Comments on: Social lending the next Web 2.0 phenomenon – Part II

By: Fiona

Fiona — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

You should check out kiva.org

It’s the same social lending idea but the funds are used in the same way as traditional microcredit.

From their website: “Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world – empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.”

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seduce any woman — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

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By: Pushkar

Pushkar — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Good introductory article – however, must point out that Prosper is relatively new in the US. One of the initial ’social lending’ (if you will) companies in the US is Circlelending (http://www.circlelending.com/). They have been around since 2002 and I think they have more appeal than Prosper at the moment. They also have been growing steadily over the past couple of years.

Zopa is definitely more ‘web 2.0′ than any of these, esp in the layout / design / interaction. I guess financial institutions in the US needs to come up with cooler UIs :)

That being said, check out Circlelending.

By: Marcel

Marcel — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I would like to see Google, Ebay and Yahoo get into this business..

By: Richard Bullington-McGuire

Richard Bullington-McGuire — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The two Prosper listings you linked to are from the same borrower. The first listing, the real tear-jerker, did not get funded, perhaps because of the interest rate, perhaps because of the lack of information on where the funds would come from to repay the loan.

Someone with a D credit rating and a 44% debt-to-income ratio is going to pay high interest rates on any new borrowing due to the significant risk of default. Even a loan at 27% could be a much better deal for someone who has taken out payday loans or is dealing with late charges all the time.

Another commenter on this series of articles wondered whether Prosper reports good payment history to credit bureaus. Their Credit Grade help page strongly implies that they do, since it talks about how someone with a NC (No Credit) rating could improve their credit score by getting a Prosper loan.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pretty cool stuff here. I work for a company that allows your to send and receive money with your mobile phone. it also allows you to keep track of social money and lending!

http://www.kushcash.com

By: fin_indie

fin_indie — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I've been using prosper for a number of months and have written a few notes about some of the strategies you can use to invest with it effectively. You can read my thoughts here.

By: wilburK

wilburK — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have attempted to use Prosper on multiple occasions. I have used both the suggestions from the Prosper web site as well as joining a group and following forums posts and never had a successful funding. I have used minimum loan amounts with higher interest rates to encourage bidding. The real numbers behind the site can not match the advertised numbers by the site – the loans are being funded quickly enough, or at the amounts they advertise.

The idea sounds wonderful but the implementation is flawed – Prosper encourages you to join groups and seek advice from group moderators – most groups require that the moderator approve your loan before submission. You are handing an unknown your credit information and hoping that a) they will themselves practice secure practices with the information and b) allowing them to decide whether you are worthy of the credit request. Gosh wait the bank, credit unions do the same – did I miss something? At least if they dump my PII I have someone to blame, Prosper Group Leaders can disappear into the shadows with my information.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Anyone named “Wilbur” doesn’t deserve money. Now you know.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

There have been large margins in this market for years and its been slowly eaten away as life gets harder for the big end of town.

How the early entrants fare will be interesting to watch. Their offering represents a component in the ‘finance’ chain that previously was not economically viable to smaller participants. I suspect one, two or five will fail before it really flies.

But fly it will, there are many small time speculators out there who will happily ‘day trade’ away the hours playing this market.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

From that page:
“Prosper communicates repayment and delinquency information back to our credit bureau partner, Experian. Your credit score will be adjusted accordingly, based on your loan payment performance.”

So…yeah, they don’t just strongly imply it, it’s kinda said straight out ;)

By: james

james — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

i had taken out a few payday loans when i went through a separation, to help me get into an apartment. although they helped me get into my new place the pay back on them was going to be really costly. i registered with prosper and posted my story for a loan. the first time i posted it i got no response, but was asked by a group moderator to join his group and repost my request. so i did. within 2 weeks my loan was funded and i was able to pay all the pay day loans off at once. i pay my prosper loan back by auto draft monthly and have never been late on a payment. i think prosper is great! and i highly recommend it.

By: Brian Mullally

Brian Mullally — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

GlobeFunder is another social lending site as well with powerful tools to help the poor….with alot more to come to scale investment funding.

Thanks for your article.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Steve, couldn’t you use Kushcash the same way as prosper – with the social lending?

By: Ricardo

Ricardo — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m actually in the process of getting a loan from prosper. I don’t know how it will turn out yet but I’ve heard good thinks about the site. It’s helped many with their debt problems, I’m hoping it will do the same for me. I’ll keep you updated.

https://www.prosper.com/lend/listing.aspx?listingID=149910