Yonder, a London-based rewards credit card startup with backing from investors including GoCardless’ Matt Robinson, Cred’s Kunal Shah and Rio Ferdinand, has today launched a free membership in the latest move on its mission 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 FX fees charged when spending abroad.
The startup’s proposition is centred on a unique rewards programme that enables users to incorporate the card into their daily lifestyles, prioritising discovery as a key part of its programme. The new membership allows earned points to be used towards curated London and UK-wide dining, travel, fitness and lifestyle partners that change each month such as Thai restaurant Speedboat Bar, Swift cocktail bars, F45 fitness classes, meal-prep service Lions Prep and car sharing marketplace Turo.
Yonder – whose customers have spent more than £82m, redeemed £600,000 in rewards value and saved in excess of £470,000 in FX fees since its flagship membership launched in 2022 – raised £62.5m in equity and debt Series A funding in April 2023 which resulted in a post-money valuation of more than £70m. Its free card has launched as the next step in its mission to reshape credit for UK consumers, offering rewards and features designed to have more relevance to younger lifestyles.
In addition to its rewards programme, Yonder’s free membership offers weekly and fortnightly bill payment options as well as design features encouraging the full bill to be paid each month, aimed at helping young consumers to build healthy credit habits ahead of future purchases.
Tim Chong, Yonder’s CEO and co-founder said: “There are nearly 59 million credit cards in the UK and the market has traditionally always been dominated by the same major players. But despite so much technological progress, credit cards fundamentally haven’t changed and customers have been misled for decades by attractive minimum monthly payments and hidden fees.
“The market is ripe for disruption and we believe young people deserve something different – credit card rewards that feel more relevant to their lives and the support to help them develop better credit habits for the future. The launch of our free membership from beta is another milestone in our mission to completely rebuild the relationship that the UK has with credit. Whether it’s to discover great places in their city or to earn fee-free points abroad, we want to empower people to use credit in the way that works for them.”
Yonder’s free membership launch is one of a number of the startup’s investments following its Series A raise last year, which included doubling its headcount to 35 alongside plans to expand across the UK later this year.
