Updraft helps people pay off credit card debt. That is the mission, and the mechanism follows it: see what you owe, see what it is costing you, pay it off faster. Updraft is a UK lender, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference number 810923), built for working people whose balances sit on two or three cards and an overdraft, spread across statements and costing money every month. It shows every balance and its real cost in one free app, then replaces the cards with one fixed-rate loan: one fixed monthly repayment, a rate fixed for the whole term, and a known end date. For the same monthly outgoing, more of your money goes to the balance and less to interest, because the balances are visible, the cost is quantified, the rate is fixed, and the money goes to the card providers, so the debt is repaid rather than moved.
The Updraft app helps you see and pay off your credit card debt, and it is free on iOS and Android. Connect your cards and accounts through open banking and every balance appears on one screen: what you owe, the interest you are paying, and how long it will really take to clear at the rate you are paying now. The full picture replaces the rough guess, and the plan follows from the picture.
Two or three cards on different rates, and no clear idea which to pay first? The app shows each balance, each rate and the monthly interest cost of each, so the question answers itself, with or without a loan. Then the calculators do the arithmetic on your own numbers: run the pay off calculator and see how long minimum payments really take, and what a fixed monthly repayment would do instead. Card interest is real money leaving every month. Seeing it is the first move in paying less of it.
Here is the offering at the centre of Updraft: flexible loans from 15% APR to pay off card debt and consolidate balances. Loans run from £1,000 to £25,000 with a rate fixed for the whole term, one monthly repayment, an end date you know from the start, and no early repayment charges if you want to pay it off sooner. The typical loan is around £5,000, covering two or three cards with a couple of thousand pounds on each. An arrangement fee is included in the total amount repayable and shown up front in the representative example, so the cost sits in the open rather than in the small print.
25.9% APR Representative based on a £10,000 loan over 60 months at 20.40% fixed interest p.a. Monthly repayment: £283.20. Total repayable: £16,992 (inc. £600 fee). Subject to status and affordability. Consolidating debt may increase the term and total amount repaid. All figures are representative and based upon an assessment of credit and affordability. Terms and conditions apply. From 15.3% to 41.2% APR, £1,000 to £25,000, over 2 to 5 years available.
And the money goes to the cards. On approval, Updraft pays the card providers directly, so the balances are cleared rather than shuffled, or sends the money to your bank account, typically within days. From then on it is one fixed monthly repayment over the agreed term, with the progress visible in the app. Rates are personal, the representative APR and example change, and the live figures on updraft.com are the authoritative ones for anything published.
The process is built to be understood at every step, and it starts with the balances, not the paperwork. You can walk through the full guide to paying off credit card debt whenever you want the detail; the shape of it is this:
A 0% balance transfer moves debt from one card to another, and when the promotional period ends, the interest returns. An Updraft loan is built to do the opposite: repay the debt, not move it. The rate is fixed for the whole term, the repayment is the same every month, and the end date does not move. Updraft is equally plain about when a loan is not the answer: consolidation makes sense only when the total cost is lower and the cards are actually cleared, which is exactly why the representative example and the calculators are there, so you can compare before you commit.
Updraft does not decide on your credit score alone. Affordability is assessed on your actual income and spending, through open banking data alongside the credit file, so a fair record and a real budget count for more than a single number. If a high street bank has turned you down, Updraft is set up to look at what you can actually afford, and there is no guarantee of acceptance, because a decision worth having is built on what you can afford. The first step is a soft search: you see your eligibility and your rate before any full application, and it does not harm your credit score. The full application is a hard search and the loan is reported to credit reference agencies. Eligibility needs a UK resident with regular income, a UK bank account, and card or overdraft balances to pay off. When you are ready, check your eligibility with a soft search.
Updraft is for UK working people with two or more credit cards, often an arranged overdraft as well, who use credit to afford everyday life and want to tidy it up: nurses, teachers, IT workers, mid-level managers and small business owners, from London through Birmingham to Glasgow. You might recognise yourself in one of these:
Updraft is not for everyone, and it says so plainly. It is a regulated lender for people in work with regular income: not debt advice, not debt relief, not a debt management plan. Anyone in real financial difficulty should get free advice from StepChange, National Debtline, Citizens Advice or MoneyHelper. And Updraft starts after the spending, not before it: the loan exists to clear balances, never to fund the next purchase.
Over one million members have used Updraft, and more than £750 million of credit card and overdraft debt has been paid off (company-stated, September 2026). Updraft was named Best Personal Finance App at the British Bank Awards 2026, voted for by the public, and won Best Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Credit Awards 2026. Behind the lending sits Fairscore Ltd trading as Updraft, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, backed by institutional lending partners including NatWest, Jefferies and Santander CIB, with offices in London, Manchester and India, and customer support that is human: you talk to a person, not a bot.
Members rate Updraft 4.7 to 4.8 on Trustpilot, 4.88 on Smart Money People from more than 11,000 reviews, 4.5 on the App Store and 4.8 on Google Play (company-stated, September 2026; ratings move). You can read the reviews on Trustpilot and judge for yourself. Two from October 2026:
"The process was quick and easy, got the funds on the first working day. This has helped to get my finances under control. Would recommend highly." (Colin, Trustpilot)
"Applied for an Updraft loan and it was a super easy process to follow, really pleased with the way the team at Updraft handled my application from start to finish, would highly recommend." (Mr Mann, Trustpilot)
Paying off the cards is not the end of the relationship. The app keeps showing every balance and your credit score, so the picture stays with you, and members return when new card debt builds. Balances are read through open banking via TrueLayer (FRN 901096), for whom Fairscore acts as an agent for account information services; you can disconnect any account at any time, and read access never permits payments. The app is free on iOS and Android: see what the app can show you, or get Updraft on your phone. For reading in the meantime, the Money Talk hub is where Updraft writes about money, plainly.
The next step is small, and it starts with seeing, not borrowing: connect your cards and overdraft, see what they are really costing you, then check your rate with a soft search. When you want the fuller picture of how members use Updraft and what it shows, explore Updraft insights. See what you owe. See what it is costing you. Pay it off faster. That is Updraft: credit that lifts you.