A major recognition for the technology, data and Open Banking approach powering Salad’s mission to improve financial inclusion.
MAY 2026
Salad has been awarded a King’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation, one of the UK’s most prestigious official business honours, recognising the company’s pioneering approach to fair and affordable lending.
The award celebrates the technology behind Salad’s lending model. Rather than relying on traditional credit scores, Salad uses its proprietary AI and machine-learning technology, Crouton, to analyse Open Banking transaction data and assess affordability based on a customer’s real financial circumstances.
That approach has helped Salad build a different model for consumer credit, one designed to serve people who may be overlooked by mainstream lenders despite being able to afford repayments. In 2025 alone, Salad supported more than 90,000 workers, helping them save an average of £497 in interest compared with higher-cost alternatives.
Since launching in 2018, Salad has supported more than 180,000 customers with over £280 million of lending, and has grown to become the UK’s largest personal-lending Community Development Finance Institution.
Founder Alan Campbell described the award as a proud moment for the whole team and recognition of the years of innovation, commitment and care that have gone into using technology and data to create a fairer route to affordable credit.
Read the full announcement on the Salad Finance website here.
Bernard De Barbeyrac, Chief Data Officer at Salad meets King Charles III on behalf of the Salad Group at a reception held at Buckingham Palace for King’s Award recipients.