UK Peer-to-peer lending websites struggle to attract borrowers

Gareth Jones

August 25, 2017

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Gareth Jones

Two surveys published in the UK this week by VC firm Blumberg Capital and EY reported that only 4-7% of UK adults had used alternative lending services in the past 12 months. One factor that is keeping borrowers away seems to be worries about scams and identity theft.

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In the UK, Zopa, Britain’s oldest peer-to-peer lender, competes with banks for borrowers with a good credit rating but is currently closed to new lenders. Earlier this year, the company said it was going to apply for a banking licence. Hargreaves Lansdown, which sells funds to UK retail investors, shelved plans to launch a peer-to-peer service because “market size remains relatively small compared to the other exciting opportunities we have in front of us”. According to Samir Desai, co-founder of peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle, a move by regulators to authorise online lenders in the UK should change the picture.

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