Zopa

Zopa secures full FCA authorisation




Major peer-to-peer platform (P2P) Zopa has secured full authorisation for P2P lending from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The company first submitted its application for P2P authorisation in the latter half of 2015.

Zopa will now seek permission from HM Revenue & Customs to become an Isa manager ahead of plans to launch its own Innovative Finance Isa.

“We are delighted to receive our full FCA authorisation,” said Giles Andrew, co-founder and chairman of Zopa.

“Zopa, both individually and as a founder member of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA), has campaigned for peer-to-peer lending to be a regulated activity for a number of years.”

Last year, Bridging & Commercial exclusively revealed that three companies had withdrawn their applications for P2P lending authorisation between March and September 2016.

Zopa could be set to enter yet another long regulatory process in future, having announced at the end of last year its intention to launch a new bank.

“The authorisation process has been rigorous and in-depth and involved extensive scrutiny of our business,” added Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa (pictured above).

“…We are also working towards applying for a banking licence which will allow us to offer great customer choice whether you are spending, borrowing, saving or investing.”

The announcement follows news that Zopa had posted its second consecutive month of record lending back in February.

The company claims to have been the first UK P2P lending platform to surpass £2bn of lending.

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