P2P lending platform Relendex today launches its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). Relendex is fully-authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Â The UK Government introduced the IFISA in April 2016 and was created to sit alongside existing Cash, Stocks & Shares and Lifetime ISA products.
The Relendex ISA will work in a similar way to its regular accounts. Â Lenders will decide which loans to invest in and can build their own diversified portfolio of loans. Through this IFISA, lenders will enjoy tax-free returns on loans secured against UK property.
Michael Lynn, founder and CEO of Relendex explains why the Relendex IFISA is a viable alternative to other ISA products on the market: “Many people have built up a significant nest-egg in their tax-free ISA but in the low-interest environment Cash ISAs are only earning around 0.5% pa and Stocks & Share ISAs are potentially quite volatile and therefore investors’ capital is at risk.  A secured lending P2P ISA is the best of both worlds. The yield is good at between 6 and 10% pa, tax-free and there is considerable capital protection in the form of security over independently-valued UK property assets. Of course property values can fall, but since our average Loan-to-Value is around 60%, the property concerned would need to fall 40% on average before any loss would result.
So if ISA investors are thinking of using this year’s Annual ISA Allowance or transferring existing ISA funds to a Relendex IFISA Account, they can build a diversified portfolio of good quality loans and achieve a good yield. They can also reinvest the gross interest, to achieve compound growth and build their capital.â€
The Relendex ISA is a non-flexible ISA. This means that all new subscriptions made during a tax year will count towards your subscription limit for such tax Year and cannot be replaced. Michael Lynn, explains:
“Our lenders see us as a longer term investment, although we do provide a secondary market if they decide to sell on early.  A non-flexible ISA recognises this longer-term demand and allows us to offer the ISA without any fees. Also, ISA holders are responsible for adhering to the HMRC annual ISA Allowance, so we track their subscriptions so they don’t inadvertently exceed their annual allowance with us.â€
While there is an annual limit for new ISA subscriptions of £20,000 (for 2017-18 tax year), there is no maximum statutory limit to the amount that exitsing ISA money can be transferred across to a Relendex IFISA account (although we set a £10,000 minimum transfer value).  Transferring ISA investors will need to complete a Transfer Authority Form.  There is no need to get in contact with your existing ISA Manager as the Relendex specialist team will handle the entire process for you.â€
Asked by P2P-Banking.com about the sales expectations regarding the IFISA product Lynn replied: ‘We will be disappointed if we don’t bring in at least 1 million GBP in the first month subject to how fast transfer-ins of existing ISAs will flow through from ceding managers. Longer term it’s difficult to put a hard number on it but our conservative target is at least 10 to 15 million GBP in the first year.‘
Further questiones whether he expects deposits to come mainly using this tax year’s allowance or rather as transfers from amounts from the previous years, Lynn answered ‘The high base of existing ISAs (with over £200 billion sitting in Cash ISAs alone) strongly favours transfers.   But we also expect all transferring holders to utilise their current year annual allowance.’.
P2P-Banking also asked: ‘Should investors consider moving money from an S&S ISA to the Relendex IFISA?’. Lynn said: ‘We are not in the position to advise on individual portfolio allocations but do believe that we offer an attractive product on a risk/return basis. Obviously secured lending at relatively conservative Loan to Value and diversification does provide a good degree of capital protection for investors and a good yield. The good news is that S&S ISAs and IFISA are not mutually exclusive, so investors may consider allocating to both.’
To date Relendex states it has experienced no defaults and has maintained an average yield of 8.78% pa.
DoFinance is a P2P platform for private individuals to invest in consumer loans.
We believe in finance for human –  DoFinance aims to become the most user-friendly, secure and accessible P2P lending marketplace possible, so that anyone can participate in seemingly complex processes and become his or her own financial director.
What are the three main advantages for investors?
Potential investment risks for investors are well-balanced and brought to minimum: all loans are secured with a BuyBack guarantee. If the borrower doesn’t pay back the loan, you don’t have to wait for an extra 30 days (after the investment due date) to get your funds back – your money is available right away;
You have access to your money at any time – if you decide to withdraw invested money before the due date, you can receive your money starting from 14 to 28 days after your request with (or without) accumulated interest, depending on your chosen investment plan and preferred withdrawal term;
Your money never sits still; it is always earning. Auto Invest program on DoFinance reinvests funds the moment the borrower returns the loan and the investor’s money becomes available.
What ROI can investors expect?
Depending on the chosen investment plan, investors earn up to 12% annual return.
DoFinance was founded by the Alfa Finance Group. Can you please describe what Alfa Finance Group does and why it decided to set up the DoFinance marketplace?
The Alfa Finance Group is an online lending and investment management company operating with consumer loans in Poland, Georgia and Indonesia. We are proud that in less than two years – since its launch in 2015 –  the Alfa Finance Group has attracted more than 150,000 registered clients and over €16 million in loans issued as financing loans.
Launching [the] P2P platform is just one of the steps toward expanding the list of available financial services of Alfa Finance Group. Our goal is to continue developing and offer more financial services in the investment management sector.
According to the press release Alfa Finance Group has invested 2 million Euro in launching DoFinance. Can you please describe what the money was used for?
The money was invested in technologies to create the platform and in building our loan portfolio.
The best warranty for the safety of investors’ funds, we believe, is effective risk management when it comes to the borrowers thereof big part of the money was invested in developing risk assessment tools that allow us to evaluate borrower’s behavior to detect their willingness to repay as precisely as possible. Our risk assessment tools as well as expertise in risk management permits us to evaluate the behavior of each potential borrower, hence minimizing the risk of failure to repay the loan and making the investment process as safe as possible.
Is the technical platform self-developed?
Yes. The technical platform is built on two pillars – creating a more secure and user-friendly P2P lending platform. During the development stage, we focused on smart risk assessment and platform that is handy, accessible and easy to use. We consider customer feedback carefully and, although a lot has been done already, we are still at the very beginning of our journey – the next challenge is to work on the planned improvements.
What was the greatest challenge so far in the course of launching DoFinance?
Obviously, the fierce competition in the industry challenges us to work faster and bring innovations to the marketplace, but it would be just fair to call it motivation and not challenge.
DoFinance is a marketplace, and it is vital for us to make sure the products we offer are entirely safe.
The greatest challenge was to develop a risk assessment tool that would minimize the risk of failure to repay the loan, be effective and secure. Risk assessment and management is our strength, and all our loans are secured with a BuyBack guarantee. If the borrower doesn’t pay back the loan, you don’t have to wait for an extra 30 days (after the investment due date) to get your funds back – your money is available right away.
Another challenge was becoming available also to Asian investors. DoFinance is the first European-based P2P lending platform to open customer center in Indonesia, bringing together European customer centered approach and Asian investors. We are happy to be the first ones to offer such individual approach to all our customers and give the chance to Asian investors to invest in Europe.
Which marketing channels do you use to attract investors?
Technology innovations are at the heart of our products hence we mainly use the opportunities digital marketing channels offer. It is a great channel to also reach important players in the industry – opinion leaders, investors, experts etc.
Finance for human stands behind everything we do, which means we look for creative ways to reach our audiences – not only fintech professionals, but also investors without a professional background in financial and investment management. Anybody who is at least 18 years old and holds a bank account can register at DoFinance and, by investing as little as 10 EUR per loan, become his own financial director.
Is DoFinance open to international investors?
Yes, DoFinance is available to private individuals holding a bank account in EU, EEA countries as well as Asian countries which are not included in the lists of high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions and international sanctions (Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam etc.).
What is your opinion on the planned upcoming regulation in Latvia for p2p lending?
It is important that the Ministry of Finance includes industry representatives, when developing regulations on p2p lending platforms. Regulations developed without a throughout understanding of the industry can harm both investors and businesses.
Fintech industry has a potential to become Latvia’s success story which would contribute to both image and prosperity of the country, thus there must be healthy balance between industry regulation and its self-regulation. The entire financial industry and eventually the consumer will benefit from the development of FinTech as banks and FinTech companies will start cooperating when it comes down to providing financial services, customer service etc. Therefore, it is the state’s responsibility to create environment where these companies will stand and where intellectual capacity of labor will increase and taxes will be paid. At the same time, the regulation must ensure transparency and monitoring – simply because then dishonest entrepreneurs wouldn’t be able to harm investors.
Where do you see DoFinance in 3 years?
DoFinance will definitely expand geographically and continue working on developing new financial products for international markets. Our services just became available to Asian investors and now DoFinance looks even further – we don’t want to limit ourselves when it comes to geographical borders.
As we already mentioned, DoFinance is just the first step toward expanding the list of available financial services of the Alfa Finance Group. Most importantly, with every new development we make sure to keep our core principle – finance for human.
P2P-Banking.com thanks Janis Kulikovoskis and Viesturs Kulikovoskis for the interview.
LandlordInvest is a UK-based peer-to-peer lending platform for residential and commercial mortgages. We launched in December last year after becoming fully FCA authorised. In January this year, we made bit of P2P history as we launched the first residential mortgage backed Innovative Finance ISA, ahead of major players such as LendInvest and Funding Circle.
What are the three main advantages for investors?
Security – we believe that loans should be asset-backed as it creates a form of security for investors if a borrower defaults. I personally would not invest in unsecured loans given the risks and the potentially very lengthy enforcement process to reclaim part of the capital, if any at all.
Returns – We offer returns of up to 12%, although we recently funded a loan with a rate of 19% to investors. The loan was arranged with a trusted bridging lending partner and is secured over a flat in Chelsea, one of London’s most prestigious areas.
Diversification – We offer investors the possibility to invest in both relatively low-risk buy-to-let mortgages and more risky bridging loans. Investors can build their portfolio according to their risk appetite and other considerations.
What are the three main advantages for borrowers?
Manual underwriting – we are more pragmatic in our underwriting than most high-street lenders and assess each loan on its merits. For us, the most important part of our assessment is that the borrower has a verifiable track-record and that the security is enforceable in the event of the default.
Speed – we recently assessed a loan, had it fully funded and completed in two days. It was for a borrower that was let down by his exiting lender for an obscure reason at the last minute and approached us.
Online application with a simple online control panel – A borrower may apply for a loan through a simple online form and keep track of the status of their application, loan schedule, loan payments in a easy to use control panel.
What ROI can investors expect?
We aim to offer returns between 5-12% per annum, depending on the product.
You recently launched an IFISA product. How has the investor uptake been so far and was it a big advantage to be in the forefront of approved providers?
The demand for our IFISA has been good. IFISA account holders, although only around 20% of the total registered investors, account for 50% of all funds on the platform. As such, IFISA account holders usually deposit more than non-IFISA account holders and also invest more.
I believe that the main advantage of being one of the first platforms able to offer the IFISA is that we have managed to establish a presence in the industry. If it was not for the IFISA, we would probably be less known than we currently are, given our relatively recent launch.
It remains to be seen what happens when the major players are able to offer the IFISA, but I believe it will be a benefit for us as it will make the IFISA a more mainstream product, benefiting everyone in the P2P industry.
Is the technical platform self-developed?
A prototype of the platform was developed overseas, but the final platform in use today was developed in-house by our tech team, led by our co-founder and CTO Joe Vallender. We continue to make all further developments in house, and are releasing new features regularly.
What was the biggest challenge in launching LandlordInvest and what have been challenges since?
The biggest challenge has been operating under a “real†P2P model, i.e. no pre-funding of loans. As we were one of the first platforms operating under this model, some investors did not fully understand how it works, as many were used to the pre-funding model operated by many players within our niche. One of the drawbacks with a “real†P2P model is that a loan does not start to accrue interest until a loan is complete. This means that there is a certain cash drag. However, one of the benefits with a “real†P2P model is that lenders lend directly to the borrower(s) and the servicing fee charged by us is usually lower than what platforms that operate a pre-funding model charge. This means that we pass on more interest to the lenders.
How is the company financed? What background does your team have?
LandlordInvest was initially entirely financed by the founding team and have recently raised financing from business angels. We’re currently in discussion with several private and intuitional investors to raise another round, which will help us to further ramp up our capacity.
Which marketing channels do you use to attract investors and borrowers?
We use a multichannel approach including, establishing good relations with the press, having an interactive presence on various forums and blogs, affiliate marketing programs and social media presence.
We still believe that the best marketing is doing what we set out to do as the best marketing channel is always word-of-mouth. If we are able to satisfy the platform investors, then there is a high chance that they might recommend us to someone else.
Is LandlordInvest open to international investors?
LandlordInvest does accept overseas residents, subject to KYC and AML checks.
However, it is a requirement that investors must have a UK bank or building society account to be able to invest on our platform.
I hear you are planning a secondary market? Will that work with premium and discounts or at par? What other features do you plan to roll out this year?
We are indeed developing a secondary market and expect to launch it in the beginning of May this year. Investors will only be able to sell loan or loan parts at par. Investors will also be able to sell parts of loans.
We are always developing the platform as we want to deliver the best experience investors can have when investing our platform.
We welcome feedback from investors and have implemented a number of features following direct conversations with investors, and will continue to do so.
Where do you see LandlordInvest in 3 years?
We have established ourselves as one of the leading platforms within our niche and delivering good risk adjusted returns to the platform investors. This has also been our aim since we founded the company and we will do our utmost to reach that aim.
Incomlend is a unique invoice exchange connecting businesses and private funders on a global level. The Incomlend platform serves as a marketplace where funders with capital can purchase trade receivables from suppliers at a discount. As a result, Funders get profit from the discount, while the Supplier get cash on the spot.
What are the three main advantages for investors?
Security.
We are the first platform in operation to fully insure the capital of our funders against Buyer payment default on all of our trades. Our Credit insurance is provided by a world leading insurer specialized in international Trade finance.
Furthermore, funds are secured on a segregated account managed by an independent trustee, limiting the risk of funds misuse by the platform.
Global scope. We are the first platform to offer funders an unprecedented worldwide diversification opportunity allowing them to be positioned on multiple countries and currencies.
Profitability. By accessing our invoice discounting trades, funders benefit from superior return levels as compared to current options for short term liquidity placements. The invoice repayment cycles are short (up to 120 days) allowing investors to accelerate capital rotation and profit, while keeping liquidity accessible in the short term.
What are the three main advantages for borrowers (Suppliers)?
Global Scope. We are a natively international platform, offering Suppliers to fund their Export receivables in multiple countries and currencies, while also covering their domestic receivables.
Funding flexibility: We provide Non Recourse funding and require No collateral. Suppliers can access funding without long-term contracts or obligation to channel all the sales through the platform are required. Funding is provided off balance sheet, allowing SME’s to keep their indebtedness intact.
Funding efficiency: 100% of funding requests on the platform are filled, funding lasts less than a day on average.
What ROI can investors expect?
More than 10% return annualized, net of fees, if capital reinvested on an annual rolling basis.
How does Incomlend rate the creditworthiness of invoice sellers and invoice buyers?
Our main focus is on the Buyer payment risk, as funding is provided non-recourse to the Supplier. The Buyer payment risk is covered by a worldwide credit insurer, which applies its own internal rating to each Buyer prior to onboarding on the platform. Each Buyer must be rated between 1 to 5 (out of 10, 1 being no risk and 10 being high risk), as per our Credit Insurer’s classification.
Incomlend does not provide so far an internal rating on Suppliers, as the risk is not borne on them and as any type of internal rating would be considered as Financial advisory, requiring specific financial licences under the Singapore regulation.
Incomlend provides objective data on the features of the Buyer-Supplier relationship map, such as invoice confirmation, goods confirmation, length of buyer-supplier trade relationship, leaving room for jusdgement to the investors.
Can you please describe how the integrated insurance works and the benefits it offers?
Our insurer covers up to 90% of the invoice face value, and Incomlend finances maximum 90% as well, which means that the capital invested by the funders into each invoice is 100% covered.
The insurance protects the investors against risk of default from the buyer (situation where the buyer does not pay the invoice at maturity).
At the onboarding stage, each Supplier is required to provide information on its buyers. Each buyer is then screened and financials analysed by Incomlend. Subsequently, should the Buyer satisfy our internal scoring matrix criteria, the Buyer is submitted for Insurance coverage approval to the Credit insurer.
If the Credit insurer accepts to cover the buyer, a maximal funding limit will be set by the Credit Insurer, which Incomlend monitors to prevent crossing the maximum allowed coverage mark. If the Credit Insurer refuses to cover the buyer, the Supplier’s invoices issued to that buyer will not be paid.
If there is a buyer default, the Credit Insurance is activated and funds are reimbursed starting from 60 days after default (maximum possible reimbursement limit is 270 days, depending on the specific situation of the buyer and recovery actions involved).
Is the technical platform self-developed?
The front end of the exchange platform has been developed based on a white label solution, while the back office systems have been customized in house based on a standard solution.
What was the greatest challenge so far in the course of launching Incomlend?
An important challenge was striking the deal with our Credit Insurer, which was reluctant at first to work with a fintech platform, a totally new framework for them.
Can you please describe the market environment and regulation in Singapore?
The market is quite competitive in Singapore in terms of peer to peer lending and invoice trading in particular. Demand for invoice trading is high from the investors, while companies progressively open up to the alternative finance channels
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the financial local regulator. The MAS is strongly backing and promoting the fintech sector in Singapore, the ambition being to become a major international hub for fintechs. The MAS provides a flexible and advantageous environment for fintech, involving as well major financial instutions for the regulatory sandbox.
The MAS has been observing the fintech industry and so far has not regulated the sector as the FCA did in the UK. Howver, the MAS talks directly to different platforms and monitors activity to make sure investors are protected. Some platforms, for instance, have been required by the MAS to obtain a financial advisor licence due to their loan activities.
Under the MAS Securities act, a trade receivable is so far not considered as a security, while trading invoices at a discount is not considered as a loan provision activity, which involves interest accrual.
Incomlend applies international KYC/AML standards to all its clients while creating progressively a reserve capital by deducting a targeted percentage from each trade.
Which marketing channels do you use to attract investors and borrowers?
Introducers, Agents, Chambers of Commerce, Professional Associations, Forums and conferences, Business services networks (insurance, accounting, incorporations), Private business clubs, VC/BA clubs and associations, Private Wealth management networks, PR, SEO, targeted digital campaigns, social networks and other online media.
Is Incomlend open to international investors?
Absolutely, this is natively the Incomlend model.
Where do you see Incomlend in 3 years?
In 3 years, we see Incomlend crossing the 1 billion USD mark of funded invoices on the platform, world leader of invoice trading and supply chain based on the marketplace funding model.
We also see Incomlend in 3 years as a provider of a diversified range of trade finance instruments (including LCs, payables finance, guarantees), as well as a market reference in terms of digital invoice payments and exchange standard protocols.
P2P-Banking.com thanks Dimitri Kouchnirenko for the interview.
mozzeno is a Belgian fintech founded in December 2015. We have just launched the first digital platform to enable private individuals to participate indirectly in the funding of loans to other private individuals. Loans are granted by mozzeno, acting as a regulated lender. mozzeno then finances or refinances these loans thanks to the issuance of Notes (financial instruments).
What are the three main advantages for investors?
Investors can expect higher returns compared to deposits or saving accounts in Belgium (currently close to 0%).
mozzeno performs a strict selection of borrowers and eases the diversification of investor’s portfolios.
Investors can benefit from a ‘PROTECT guarantee’, covering between 60% and 100% of the loan outstanding amount and up to 3 unpaid instalments, in case of default.
Investors can choose between manual or automated (re-)investments, with very granular selection criteria to match their risk appetite and investment preferences.
What are the three main advantages for borrowers?
Borrowers can benefit from competitive market rates, proposed dynamically based on their assessed risk profile. This cost of credit can also be further reduced, thanks to a specific incentive we put in place. Borrowers repaying systematically on time over the loan period are getting a part of the origination fee back on their bank account at the end of the loan term.
Interests paid by the borrowers are benefitting to other people like them, not to banks or other financial institutions. An increasing number of people are sensitive to these sharing economy principles or simply open or looking to financial solutions outside of the traditional banking system.
The loan application process can be completed fully online and digital. Even the loan agreement can be signed digitally thanks to eID. If the borrower chooses the proposed digital options, the whole process can be done without any paper on any side (borrower and mozzeno).
What ROI can investors expect?
Investors are building their portfolio of Notes themselves, picking up underlying loans manually or thanks to automated investment profiles. The selection can be made based on criteria like the loan purpose, the risk class, the maturity, or more advanced criteria like net income, housing status, professional status… Hence, the return an investor can expect really depends on the type of investment strategy he will follow. As an average we target to provide 3% before tax, the maximum expected return is about 5,79%.
Is the technical platform self-developed?
Absolutely, we started the development of the platform internally in November 2015, in parallel of the regulatory track. From the beginning, the ambition has been to develop a highly modular, scalable and multi-lingual platform that can be leveraged for other sharing economy use cases, under our own brand or through white-labelling. mozzeno services, mother company of mozzeno, develops such a B2B business model, and can provide a range of existing modules (eKYC, digital boarding, transaction orchestration, scoring…) to other financial players, as well as co-develop complementary modules with them.
What credit rating / credit history data is available on Belgian consumers and how reliable is it?
There is a very high concern for the risk of over-indebtedness and for retail consumer protection in Belgium compared to other EU countries. There is no developed pay day loan or subprime business, as the interest rates and maturity are capped and the lending activity restricted to regulated lenders. These regulated lenders have the obligation to register all granted loans (mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, credit lines, overdrafts…) to the Central Individual Credit Register managed by the National Bank. This database also includes information on defaults. As a regulated lender, mozzeno is contributing to this CICR and has access to this market-wide credit history database (positive and negative sides).
As a consequence of this market specific, there is no other established credit bureau. With regards to credit rating, we have developed our own scorecard with a specialised company, we continue to further develop it, and we also benefit from the well trained scoring of our credit insurer.
How is the company financed? What background does your team have?
The company has been initially founded and funded by my partner, Xavier Laoureux, and me. Xavier has a master in Law, has worked more than 10 years in digital marketing strategy for agencies like TBWA. I have been working 15 years in the online payment business, namely for Ogone and then for Ingenico ePayments. Tom Olinger, former CFO of a mid-size Belgian bank, has joined the management team in April 2016.
Some fintech business angels and W.IN.G (a Belgian seed fund) have taken part to a seed round in Q2 2016. A further funding round should take place in the course of 2017.
Can you please describe the p2p lending regulation in Belgium?
Well, actually p2p lending as such is forbidden by law in Belgium. On one hand, the European prospectus law has been adapted locally very strictly, preventing individuals to raise funds publicly, even through an intermediary platform. This means that a borrower candidate cannot invite other people publicly to lend him money. On the other hand, one needs to be a regulated lender to grant loans and to get access to the Central Individual Credit Register. There is a new regulation as from November 2015, this regulated lender status now being supervised by FSMA.
Our regulatory model is then two-sided. We were the first Belgian regulated lender approved by the FSMA as per the new regulation, and this allows us to grant loans for Belgian residents. We also published a base prospectus, also approved by the regulator, allowing us to issue Notes on a continuous basis. These Notes are the financial instruments subscribed by the investors, similar to bonds, and mimicking the repayment behaviour of the underlying loan.
mozzeno is the first p2p lending service in Belgium. Compared to other European countries Belgium had to wait long for a p2p lending marketplace. Is regulation the cause for this, or are there other reasons?
The complexity of Belgian regulation is obviously the main reason. This so called banking monopoly made a ‘simple’ direct model for peer2peer lending completely impossible in Belgium and a few previous attempts have failed for that main reason. Our indirect model copes with this complex regulation and the operational model of the platform has been thought to be as close as possible to p2p lending from a user experience perspective.
Having said that, Belgium also remains typically a complex market due to the different languages and cultures as well the limited size.
What is the reaction / the viewpoint of banks, if you talk to them about p2p lending?
We have discussed with the main Belgian banks over the past 2 years, and the initial reaction was scepticism due to the complex regulation and the required regulator green light still ahead of us at that time. Now that we have the required regulatory agreements and that we are live, we are seeing diverse reactions, either enthusiastic or defensive. This is of course too early to draw any conclusion on this. We are, on our side, convinced that both models are complementary, and open to share views and discuss with banks and other lenders. We have applied to the relevant industry associations to foster such exchanges.
What was the greatest challenge so far in the course of launching mozzeno?
Certainly the complexity of Belgian regulation, with regards to p2p lending, and the time needed to define and set-up the required structure, with first discussions with the regulator as from March 2015. While we understand and agree with each of the requirements, questions and challenges we have faced so far, it is fair to say that this is not always compliant with a startup agenda.
Which marketing channels do you use to attract investors and borrowers?
For borrowers, we are planning to use mainly digital channels, with the best mix possible between natural, earned and paid traffic sources. For investors, beside the same digital channels, we plan to organise roadshows and meet investors physically to build trust in the platform. We will respectively orchestrate the marketing effort based on the demand/supply balance.
On both sides we also intend to set-up member-get-member programs.
Is mozzeno open to international investors? Do you plan an international expansion?
As most businesses starting from Belgium, an international expansion is integrated in the plan from day 1, due to the limited size of the domestic market. On the investor side, our main commercial focus at launch is on Belgian retail investors, but we can technically accept retail and professional investors from EU today. Our prospectus can also benefit from an EU passport, for countries in which we will target a real commercial focus on retail investors. On the lending side, regulations are not harmonized at EU level, so our internationalisation strategy will be a mix of partnerships with assets originators and own expansion, based on opportunities.
Where do you see mozzeno in 3 years?
We see mozzeno as becoming a trusted and representative player in Belgium, having a footprint in some other EU markets, either through partnerships or under our own brand. With mozzenoservices, white-labelling our technology has also a great place in our plans (innovative scoring systems, platforms for the sharing economy, seamless digital boarding processes…), with expectations to partner with the most ambitious fintech, insurtech or traditional players, helping them in their launch or digitalisation roadmaps.
VIAINVEST is a peer-to-peer lending marketplace offering both private individuals and companies to invest in consumer loans originated across Europe. VIAINVEST follows worldwide trend and offers investors safe and more effective investment opportunities than traditional banks do. The main aim of VIAINVEST is to ensure outstanding investor support as well as provide easy and accessible investment environment that does not require useless actions or extra time for understanding ongoing processes.
What are the three main advantages for investors?
VIAINVEST is a truly customer-oriented company, and we strive to provide the most satisfying investing experience possible. Great deal of investors’ concerns are related to investment safety, so all loans listed on VIAINVEST are secured with a Buyback Guarantee. Also, to guarantee that one investor will never be 100% committed to particular loan, originators keep 5% “skin in the game†for each loan.
To develop the platform that would be convenient and easy to use, we encourage investors to leave their feedback; each of recommendations is reviewed and most of them are included in our future updates list.
What ROI can investors expect?
Currently investors can choose to invest in loans originated in the Czech Republic with 12% annual ROI and Spain – up to 12,2% annual ROI depending on the loan.
VIAINVEST was founded by the mother company VIA SMS Group. Can you please describe what VIA SMS Group does and why it decided to set up the VIAINVEST marketplace?
The launch of VIAINVEST was great refresh for VIA SMS Group that is alternative finance services provider operating across Europe. Until now VIA SMS Group was mainly operating in consumer lending market but with VIAINVEST the company is making a shift from non-bank lender to a fintech company. Currently VIA SMS Group is offering its services in 5 countries – Latvia, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain – and has recently launched several new products to diversify its product portfolio. From the end of 2016 the company is also offering payment card with credit line SAVA.card, savings product VIASPAR for Swedish clients as well as there is still an opportunity to invest into company’s bonds. The company has great development plans, but outstanding customer care will always remain the most important goal.
VIA SMS Group is active in more countries than in Spain and the Czech Republic. Will loans from other countries be listed on the VIAINVEST marketplace soon?
This is actually the next update planned for VIAINVEST – in following weeks we will publish loans originated in Poland and Latvia, Sweden will also follow in the nearest future.
Is the technical platform self-developed?
Yes, we have built VIAINVEST from scratch. As we prefer to have full control over all processes, we have great team of IT professionals employed in house to ensure continuous support at any time.
What was the greatest challenge so far in the course of launching VIAINVEST?
As VIAINVEST is not the first platform entering the peer-to-peer lending market, we had a lot of examples to learn from. I can say that there were no critical problems within the development process, adjusting VIAINVEST to the specific needs of investors on the go is more challenging!
Which marketing channels do you use to attract investors?
We mainly use digital marketing, but reaching out to the fintech influencers and opinion leaders is more effective tool to spread a word about VIAINVEST. As clients of peer-to-peer lending platforms are specific group of people with certain interests and goals, you need to be more creative and intelligent within any advertising activities.
Is VIAINVEST open to international investors?
VIAINVEST is open to any investors holding a bank account within the European Union or other country to which the requirements arising from European Union legislation on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing apply. Currently there is no legislation in Latvia regulating operations of peer-to-peer lending platforms, but it may be developed in 2017, so VIAINVEST is already implementing existing regulations.
Where do you see VIAINVEST in 3 years?
Fintech is changing traditional finance world in such pace, that it is hard to predict what will happen even in a year. VIAINVEST will definitely continue to expand its loan originator list and implement new features to make online investing mush easier and accessible to everyone. We have great plans, first news will be out soon, stay tuned!
P2P-Banking.com thanks Eduards Lapkovskis for the interview.
