World's first fully inclusive P2P lending platform

The world’s first fully inclusive peer-to-peer lending platform has been launched this week, in an effort to provide disgruntled UK savers with access returns of up to 12 per cent per annum.

eMoneyUnion, established by well-known industry figure, Lee Birkett, will be backed by credit worthy personal guarantors and an eProvision fund.

The new platform is aiming to target those 85 to 90 per cent of prospective borrowers that do not qualify for lending under current non-regulated lending platforms, such as Zopa and Ratesetter.

Speaking on the new platform, Lee Birkett, Founder and CEO, said: "Ever since the credit crunch bit hard in 2008, savers have been searching for a decent return on their money and millions of borrowers with a less than perfect credit score who really needed a loan have been left with expensive payday loans or doorstep lenders as their only options. Something needed to change.

“Having built one of the first fully regulated online finance platforms in the 90's, I got really excited a couple of years ago when people started taking money out of their savings accounts and putting small amounts onto non-regulated social lending platforms such as Zopa and Ratesetter. I have been a great fan of these platforms and the concept ever since.”

Over the past year, the peer-to-peer sector has grown 300 per cent, surpassing the £500 million lending milestone.
A recent study by innovation charity Nest suggests that the sector has the potential to account for £12.3 billion of loans a year, so we are looking forward to being an active participant in this financial revolution.

According to Lee, establishing the new platform had been on the cards for some time, however, he decided to hold back due to a lack of regulatory visibility.

This soon changed in March 2013, after the FSA produced a regulation paper confirming that peer-to-peer platforms are to form part of the OFT's regulatory transition to the FCA in 2014.

Lee added: “It's great to be at the start of something really big, and it feels great to be able to deliver savers the returns they desire and loans to people who need them most. It's a real win-win."