P2PFA widens membership with eight new associates
THE PEER-TO-PEER Finance Association (P2PFA) has added eight members through the launch of its associate membership scheme.
The new members are not P2P lenders themselves, but they provide a range of support services to the sector. They include law firms Simmons and Simmons, TLT and Fox Williams, which all specialise in fintech and alternative finance; as well as global information solutions company Equifax, which collates data on more than 820 million consumers worldwide. Alterest, a data analytics firm for the alternative finance market, has also joined as an associate member, alongside accountancy firm Grant Thornton and Altus Consulting. Belfast-based due diligence platform Orca Money rounds off the new memberships.
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“Drawn from an impressive array of professional and business services, software development, data analysis and related consultancies, the eight inaugural associate members of the P2PFA demonstrate the breadth of interest in the growing success which P2P lending constitutes in the UK,” said P2PFA director Robert Pettigrew (pictured). “I look forward to working closely with the P2PFA’s inaugural associate members to ensure that the contribution of the P2PFA continues to reflect the perspective not only of our member platforms, but the wider community of investors, borrowers as well as the related supply chain.”
Since it was founded in 2011, the P2PFA has acted as an independent regulatory body for the P2P sector. Full membership is restricted to P2P lenders, all of whom must meet the association’s robust standards for the transparent, fair and orderly operation of P2P lending. Member platforms currently comprise new entrant Folk2Folk, Funding Circle, Landbay, Lending Works, LendInvest, Market Invoice, RateSetter, Thin Cats and Zopa.
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“The P2PFA has, from its inception, been the authoritative voice of self-regulation in the UK peer-to-peer lending space, promoting high standards of business practice, making the case for robust transparency and an effective regulatory regime, as well as being a source of information and education about this exciting part of the alternative finance sector,” said the P2PFA’s independent chair, Christine Farnish.
“The decision to admit associate members demonstrates the continued ambition of the P2PFA to broaden its ambit to include major players who, whilst not having an involvement in direct lending, are important to the continued growth and success of P2P lending in the United Kingdom.”
