P2P lender Zopa had a busy Q4. The company earned accolades at the AltFi and F5 Awards, unveiled a new look, announced a plan to launch a challenger bank, and partnered with Airbnb. And growth begets growth: today the company announced it has broken past the £2 billion ($2.5 billion USD) loan milestone. “We’re excited to be the first UK peer-to-peer lender to pass the 2 billion milestone,” Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana said. “Over the last 12 years, we’re proud to say we’ve helped over a third of a million people get better interest rates for both borrowing and lending.”
Zopa loans help consumers make automobile purchases, pay for home improvements, or finance debt consolidation. UK residents over the age of 19 with an income of at least £12,000 a year are eligible to apply for loans ranging from £1,000 to £25,000 and terms from 1 to 5 years. Applying for loans takes only three minutes and will not affect the applicant’s credit score. Both individuals and businesses (as long as they are not lenders themselves) are allowed to lend money through Zopa for investment purposes. Lending capital is distributed across different loan terms (up to five years) and lenders receive monthly payments from borrowers. Annualized projected returns to lenders range from 3.1% to 6.3%, and the platform also provides a “Sell My Loan” feature that enables lenders to sell their loans to other lenders on the platform (1% fee may be required).
One of Finovate’s earliest alums, Zopa demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2008. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company was recognized as Personal Loan Provider of the Year for the fourth year in a row at the Consumer Moneyfacts Awards in January. Zopa partnered with UK money management app, Pariti, to help millennial consumers better manage credit card debt last September, and the company’s executive chairman and co-founder, Giles Andrews, was named one of the 40 most exciting people in fintech in the United Kingdom by Business Insider. Zopa has raised more than $68 million in funding, and includes Augmentum Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners among its investors.