StepEx
StepEx is a UK FCA-authorised fintech that provides regulated tuition finance for education providers, enabling students to pay course fees through fixed, deferred, or income-linked repayment plans underpinned by an ML-based earnings prediction engine.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What StepEx does
StepEx is a UK-regulated fintech that operates a tuition finance platform enabling education providers to offer students deferred, instalment, and income-linked repayment options for course fees. Its lending subsidiary, StepEx Lender Ltd, is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 824928) to act as lender of record, allowing universities, professional training organisations, bootcamps, and OPMs to signpost students to StepEx without holding credit-broking permissions or running their own credit operations. Most providers go live in 2–3 working days with no core systems integration required, supported by two FCA-aligned distribution paths: signposting via approved financial promotions or operating as an Introduced Appointed Representative.
The core technology is an automated lending and servicing stack purpose-built for education finance. It combines credit reference bureau data, Open Banking transaction data, and education-specific course and graduate outcome data in a machine-learning engine that predicts future earnings to size repayment structures responsibly. The platform exposes two portals: a Student Portal (my.stepex.co) for applicants and borrowers, and an Institutional Portal (i-portal.stepex.co) for providers to manage agreements and view cohort-level conversion and repayment performance.
StepEx makes money from three streams, all disclosed on a unit basis: non-refundable application fees (typically £20), monthly platform fees (typically around £1/month, ranging £0–£15 depending on course) charged over the repayment period, and interest/charges on the financed tuition amount under FCA-regulated consumer credit agreements. Pricing is course-dependent and includes fixed schedule, deferred-with-income-threshold, and earnings-linked repayment variants. Distribution is exclusively B2B through UK education providers, with named partnerships including London Business School and INSEAD. The company is privately held (Step Exchange Ltd group), venture-backed with £1.1M raised in a 2021 BBVA Anthemis-led pre-seed, and operates with 11–50 employees.
StepEx firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- StepEx
- Legal name
- Step Exchange Ltd
- Website
- https://stepex.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- StepEx is a UK FCA-authorised fintech that provides regulated tuition finance for education providers, enabling students to pay course fees through fixed, deferred, or income-linked repayment plans underpinned by an ML-based earnings prediction engine.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
StepEx industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Lending
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Loan Brokers (6163)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Career Training & Bootcamp Financing (ISA & Installment) (FSAKAEAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- In-School Tuition & Fee Financing (Short-term/Bridge) (FSAKAEAG), Payments, Cashiering & Payment Plans (EDALAJAE)
Keywords
Where StepEx is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
StepEx business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Tuition Finance Interest and Charges: StepEx earns revenue from interest or charges applied to the financed tuition amount. Finance agreements are regulated consumer credit agreements where students borrow to pay tuition fees and repay over time. The total amount payable, interest, and charges are disclosed clearly before agreement.
- Monthly Platform Fee: Students pay a monthly platform fee (typically £1 per month, ranging from £0 to £10–15 depending on course) throughout the repayment period, providing a recurring revenue stream tied to the duration of each finance agreement.
- Application Fee: Students pay a non-refundable application fee during the onboarding process (typically £20, course-dependent).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Application fee: typically £20 per application |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly platform fee: typically £1/month (range: £0–£15) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Deposit: course-dependent amount |
| Subscription | Monthly | Fixed repayment plans: repayments follow a fixed schedule over an agreed period |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Deferred repayment plans with income thresholds: repayments begin once income exceeds a defined level |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Earnings-linked repayment options: repayments vary with income over time for certain programmes |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
StepEx product offering
Product offeringCore offering
StepEx is an FCA-regulated tuition finance platform that enables UK education providers to offer students deferred payment options for course fees. Through automated lending and servicing systems, students can choose between fixed-schedule, income-threshold deferred, and earnings-linked repayment plans, with the platform handling underwriting, affordability assessment, and repayment collection under an Introduced Appointed Representative arrangement.
Product overview
StepEx is a single unified product — a regulated tuition finance platform for UK education providers. The platform enables students to pay tuition fees over time through three main repayment structures: Fixed Repayment Plans (with set schedules), Deferred Repayment Plans with Income Thresholds (payments begin when income exceeds a threshold), and Earnings-Linked Repayment Options (where repayment varies with income). The platform includes two portals: the Institutional Portal (i-portal.stepex.co) for education providers to manage applications and reporting, and the Student Portal (my.stepex.co) for borrowers to manage repayments. All regulated lending is handled by StepEx Lender Ltd, an FCA-authorised subsidiary, while education providers remain focused on admissions and course delivery.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- StepEx Tuition Finance Platform FCA-regulated tuition finance platform that enables UK education providers to offer students deferred payment options without becoming lenders themselves, including underwriting, affordability assessment, servicing, and repayment collection.
- Fixed Repayment Plans Fixed-schedule tuition repayment plans that allow students to pay back course fees on a predetermined timetable regardless of post-completion income.
- Income-Threshold Deferred Repayment Plans Repayment plans where student payments are deferred until their post-course income rises above a defined threshold, reducing financial pressure during the early career period.
- Earnings-Linked Repayment Plans Repayment plans where monthly student payments are tied to post-completion earnings, aligning cost of tuition to ability to pay via an income share agreement-style structure.
- Institutional Portal (i-portal) White-labeled institutional portal that lets education providers manage their tuition finance offering, configure repayment products, and access portfolio-level insights on student cohorts and repayment performance.
- Student Portal White-labeled student-facing portal where applicants complete affordability checks, apply for tuition finance, select a repayment structure, and manage ongoing repayments.
Quantifiable outcome
- Providers offering deferred fee programmes see quadruple the number of paying students per 100 applicants relative to those requiring full upfront payment.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use StepEx
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
StepEx technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
StepEx partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- London Business SchoolcoreLondon Business School is referenced as a current collaboration partner. StepEx provides income sharing agreement-based financing for postgraduate students at London Business School, enabling students who cannot pay tuition upfront to spread the cost over time based on future earnings.
- INSEADcoreINSEAD is referenced as a current collaboration partner alongside London Business School. StepEx provides future earnings agreement-based financing for INSEAD students, enabling postgraduate learners to finance their education through income sharing agreements rather than upfront payment.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
StepEx competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Align: US/UK-based education finance provider offering ISAs and tuition payment plans to universities and bootcamps. Closely comparable to StepEx's ISA and instalment-based offering for non-traditional higher education.
- Prodigy Finance: UK-headquartered lender offering postgraduate student loans to international students attending top global universities. Most directly comparable to StepEx in terms of serving the postgraduate tuition finance market with cross-border reach.
- Future Finance: Ireland/UK-based specialist student lender offering tuition finance to undergraduates and postgraduates. Comparable to StepEx as a regulated consumer credit provider focused exclusively on education lending in the UK/Ireland.
- Knoma: UK fintech offering tuition finance for short courses, bootcamps, and professional training. Directly comparable to StepEx's bootcamp and professional training segment and similar UK-only focus.
- MPOWER Financing: US/Canada-based student lender focused on international and DACA students at top North American universities. Similar thesis to StepEx — financing high-potential students for whom traditional credit scoring is uninformative.
- InStride: US-based provider of Income Share Agreements and education financing for universities and workforce programmes. Comparable to StepEx through its ISA-led education finance model, although focused on the US market.
- Lendwise: UK-based specialist education lender providing loans for postgraduate and professional students at UK universities. Closely aligned with StepEx's postgraduate and professional training customer base in the UK.
Broad incumbents
- Earnest: US-based student loan refinancing and private student loan provider, now part of Navient. Overlaps with StepEx in the education credit market but operates at much larger scale and broader scope.
- CommonBond: US-based student loan refinancing and education finance platform. Overlaps with StepEx in the education lending category but serves a different geography and broader student loan use cases.
- SoFi: US-based consumer finance platform offering student loan refinancing alongside mortgages, personal loans, and banking. Indirectly comparable as a large incumbent with student lending capabilities that could expand into the ISA space.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
StepEx social profiles
Digital presenceStepEx compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
StepEx financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
StepEx leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
StepEx subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
StepEx funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
StepEx M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about StepEx
What does StepEx do?
StepEx is an FCA-regulated tuition finance platform that enables UK education providers to offer students deferred payment options for course fees. Through automated lending and servicing systems, students can choose between fixed-schedule, income-threshold deferred, and earnings-linked repayment plans, with the platform handling underwriting, affordability assessment, and repayment collection under an Introduced Appointed Representative arrangement.
Is StepEx a public or private company?
StepEx is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was StepEx founded?
StepEx was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is StepEx based?
StepEx is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does StepEx make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Tuition Finance Interest and Charges are the primary driver. The others are monthly Platform Fee and application Fee.
Who are StepEx's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Align, Prodigy Finance, Future Finance, Knoma, MPOWER Financing, InStride and Lendwise. Broad incumbents are Earnest, CommonBond and SoFi.
Does StepEx have an API?
No public API is recorded for StepEx.
What industry is StepEx in?
StepEx's product category is Education Lending. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAKAEAI, Career Training & Bootcamp Financing (ISA & Installment), with a secondary code of FSAKAEAG, In-School Tuition & Fee Financing (Short-term/Bridge). Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.