P2P platforms record £300m IFISA intake since launch

THE UK’s largest peer-to-peer platforms have seen 28,000 Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISA) opened with more than £300m invested since the tax wrapper launched in 2016.

Data from the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) shows that six of its members – Crowdstacker, Folk2Folk, Funding Circle, Landbay, Lending Works, and Zopa – are offering tax-free returns of between three and seven per cent.

The figures are cumulative and not broken down by firm or tax year so include funds taken by Crowdstacker, Lending Works and Landbay, who launched IFISAs in the 2016/2017 tax year, as well as those who only launched in the 2017/2018 period.

The data also suggests figures for the previous tax year will have surpassed the £17m invested across 2,000 accounts in 2016/2017.

‘We are really pleased that the IFISA has attracted such impressive momentum in its first year of being widely available to customer,” Paul Smee, chair of the P2PFA, said.

“It justifies the investment which platforms have made in the product and shows that P2P lending has a growing role to play in the investment market.”

Read more: IFISA uptake surpasses expectations

Read more: HMRC IFISA numbers come under scrutiny