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Zopa’s Biscuit current account moved from a beta for existing customers to a wider launch in June 2025, while its newer natural-language banking feature, Ask, was announced in September 2026. The story is one of adapting an existing service-oriented technology architecture—not building every component in-house—and introducing customer-facing AI in stages.

From a beta account to a wider launch

Zopa began as a peer-to-peer lender and later became a bank. Computer Weekly reported that the bank launched in 2020 and that Zopa closed its peer-to-peer operation in 2021. Its Biscuit current-account beta became available to existing customers in September 2024.

In an interview published on 30 May 2025, CEO Jaidev Janardana said 60,000 existing customers were using the beta. He described the purpose of the trial as checking the day-to-day product with customers and ensuring the systems worked and could scale: “We wanted to make sure that we got good customer feedback on the day-to-day product and make sure the systems work and can scale,” he told Computer Weekly.

At that point, Janardana expected the account to move beyond beta later in 2025. That was a forecast, not the launch date: Computer Weekly reported on 24 June 2025 that Zopa had launched Biscuit beyond its existing-customer beta base. Zopa’s launch announcement described features including interest on balances, cashback on bills and instant virtual cards.

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What Zopa reused—and what it sourced

Janardana described Zopa’s technology as a service-oriented architecture, with components developed for existing products available for reuse in the current account. Computer Weekly also reported that the account’s ledger used technology from Thought Machine, a third-party supplier. The account therefore combined reused Zopa technology with an external ledger platform; the reporting does not establish how the architecture performs under load or independently assess its reliability.

This approach helps explain the role of adaptability in the launch: a bank can extend an existing technology foundation while bringing in a specialist supplier for a particular function. It does not, by itself, prove that the account is faster, safer or more scalable than a competitor’s.

How the AI plans changed over time

May 2025: experimentation, not a shipped customer beta

In the May 2025 interview, Janardana distinguished Zopa’s existing predictive AI—associated with rapid decisions—from experiments with generative AI intended to help customers understand their finances. He said Zopa expected customer-facing GenAI beta products before the end of 2025 and planned to use a variety of foundation models rather than build its own. Those remarks describe plans at the time; they are not evidence that a particular AI product had already launched in 2025.

September 2026: Zopa announces Ask

On 16 September 2026, Zopa announced Ask, which it describes as an always-on personal banker for Biscuit customers. Zopa says customers can use natural language for everyday banking tasks. Its AI page gives examples such as asking how much was spent in Brighton last weekend, setting limits, splitting bills and getting help to save more.

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These are examples of the capability Zopa says it offers, not independently verified demonstrations of task accuracy or availability. The announcement establishes the company’s launch claim; it does not provide a controlled comparison with other banks’ assistants.

What Zopa’s AI figures do—and do not—show

Zopa reports that customers who interact with AI have 10% higher customer satisfaction (CSAT), and that AI resolves 65% of customer-service queries. These are company-reported figures on Zopa’s 2026 AI page. The cited material does not establish an independent measurement, explain the comparison behind the CSAT figure, or mean that every customer query is handled without human support.

For a useful comparison with another bank, readers would need consistent information about the task range, how performance is measured, when a human takes over, and the measurement period. The available reporting does not provide a controlled bank-versus-bank comparison.

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What to check before choosing Biscuit

The launch announcement is not a substitute for current account terms. Zopa’s live Biscuit account page and eligibility guidance describe current product details, including benefits and requirements. The pages state that applicants must be UK residents and at least 18; rates, selectable benefits and conditions can change, so check the live terms before applying.

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  • Confirm eligibility and the current onboarding requirements.
  • Read the live terms for rates, fees and any conditions attached to benefits such as cashback.
  • Check whether Ask supports the particular task you want to complete, and what support is available if it cannot help.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.