INVESTING P2P LENDERS
Cle &
green
R
ateSetter, one of the few Austral-
ian peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders
enabling retail investors to
participate in the lucrative
consumer and business credit
marketplace, is not letting a lack of competition
stop it from introducing new initiatives.
Investors in P2P loans enjoy superior returns –
think 5% to 8% – compared with bank accounts,
including term deposits. But this comes with
increased risks, as investors in P2P loans do
not enjoy the federal government guarantee
over deposits up to $250,000 that covers banks,
building societies and credit unions.
RateSetter (ratesetter.com.au) has expanded
into clean energy loans, changed the rules forearly withdrawals and is improving its edu-
cational offering for investors. It also plans to
launch an app by the end of the year.
Investors can start with as little as $10, and
at the time of writing, interest rates ranged
from 2.5% for one month to 7.7% for five years.
SocietyOne, the first P2P lender to set up shop
in Australia, has still not changed its business
model to enable retail investors to participate.
Only institutions and high-net-worth individ-
uals and self-managed super funds (with over
$2.5 million in net assets or at least $250,000 in
gross earnings a year over a minimum of two
years) can invest via the lender. A spokesper-
son says potential retail investors can regis-
ter their interest online at societyone.com.auSTORY PA M WALK LEYPeer-to-peer lenders are refining their platforms to cater
for a growing demand for credit