Zopa.com is still approaching rollout in the US. Originally the peer to peer lending service was going to just start in California. Now the roll out will be nationwide. I’ve mentioned it before on this blog - last November to be exact. Some unanticipated changes have had to be made, but overall that should make things safer for lenders.
Just as mutual funds put stock market investments into the hands of ordinary people who didn’t have $100,000 to invest into a properly diversified portfolio, peer to peer lenders will increase the opportunity to obtain superior returns on money that would otherwise be put in Certificates of Deposit or passbook savings accounts. It will also allow borrowers to get money at reduced rates based on their credit scores. What it cuts out are the banks with marble columns on every corner.
As such, it will represent a source of new start up capital for small businesses so they won’t have to max out 20 credit cards (hopefully).
Whenever they send out an email, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, you may also want to read Business 2.0’s “Social Networking for Dollars” to learn more.
Image courtesy Zopa.com
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