8 Tools to Start a Peer to Peer Lending Website

So you’ve seen the success of major peer to peer lending websites like LendingClub, Prosper, and these and now you want to start your own business in the niche. You’re in luck! There are a lot of solutions out there to set up a debt crowdfunding site.

In this post, I’m going to cover some of the ways that you can set up the software or website component of a peer to peer lending website. I’ll be covering how to actually build up the business in detail in a future post.

1. Agriya’s Lending Software

Agriya is a web development company based out of Chennai, India. They offer software to build a peer to peer lending website and other types of crowdfunding platforms.

They also offer a few unique ways to monetize the website like membership fees, listing fees, and more. “Choose any niche of the digital world and this peer to peer lending software will assist you to create a revolutionary lending based fundraising website in days.”

2. Zidisha’s Open Source Platform

Zidisha is an established p2p lending website that focuses on microloans for entrepreneurs in developing countries. The team was nice enough to make the entire framework of their website public so that other organizations can use, modify, or study the code, which took five years to develop.

“As of today, 17 February 2014, we are releasing the source code of our online person-to-person lending platform Zidisha.org to the public under a GPLv3 open-source license.

Now, any individual or organization may freely study, copy, modify and use the full source code that makes up the Zidisha.org website.”

3.  Cloud Lending Solutions

Cloud Lending Solutions offers some tools that you can use to set up a peer to peer lending marketplace. It is built natively on Salesforce and offers investor management, credit bureau integration, and loan fractionalization. The software also helps with:

“Back-office processes such as origination, underwriting, funding and servicing for marketplace loans can be complex and expensive without the right technology solution, and pose a significant challenge to the business.”

4.  Rebuilding Society/White Label Crowd

Rebuilding Society is a p2p lending platform that also has a sister company called White Label Crowdfunding, which makes it easy to set up a new p2p website.

“As the global phenomenon of peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding gathers paces and credibility, we offer people looking to set up in the market a solution that is proven and continuously improved.

We’ve invested over 10,000 hours into development, design, testing and project management, resulting in world-class p2p finance technology.”

5. Strategic Information Technology

SIT has created a few software products that can be incorporated into a lending platform, including retail banking software, lending tools, debt collection, and investment functionality.

6. Madiston

Madiston’s p2p lending software can be used to set up a debt crowdfunding platform where individuals or businesses can secure a loan. The tool allows you to configure your own lending model, conduct reverse auctions and matchmaking markets, and automate lending or bidding.

“MCF is a peer-to-peer platform that enables the creation of online exchanges, bringing both consumers and corporates together in open markets that are easy-to-use, transparent and capable of matching the most advantageous arrangements for the parties involved.”

7. MyAzimia

MyAzimia is another white label lending software that you can use to set up your website. One of the things that I like about this solution is that they have a very easy-to-view demo showing you what the finished lending website would look like.

The tool offers payment integration, loan management, reporting, and more. “As a Peer to Peer lending founder your key concern is to get your peer to peer lending operation as quickly into gear as you possibly can. A functioning, cost effective and secure technology platform is the most important asset you will need to get your operation off the ground and in the hands of your lenders and borrowers.”

8. Crowd Valley

Finally, Crowd Valley is in the development of a white label p2p lending platform that you can customize for your own site. The white label software includes a configurable loan origination module, lender application forms, online electronic signature functionality, borrower and lender matching algorithms, and more.

“Crowd Valley’s customer has been able to configure an MVP of their own branded P2P lending platform and the team has executed some initial loans amongst friends and family through the platform to demonstrate the complete process.”

So which is best?

You’re going to have to look in-depth at each software solution to determine which is a best fit for your new venture. I invite you to leave any experiences using these tools as a comment below, or, if you are a software solution provider, let us know about your website!

Source: http://www.crowdcrux.com/tools-to-start-a-peer-to-peer-lending-website/

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How safe is peer-to-peer lending?

Having tired of getting loans from banks and the high-interest rate they charge, people are now looking for alternatives. In this age of technology, finding alternatives isn't much of a surprise. Peer-to-peer lending, where, the public offer loans to individuals has already become a phenomenon. Multiple peer-to-peer lending websites are cropping up, connecting the borrowers with the investors. 

What is peer-to-peer lending?

As already mentioned, it is the public which gives loans to the public. The medium that connects each other is a website, an online platform. After the financial crisis that hit most nations, banks have cut down their credit or have been charging higher interest. It was exactly when peer-to-peer lending has seen a rise. The reason why peer-to-peer lending has caught the fancy of people is that, unlike in the traditional methods of lending and borrowing, it provides higher returns for investors. Moreover, the borrowers can borrow at a lesser interest rate. The online platforms help investors earn an interest of up to 6 percentage. 

Risks associated with peer-to-peer lending

The surety that the borrowed money will be repaid is not certain. The reason being that the websites aren't covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. That said, the default rates would be comparatively of a higher percentage. Also, while the government-backed loans are insured, the loans on such platforms aren't so. 

However, the government of the United States has taken steps to regulate this new found way of lending and borrowing. The websites that deal with such lending and borrowing business have to henceforth secure the loans through SEC registration. 

Minimizing the risk

On their part, the websites, too, have simplified the process. They do the process of bookkeeping,  transferring the funds, so the investor or lender will be freed from the hassles. 

Paying heed to expert advice can also be helpful to lenders. Why put all eggs in one basket? Experts call for diversifying the investments, especially for newbies who aren't much aware of how the system of peer-to-peer lending works. 

Another major risk mitigating factor is conducting background verification of borrowers by the websites. Doing so will be helpful to lenders as well as the websites that act as a medium between the lenders and borrowers. 

Final words

Many websites that act as a financial medium are cropping up. One such website can be created using a peer-to-peer lending software. The software can be helpful to aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to take advantage of the booming online business of running a platform, catering to the needs of investors and borrowers.  

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