Online Loans by social lending
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Social Media Go Into Online Loans
Person-to-person lending is gaining ground on the Web, according to Jane Bryant Quinn in the Vancouver Sun today:
Social lending, person-to-person, is getting more attention as other sources of small loans dry up. Borrowers are looking for angels willing to make small business and personal loans. Angels gamble that they can find dependable people, make some money and have some fun.
She lists some interesting websites that a student or anyone else looking for an online loan may find worth checking out:
- Zopa.com
- Zopa is the world’s first social finance company. In 2005 it pioneered a way for people to lend and borrow directly with each other online. Since then, it has expanded across the world. In each country Zopa is a little different, but it’s always the same big idea.
- Prosper.com
- At Prosper.com, borrowers post the loan they want, the maximum interest rate they are willing to pay and, in most cases, their monthly income and expenses. Lenders bid on the loan, offering lower rates.
- Lendingclub.com
- Lendingclub.com specializes in loans within affinity groups such as alumni associations and Facebook friends. You can bet on individuals or buy into a portfolio of loans.
- Fynanz.com
- Fynanz.com bestows ratings on its student borrowers, with the best rates going to seniors and full-time students. You don’t get credit reports, but there may be co-signers, which helps.
- Greennote.com
- Here students don’t even have co-signers.
There are many more details in the original article. This certainly brings a whole new dimension to the notion of social media.
[Update as of October 9] Apparently Zopa US has now closed its doors. It was supported by credit unions, which have terminated this arrangement in these troubled economic times.
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BPWrap
October 9th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Zopa just shut down operations in the United States. See this post from their blog.
October 26th, 2008 at 8:43 am
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November 1st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
There is another great one: Kiva.org that is focused on lending personally to those in the developing world. The most you can get back is the amount you loan (you don’t get any interest) but the reward of directly helping others is great.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:40 am
I tried prosper.com but my credit score was too low for anyone to bid on me. Now a days a 640 isn’t exactly a good bet but I was asking for $10,000 also which is quite high. I’ve been trying to improve my credit score and in the future I’ll try person to person lending again.
It’s tough to hear about Zopa - too bad.. =/
-Ryan
November 19th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Great info. My friend had been looking for something like this. I’m sure he would love to hear about this. Thanks for sharing.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
The World Bank said on Tuesday that China’s economy will grow by just 7.5% in 2009, the lowest level in 19 years, due partly to the global economic slowdown.