Lending Stream

What Lending Stream does

Lending Stream is a UK-based, FCA-regulated direct-to-consumer online lender operating as a trading name of GAIN Credit LLC (a Delaware-registered LLC). Founded in 2008, the company provides short-term unsecured loans of £50-£800 to new customers and £100-£1,500 to returning customers, repayable over 6 or 12 monthly instalments at a representative APR of 1,271% (292% p.a. fixed). It targets UK consumers with poor or limited credit history who need fast access to cash for emergency expenses, positioning itself as a more responsible alternative to traditional single-payday repayment payday loans via instalment structure, no early-repayment fees, and capped late-payment fees of £12 over loan lifetime.

The platform combines automated credit decisioning — built on founders' experience developing fraud-detection systems protecting over 2.5 billion credit cards — with Open Banking affordability assessments and integrations with TransUnion and Experian. Applications are completed online in approximately 15 minutes, decisions are issued in seconds, and approved funds are transferred to customer bank accounts in under 90 seconds. The business is supported by 251-500 employees and operates alongside two sub-brands, Drafty (a £3,000 revolving line of credit and installment loans at lower APRs) and Afforda, both under GAIN Credit LLC.

Revenue is generated entirely through interest charges on the loan book — 0.8% per day on 6-month loans and 0.42% per day on 12-month loans — with no application, management, or early-repayment fees. The company acquires customers through a multi-channel mix including TV advertising, content marketing, social media, and a notably aggressive SEO strategy using comparison pages targeting users displaced by collapsed UK subprime competitors (Wonga, QuickQuid, Sunny, Peachy, MyJar). Lending Stream is single-geography (United Kingdom only), single-channel (its own website), and reports an Excellent Trustpilot rating with 25,000+ customer reviews alongside published FCA complaint statistics.

Name

Lending Stream

Legal name

GAIN Credit LLC

Website

https://lendingstream.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Lending Stream is a UK FCA-regulated direct-to-consumer online lender offering £50-£1,500 short-term instalment loans to subprime and bad-credit consumers. Operating as GAIN Credit LLC since 2008, it has served over 900,000 customers via its website, TV advertising, and SEO-led acquisition, alongside Drafty and Afforda sub-brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Lending

NAICS

Nondepository Credit Intermediation (5222), Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Small-Dollar Short-Term Installment Loans (Non-payday) (FSAKAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emergency & Short-Term Installment Personal Loans (Unsecured) (FSAKAAAH)

Keywords

• Short-term consumer loans
• Payday loan alternatives
• Online direct lending
• Bad credit lending
• FCA-regulated lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Edgware

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Short-term Loan Interest: Lending Stream generates revenue primarily through interest charged on short-term loans. Interest is calculated daily (0.8% per day for 6-month loans, 0.42% per day for 12-month loans) and added to the loan balance. Customers repay in equal monthly installments over 6 or 12 months. The company charges no fees for application, account management, or early repayment. Late payment fees apply only if payments are missed, capped at £12 total over the loan lifetime.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lending Stream is an FCA-authorised UK direct lender providing short-term consumer loans as an alternative to payday loans. Customers apply online for amounts between £50-£800 (new) or £100-£1,500 (returning), receive instant decisions, and obtain funds in their bank account in under 90 seconds. Loans are repaid in 6 or 12 monthly instalments at fixed daily interest rates (0.8% or 0.42% per day), with no early repayment fees.

Product overview

Lending Stream is a single-product short-term lending platform offering FCA-regulated loans as an alternative to payday loans. The core product is short-term loans ranging from £50-£800 for new customers and £100-£1,500 for returning customers, with 6-month repayment periods. All loans feature instant decisions, 90-second fund transfers, fixed interest rates, no early repayment fees, and consideration for bad credit applicants. The company also operates Drafty as a separate sub-brand offering credit products with longer repayment terms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lending Stream Short-Term Loans FCA-regulated short-term consumer loans offered as an alternative to payday loans. New customers can borrow £50-£800 and returning customers £100-£1,500, repaid over 6 or 12 monthly instalments. Features instant decisions, 90-second fund transfers, fixed daily interest rates (0.8% for 6-month, 0.42% for 12-month), no early repayment fees, and consideration of applicants with poor credit histories.
• Bad Credit Loans

Quantifiable outcome

• Cash sent to bank in under 90 seconds after approval
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Amigo Loans: UK FCA-regulated consumer lender operating in the non-prime segment with guarantor-backed loans; a broader incumbent overlapping in target customer and credit profile but using a different underwriting model.
• Zopa: Established UK digital consumer lender with broader prime and near-prime installment loan products, representing where Lending Stream's product evolution and customer graduation could head.

Direct peers

• Tappily: UK FCA-authorised short-term installment lender also featured in Lending Stream's comparison pages, competing head-to-head on short-term, subprime, online installment credit.
• Oakam: UK FCA-regulated digital lender focused on small-sum installment loans to non-prime consumers, operating with similar product economics and customer targeting as Lending Stream.
• Cashfloat: UK-based FCA-authorised online short-term installment lender serving bad-credit borrowers with same-day funding, overlapping directly with Lending Stream's product and underwriting approach.
• Loans 2 Go: UK FCA-regulated short-term installment lender explicitly listed in Lending Stream's competitor comparison pages, serving overlapping subprime customers with similar loan sizes and terms.
• SafetyNet Credit: UK short-term installment lender (mentioned in Lending Stream's own comparison pages) serving similar subprime borrowers with comparable APR range and 6-month terms.
• Moneyboat: Active UK FCA-regulated direct lender offering short-term installment loans to subprime consumers, directly competing with Lending Stream on price, term and target customer.
• Drafty (GAIN Credit): Sibling sub-brand under the same GAIN Credit parent offering lines of credit and longer-term installment loans, sharing infrastructure, customers and capital with Lending Stream.

Emerging players

• WageStream: UK fintech offering earned-wage access and credit products to employed subprime consumers, an emerging alternative channel addressing the same short-term cash-flow pain point as Lending Stream.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/lendingstream
• Facebookfacebook.com/lendingstream
• Instagraminstagram.com/lendingstream
• Pinterestpinterest.co.uk/lendingstream
• Xx.com/lendingstream
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lending-stream-llc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Lending Stream