P2P borrowing up 45% year on year
Borrowers switch to P2P lending for home loans
The irresponsible lending practices uncovered by the year-long inquiry by the Royal Commission on big banks seemed to have pushed borrowers to alternative lending providers, the CEO of peer-to-peer loan provider SocietyOne said. SocietyOne’s Mark Jones told Yahoo Finance that peer-to-peer loans have already gained traction in the industry. In fact, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that personal loans’ share of the lending market doubled from 14% to 28% between 2010 and 2018. Meanwhile, data from CommSec reveal that borrowing from non-bank institutions grew 10.3% in August 2018. “The reality is people trust the big four banks as secure, and they actually trust their local branch manager. […]
Why more Aussies are turning to peer-to-peer loans
The Royal Commission into the banks and financial services unveiled a series of disturbing, infuriating and unsurprising truths. Australia’s response to the findings could send tremors through the financial services sector as the search for alternatives to the incumbent providers becomes more urgent. It means peer-to-peer loans – which have already seen significant gains – could become even more prominent in the lending landscape, the CEO of peer-to-peer loan provider SocietyOne, Mark Jones believes. SocietyOne is an online peer-to-peer loan platform, connecting investors’ funds with borrowers’ needs. The majority of loans SocietyOne writes are personal loans. Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Jones said Australians have been resigned to accessing credit from […]
SocietyOne: Peer-to-peer lending offers a “better deal than the banks”
CEO Mark Jones reflects on six months in charge of Australia’s biggest peer-to-peer lender. SocietyOne became the first Australian peer-to-peer lender to cross $500 million in total lending in August last year. Since then, the company has enjoyed 6 months of consecutive record months for lending and is now about to pass the $600 million lending mark. After taking over as CEO in June 2018, Mark Jones has seen Australia’s first peer-to-peer lender go from strength to strength, and it remains on track to reach break-even point in March. “Over the last six months, we’ve really taken the business forward. We’re probably writing triple the business today that we were […]
Asset finance lender joins broker panel
A mortgage aggregator has expanded its lender panel to enable brokers to help customers with personal and asset finance. Loan Market Group has welcomed RateSetter as part of its commitment as the industry’s trusted advisor. It aims to be a single specialist broker which customers can entrust their portfolio of real estate, personal and asset finance needs to alongside their personal wealth, insurance and superannuation goals. Peer-to-peer lender RateSetter offers brokers access to personal loan and automotive loan products with rates from 7.49% and 5.90% respectively. Using a risk-based pricing model that delivers a personalised rate to borrowers in less than two minutes, RateSetter aims to deliver a simple, transparent […]
Wirecard brings its platform services around digital financial technology to Australia and New Zealand
Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, today announced its platform expansion in Australia and New Zealand. The Wirecard platform is now available in New Zealand for e-commerce services and Australia for omnichannel solutions. With this expansion, Wirecard is extending its ecosystem of real-time value added services around innovative digital payments in Oceania. This leverages on the global Wirecard strategy of digitizing payments worldwide as Australia is leading innovation in areas such as contactless payments, bill payments, digital commerce, and point-of-sale applications, and the market is ready to make the next transformation. Research and Markets found out that the Australian payment mix is shifting heavily toward electronic payments. […]
Bitcoin: Ten Years On
A mysterious, anonymous entity known as “Satoshi Nakamoto” posted a white paper on October 31 2008 entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. It was the first time that the concept of Bitcoin entered the world. But outside of the cypherpunk mailing lists – those promoting the use of privacy-enhancing technology – this event was hardly noticed. Ten years on, who hasn’t at least heard of the cryptocurrency? On just nine pages, the white paper explained how the Bitcoin system would work. Many attempts at electronic cash had already been made going right back to computer scientist David Chaum’s “Digicash” developed in the 1980s. Using an intricate dance of cryptography, […]
Personal loans: Young borrowers desert banks for better deals
Borrowers are turning away from traditional banks when applying for personal loans, flocking to digital, mobile-centric platforms and peer-to-peer lenders. A recent CommSec Economic Insights report showed loans by non-bank financial institutions were up 10.3 per cent for the year to August. This was an indication that banks were engaging in “more considered” lending and borrowers had other options, according to CommSec chief economist Craig James. “Banks are facing greater competition from non-banks,” Mr James said. “At the same time bank deposits are only lifting at a 2.5 per cent annual rate, putting greater reliance on external funding. It is clearly a competitive and challenging environment for financial institutions.” Peer-to-peer […]
