.