The way people borrow and invest their money is changing. In the past, if anyone wanted a loan for a car or to pay off a credit card debt, they had to go to the bank or a credit union. This meant that they had to sit with a loan officer and wait for them to approve the loan. And investing was only done with a traditional broker, whether in person or online.
However, times have changed. Rather than going to brokers or banks, people can go to each other. That is exactly how peer to peer lending works. It is all about helping each other instead of relying on the banks. Every other day a new p2p lender enters the market, and it can become hard to distinguish the ones which you can trust. In this article, we are going to break down some of the best p2p lending platforms for both investors and borrowers.
List of Top Platforms Providing Peer to Peer Lending in the UK
Kuflink
Kuflink offers three different kinds of products, including
Innovative Finance ISA
, select-invest, and auto-invest. The IFISA and auto-invest have identical investment profile. Investors have the choice of selecting from two fixed-term products. The company offers a one-year investment with an interest rate of 3.99%, a 3-year investment with an interest rate of 5%, and a 5-year product with a rate of 5.35%. Investments that are made into an auto-invest and IFISA product are pooled together to buy multiple p2p loans. The company makes a 5% co-investment into every loan in the investment pool. In case a loan gets defaulted, the co-investment will absorb the losses first.
The IFISA offer provides tax-free income for UK taxpayer residents. The IFISA product by Kuflink is one of the best in the market. And, there are is recurring fees. Hence, it is an attractive offer.
The self-select product has two key benefits compared to IFISA and auto-invest. First, the interest rates available on this option are higher. Second, the level of loss protection which the investors get is higher. While the company has decreased its co-investment from 20% to 5%, it provides a loss guarantee of an extra 15% on top of its co-investment. This makes Kuflink loans one of the lowest risky option in the p2p market for investors. That is because the company first caps their loans at 70% of collateral values, which in turn reduces the risk of loss in even of default.
Ratesetter
Ratesetter is one of the leading p2p investment platforms in the UK. It has a default interest rate of 0.71%, and they charge zero fees to the lenders. The company offers a £10 minimum investment and has no maximum investment limit. Ratesetter attracts an average of 4.5% for the lenders.
Zopa
Zopa is the oldest running p2p lender in the UK. The company was launched in 2005 and has accumulated over 50,000 active lenders. The company charges a fee of 0% to 2% of the loan to borrowers.
People can invest a minimum amount of £10. When an investor lends money, it is then split into chunks, which are subsequently let out as microloans. The company also attracts an average return of over 5% after loan defaults. It has become one of the best UK p2p lending platforms.
Funding Circle
This is another great p2p lending platform. The company has a default interest rate of 1.5%, with an average of 46,000 active lenders. The platform charges 1% loan repayment. The company has an excellent 7% average return for the lenders. And there is no maximum limit for investment.
Assetz Capital
Assetz Capital is a popular p2p investment platform. The company offers an average return of 3.75% yearly. The platform offers investment in business loans. The company doesn't have a protection plan, and hence you will have to invent your own.
Rebuilding Society
This company is a peer to the business lending platform. The lenders on this platform are encouraged to engage with business borrowers and select the rate at which they would like to lend.
Lendy
Lendy is another great p2p investment site that is known for its high rates. It provides up to 15% average yearly returns to the lenders. And you will be investing in secured loans. But there is no insurance system in place, so you need to ensure that you set up a protection plan.
Lend invest
Lend invest is a rather new p2p lending platform. The company has a 0% default rate and has no fee for lenders. The platform, on average, attracts 7.18% returns for the lenders. But the minimum investment has to be £100.
Funding Secure
Funding secure is an investment platform that provides over 11.2% average returns. But, you will be investing in secured loans. The company is, however, not protected by FSCS. Hence you will need to establish a protection plan.
We have mentioned some of the best investment and borrowing peer to peer lending in the UK. They can surely provide you with the need to start investing immediately.
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