UK FinTech startup Stoa raised £1.8 mn in pre-seed funding to expand its cash management platform. The company helps consumers and businesses draw upfront value from idle deposits through fixed-term Stoa Pots, rather than relying only on standard interest income.
Bespokeist Partners and Ingenii Capital co-led the round. Force Over Mass Capital and Fuel Ventures joined the investment, alongside financial services angels including Suneel Hargunani, formerly of Citi, and Rachel Sestini, partner at Shaw Gibbs Group and co-founder of Canopy Capital.
According to Beinsure, Stoa enters the market at a point when cash, deposits and treasury workflows have become a more active part of FinTech funding. Higher rates changed how households and SMEs look at idle balances. Banks also want larger deposits held for longer, while merchants look for loyalty tools with lower dependence on card fees.
Mike Saraswat, co-founder and CEO of Stoa, said cash management no longer revolves only around interest rates. Customers want choice, upfront value and a view of how their money works. Stoa’s model rewards customers at the start of the deposit term, while eligible funds remain protected through regulated banking infrastructure.
People want choice, tangible value, and a clearer sense of how their money is working for them. Stoa is creating a new experience around idle cash, one that rewards customers upfront while keeping eligible deposits protected through regulated banking infrastructure.
Mike Saraswat, co-founder and CEO of Stoa
“For financial institutions, Stoa helps attract larger deposits for longer. For merchants, it helps reduce churn, deepen customer loyalty, and lower reliance on card processing fees,” Mike Saraswat said.
For financial institutions, Stoa offers a route to attract larger and stickier deposits. For merchants, the platform supports retention, customer loyalty and lower card-processing reliance.
Sam Goodenough, co-founder and CTO of Stoa, said the company built a modular architecture that banks and merchants plug into directly or offer through their own channels. Partners use Stoa Pots as part of their product set, turning idle deposits into an engagement and retention tool.
Open banking gives Stoa another layer of personalisation. When customers securely link bank accounts, algorithms read spending and saving patterns to shape more relevant offers.
Sam Goodenough, co-founder and CTO of Stoa
Founded in 2022, Stoa positions itself as a FinTech platform for cash management rather than a savings app in the old sense. Its behaviour-led products aim to put low-yield deposits to work, giving customers upfront perks while helping financial institutions increase deposits and merchants deepen customer relationships.
The platform is live in the UK for consumers and businesses. Customers place funds into fixed-term Stoa Pots and receive upfront perks from partner brands instead of relying only on traditional interest. Deposits sit with regulated banking partners, and eligible balances fall under FSCS protection.
Memet Yazici, co-founder and Managing Partner at Bespokeist Partners, said Stoa focuses on saving rather than spending. He pointed to the team’s 50-plus years of banking and FinTech experience, and said the company aims to deliver more than annual percentage yield to savers in the UK and the US.
According to Beinsure, Stoa’s addressable deposit pool looks substantial. Data supplied by the company shows more than £600 bn held in low-yield or non-interest-bearing consumer accounts in the UK, plus more than £250 bn in SME cash reserves.
In the US, Stoa estimates more than $1 tn sits in low or zero-interest SME accounts alone. Consumer current and checking accounts hold much larger sums, giving the company a wider market if its US expansion plans move ahead.
Stoa says it already sees strong inbound interest from banking partners and merchants. Their interest centres on customer engagement, deposit growth, retention and new value creation for existing customer bases.
The company has also started early partnership discussions in the US. Its planned expansion there would place Stoa in a larger deposit market, but also a more competitive one.
Michael Boocher, Founder and Managing Director at Ingenii Capital, described Stoa Pots as a new payment rail powered by savings. In his view, customers use their money to access subscriptions and everyday essentials without spending the underlying deposit balance.
