What Stepladder does

Stepladder (operated by Step-Ladder Solutions Ltd, headquartered at Barclays Rise in London) is a UK fintech that digitises Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) into its Savings Circles platform. Members join a Circle, contribute a fixed monthly amount between £25 and £500, and are randomly allocated the pooled total on Draw Day (the 7th of each month), with the cycle completing in 10-20 months. The consumer proposition is anchored on first-time home buyers raising property deposits, but use cases extend to credit-building (via monthly credit-bureau payment reporting), emergency funds, weddings, debt repayment and small-business goals. A separate Home Circle product releases funds directly to the member's solicitor and includes payment-waiver protection in case of sickness or unemployment after purchase. Platform fees are 2-5% of monthly contribution (£1-£18).

The company operates a dual GTM. Direct-to-consumer distribution is self-serve through members.joinstepladder.com, supported by earned media (Guardian, Times, Sun, Telegraph, City AM, Cosmopolitan), Instagram and word-of-mouth, with partner referral traffic from mortgage brokers, lenders, surveyors and solicitors. The B2B arm, branded Circles360, white-labels the same platform for banks, neobanks, fintechs, foundations and large enterprises across three packages (Advisory, SaaS integration, Full Service). A Marketplace layer adds affiliate commission revenue from consumer brands such as Hargreaves Lansdown, IKEA, John Lewis and CheckMyFile. Disclosed scale includes 2,000+ lifetime members, £1m+ raised by members, 557 unique Circle subscriptions and 48 white-label partner launches in the trailing 12 months. StepLadder is FCA-regulated as an appointed representative of More Lending Solutions Limited (FRN 783003) and has raised £4m in equity from Anthemis, BBVA, Future Fund and Seedcamp.

Name

Stepladder

Legal name

StepLadder

Website

https://joinstepladder.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stepladder is a UK FCA-regulated fintech that runs digital ROSCA Savings Circles for consumers seeking to raise property deposits or other financial goals, and white-labels the platform (Circles360) to banks, fintechs and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Monthly platform fees charged to members for Circle participation. Fees range from £1-18 per month depending on Circle size (2-5% of monthly contribution). Covers admin, client money account holding, credit bureau reporting, and support.
2. Service Provider Commissions: Commission payments from connected service providers including mortgage brokers, lending banks, surveyors, solicitors, and financial wellbeing providers. Members are only connected at their request. Combined buying power allows negotiating member discounts.
3. B2B White-Label Licensing: Revenue from white-label platform licensing (Circles360) to businesses, banks, fintechs, and foundations. Packages include Advisory, SaaS integration, and Full Service options for implementing ROSCAs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

StepLadder operates a digital Savings Circles (ROSCA) platform where individual members contribute equal monthly amounts to a group and one randomly selected member receives the pooled total each month on Draw Day. The consumer offering comprises First Steps Circles (£25–£100/month) for general financial goals and Home Circles (£250–£500/month) for raising property deposits, while the B2B division offers Circles360, a white-label platform enabling banks, neobanks, fintechs, foundations and enterprises to embed ROSCA products into their own customer offerings.

Product overview

StepLadder operates a dual-marketplace model offering collaborative savings circles (ROSCAs) for consumers and white-label technology solutions for businesses. The consumer product comprises First Steps Circles (starting from £25/month for any financial goal) and Home Circles (from £250/month specifically for property deposits), where members contribute monthly and are randomly selected to receive the pooled funds. The B2B division, Circles360, provides white-label platform packages including SaaS integration, advisory services, and full-service solutions tailored for banks, fintechs, foundations, and large financial enterprises. The StepLadder Marketplace adds member discounts from partner brands. All offerings are powered by the same core Savings Circle Platform technology with configurable onboarding, dashboard, and Draw Day modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Circles360: White-label savings circle platform for banks, neobanks, fintechs, foundations, and large financial enterprises to integrate ROSCA products.

Products and services

• First Steps Circles Collaborative savings circles starting from £25 per month allowing members to work toward any financial goal such as paying off loans, building emergency funds, or saving for holidays. Members contribute equal monthly amounts and are randomly drawn to receive the total pool on Draw Day, with monthly Credit Bureau Reporting to support credit score improvement.
• Home Circles Savings circles starting from £250 per month specifically designed to help members raise funds for property deposits, with total raised from £3,000 to £6,000 over 12 months. Funds are released directly to the property solicitor upon purchase, with Payment Waiver Protection covering remaining Circle payments if a member becomes sick or unemployed after buying a property.
• Circles360 White-label B2B platform enabling banks, neobanks, fintechs, foundations and large enterprises to integrate digital Savings Circles (ROSCAs) to generate revenue, increase market share and engage customers. Available as SaaS integration, advisory services, or full-service packages, with specialised configurations for financial institutions, foundations, enterprises and SMEs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of Members reach their financial goals faster than raising money alone
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hargreaves LansdownminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInvestment account partner providing members access to investment accounts to grow their money. Partner commission earned when members use service.
• IKEAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRetail partner offering gift card bonuses for members. StepLadder members receive free bonus when purchasing IKEA gift cards to boost spending.
• John LewisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRetail partner offering special member discounts. Members gain access to exclusive deals as part of the StepLadder Marketplace.
• CheckMyFileminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCredit history partner allowing members to view their UK credit history and see what lenders can see. Free 30-day trial then £14.99/month.
• Mortgage Brokers and LenderscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerConnected service providers paying commission for member referrals. Provide mortgages and lending products with group buying power discounts negotiated for members.
• Surveyors and SolicitorscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProperty service partners connected at member request. Pay commission and offer discounted rates negotiated through StepLadder's combined buying power.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Moneyhub: Moneyhub is a UK open finance platform providing financial data aggregation and personal finance tools. Comparable as UK fintech infrastructure provider, with overlap in financial wellbeing and savings journey tools.
• Griffin Bank: Griffin is a UK Banking-as-a-Service platform enabling fintechs to embed banking products. Comparable B2B fintech infrastructure play to Circles360, though Griffin offers full banking rather than savings circle infrastructure specifically.

Direct peers

• Esusu: Esusu is a US-based fintech platform that digitizes ROSCAs for rent reporting and savings circles, serving property managers and residents. Directly comparable as a digital ROSCA platform targeting housing-related savings, though StepLadder focuses on deposits rather than rent reporting.
• Puddle: Puddle is a US-based peer-to-peer savings circle platform that pools contributions from groups of friends or family. Direct competitor offering digital ROSCA functionality with similar member-based savings mechanics to StepLadder.
• IOU (I-Owe-You): IOU is a Sweden-based peer-to-peer savings and lending platform. Direct competitor in digital ROSCA space with European market presence, addressing similar collaborative savings use cases as StepLadder.
• Money Pool: Money Pool is a UK-based group savings platform allowing friends and family to pool money together. Direct competitor in the UK collaborative savings space, though more informal than StepLadder's structured Circle model.

Broad incumbents

• Plum: Plum is a UK AI-powered money management app offering automated savings and investments. Comparable as a UK consumer fintech targeting young savers, but focused on algorithmic rather than collaborative savings.
• Chip: Chip is a UK automated savings app using AI to optimize savings rates. Comparable UK consumer fintech in the savings space with similar target demographic, though using automated rather than social/collaborative saving mechanics.
• Moneybox: Moneybox is a UK savings and investment app targeting first-time property buyers with Help-to-Buy ISA and LISA products. Direct overlap in UK first-time buyer savings segment, though operating a more traditional fintech model.

Others

• More Lending Solutions Limited: More Lending Solutions Limited is the FCA-authorized firm that StepLadder operates as an appointed representative of. Provides regulatory framework and infrastructure for StepLadder's credit-related activities, making it a critical enabling relationship.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/joinstepladder
• Facebookfacebook.com/stepladderuk

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stepladder