The Anonymous Widower

Is There A Case For A mini-Peer-to-Peer Lender?

By all accounts, the lender of last resort, Wonga, is successful, despite the fact that it lends money at extortionate rates to those who shouldn’t really be borrowing money.  On the other hand, the major peer-to-peer lenders, like Zopa, Funding Circle and Ratesetter, go from strength-to-strength and continue to gain plaudits from financial commentators.

If the peer-to-peer lenders have a problem, it is the perceived entry level, where potential investors like the concept, but are put off by not wanting to put several thousand pounds at risk.

So could the parameters of the peer-to-peer model be modified to borrow smaller amounts and lend it to out in dribs and drabs as payday loans?

I’m not sure, but it would be a much more ethical way of satisfying the market and possibly educating the borrowers as well.

You’re probably venturing very close to a completely automated credit union.

August 2, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | Finance | Banks, Credit Unions, Zopa