RateSetter plans to launch IFISA this tax year
RATESETTER has said it plans to apply to HMRC for ISA manager status and launch its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) before the end of the current tax year.
The peer-to-peer lender, which announced on Tuesday that it had gained full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority, said: “our focus is naturally on making the best possible IFISA product for our lenders”.
RateSetter said on Wednesday that it will keep lenders updated via its website but also gave people the option to sign up to its IFISA mailing list.
The platform was the last of the big three P2P platforms to gain FCA approval.
Read more: RateSetter gives investors option to sell out free due to wholesale “interventions”
Chief executive and founder Rhydian Lewis said that they had “learnt a lot” during the process and had made the business more transparent.
“Authorisation has been a long but positive journey during which we have learnt a lot, improved our infrastructure and implemented important changes, notably making the business more transparent,” he said.
“Transparency is vital to our business because our customers need to understand what we do to appreciate the risk of lending on RateSetter.”
Read more: RateSetter will return to profit next year, says CEO
RateSetter recently celebrated its seventh birthday. Since its launch in 2010, it has facilitated loans worth more than £2.1bn, linking 57,000 lenders with 388,000 borrowers. Its lenders have earned a total of £82m of interest, at an average rate of 4.36 per cent.
