The FCA is the conduct regulator for 56,000 financial services firms and financial markets in the UK and the prudential regulator for over 24,000 of those firms.

AvantCredit have operated in the UK since October 2013 and has issued more than 70,000 loans to date, totaling nearly £200 million. The full authorisation covers all of AvantCredit's credit and lending operations and includes permissions for credit broking, debt collection and debt administration.

Raj Singh, Managing Director of AvantCredit said: "Full authorisation from the FCA is a significant step forward as we enter our next phase of growth. The customer is our number one priority and AvantCredit will always uphold the highest of standards and consumer protection policies. We are proud to be one of the first companies providing better access to affordable credit for middle-income consumers to receive this distinction."

AvantCredit offer unsecured personal loans ranging from £1,000-£20,000 with loan terms ranging from 12 to 48 months. Customers apply online and may receive a credit decision within seconds, with funding available as soon as the same business day.

The FCA authorisation is the latest in a recent string of milestones for AvantCredit. Earlier this year the company secured £130 million GBP in debt financing from a number of financial institutions, bringing the total UK debt funding to over £300 million. AvantCredit also announced two non-executive appointments to its UK board of directors, including H. Eugene Lockhart, former Global President and CEO of MasterCard, and John Uphoff, former head of Global Collections, HSBC Retail Banking.

Founded in 2012, Avant currently operates in the United States and United Kingdom. Globally, more than £2.6 billion in loans have been issued through the Avant platform, serving more than 500,000 customers.