Global Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Lending Landscape

Global financial space has witnessed a plethora of products which have tried to disrupt the financial industry, be it crypto currency or digital payments.

With almost 2 billion people globally unbanked as per World Bank estimates, Fintech is another industry which has gained prominence over the last decade.

Within the Fintech segment, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has emerged as the fastest growing segment. Leveraging increased internet penetration, digital infrastructure, advancements in machine learning & AI, P2P lending has been fruitful in connecting the last mile for financial services.

Morgan Stanley estimates that the P2P lending market is projected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 50%, making it a platform to look out for in the coming years.

With its inception in 2005 in United Kingdom, P2P platforms were officially launched to match borrowers and lenders. Since then, multiple P2P platforms have emerged across the world as an alternative to get loans. The global market size of P2P is expected to reach $460,312 million by 2025.

Currently, P2P has managed to make its presence felt across five continents- Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Asia. In countries like United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom and China, P2P has already established itself whereas there are countries like India, Brazil and Indonesia, it is in nascent stages.

Mentioned below is a brief review of the P2P market across the globe:-

1. United States: LendingClub is the biggest P2P player in the world which is based out of the United States
2. United Kingdom: Zopa & Funding Circle are among the first P2P platforms in the world
3. Korea: Money Auction, Pop funding, 8 percent, Tera funding, Lendit, Honestfund are some of key players in the P2P market
4. China: China is home to world’s fastest growing P2P player, CreditEase. It is the projected to operate within an unofficial or shadow banking sector of $10 billion
5. India: India has been fast developing into a P2P hub. With more than 20 players, favourable regulations and a huge unbanked population India is the ideal market for P2P.