MoneyThing to allow pre-bids on loans

MONEYTHING is planning to allow investors to pre-bid on its loans, to address concerns that some were missing out on opportunities.

The asset-backed peer-to-peer lender currently launches new loans at 4pm. Founder Ed Pearce said that some investors feel they are missing out if they are not around to take part.

He told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that the platform will introduce pre-funding to address the issue.

“We usually launch our loans at 4pm but some investors are frustrated that this isn’t the best time for them as they may be at work,” Pearce said.

“Instead we will launch pre-bidding at least 24 hours before, so investors can put money in whenever they wish.

“It is an inevitable change once a platform reaches a certain level of demand and will make us more user-friendly.”

Read more: New referral scheme gives P2P lenders access to more borrowers

He said pre-bidding, which is already used by platforms such as Saving Stream and Assetz Capital, would be introduced in around six weeks.

It comes after the platform admitted that it had grown quicker than expected and now had more than 2,900 lenders but faced a shortage of borrowers.

Investors can currently earn up to 12 per cent per year by investing in loans on the platform and lenders have funded a total of £48.3m since launch in February 2015.

Read more: Zopa mulls move into secured lending