Every P2P personal loan platform that’s open right now
The peer-to-peer consumer finance market has seen a shake-up over the past 18 months or so with a number of exits and new entrants.
RateSetter left the space following its acquisition by Metro Bank. And at the end of 2019, Leap Lending launched while this year Connective Lending and Plend have both joined the space.
Here Peer2Peer Finance News summarises each personal loan P2P platforms open to UK borrower and investors right now:
Zopa
Zopa is well-known as the world’s oldest P2P platform and it is also the UK’s largest with a total loanbook value since inception of £5.66bn.
It offers personal loans, debt consolidation loans, home improvement loans, wedding loans, car loans and car hire purchase finance.
Over the past year it has been busy with its digital bank. The Zopa group has now launched a credit card, implemented open banking for its borrowers, and is currently planning a £100m fundraise for an initial public offering.
Lending Works
Lending Works provides personal loans at 12.9 per cent APR representative with quotes provided within two minutes, while offering projected returns up to 4.5 per cent per annum.
The platform finances debt consolidation, car finance, home improvement, wedding and holiday loans. In April, Lending Works said it will continue implementing negative interest rates, but at a reduced amount, on certain cohorts while starting to pay interest on other loans.
The platform resumed new lending at the start of January 2021 with tightened creditworthiness and affordability criteria after pausing new lending for much of last year.
Lendable
Lendable uses its technology to offer quick quotes online in a paper-free process.
In March, the platform was believed to have reached unicorn status after being valued at more than £1bn based on secondary market fundraisings, according to reports, and in July it worked with car finance broker Zuto to develop a hire purchase product for vehicle buyers.
Elfin Market
Elfin Market launched in February 2019 with a remit to let investors fund lines of credit to individual borrowers with the same flexibility as a credit card but with much lower interest rates, allowing borrowers to withdraw funds from the Elfin Purse whenever they like.
In 2020, the platform launched the sector’s first credit card, The Elfin Card, and this year has joined Innovate Finance as a member and introduced a mobile app.
Lendwise
Lendwise, which launched in 2019, provides personal loans in the form of finance to students to support their postgraduate or professional qualification studies.
The P2P platform and education finance specialist also offers personal loans to graduates.
Leap Lending
Leap Lending launched in December 2019 and requires its borrowers to share their bank transaction data via open banking.
The platform, which also has an Innovative Finance ISA, offers unsecured personal loans from eight per cent.
Connective Lending
The pawnbroking and property P2P lending platform launched in February this year.
It offers loans secured against assets such as luxury watches, gold, fine art, boats and classic cars. Co-founder Daniel Grimes, who has 24 years’ experience owning and running a chain of pawnbrokers, heads the platform’s personal asset lending division.
In May, the platform said it aims to lend £1m by the end of the year and was actively seeking new lenders as its loan applications grow.
Plend
Plend plans on launching later this year targeting investor returns of between 10 and 25 per cent and this month raised £700,000 in a pre-seed equity funding round to support this.
The platform will specialise in personal unsecured credit using open banking data to forecast the affordability of a potential borrower over the lifetime of the loan.