The Money Platform shifts focus to ‘underserved’ millennial borrowers
THE MONEY Platform has pivoted its borrower focus to millennials, which its chief executive says are an underserved segment of the lending market.
Joshua Graham told Peer2Peer Finance News that the peer-to-peer short-term lender is now lending almost exclusively to this demographic, who often struggle to get a loan from high street banks.
“They might live at their parents’ home or work in the gig economy for example, which could affect their eligibility for mainstream lenders,” he said.
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The Money Platform has lent more than £1.5m since launching in 2016 and now boasts around 3,000 investors and 250,000 borrowers. It aims to provide an affordable alternative to costly payday lenders, offering average daily interest of £3.50 on a £500 loan.
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The firm is planning to launch a pooled lending product in the fourth quarter of this year, which would spread investors’ money across every single loan. Currently, investors’ funds are lent directly to a specific borrower.
This would ensure greater diversification and has already received positive feedback from the platform’s investors, Graham said.
Looking ahead, The Money Platform is aiming to lend out £250,000 a month by the end of 2019.
“This needs to be sustainable growth,” Graham said.
“We will grow at the maximum pace we can while delivering lender returns.”
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The Money Platform received full Financial Conduct Authority approval in January 2016 and was put into the regulator’s Project Innovate incubator programme, which supports innovative fintech start-ups.
This article featured in the February edition of Peer2Peer Finance News, now available to read online.