Zopa

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zopa Ltd. is a UK based peer-to-peer lending company based in London founded in 2004. With the launch of its products in March 2005, the company is considered the first peer-to-peer lending company. The company is currently headed by Jaidev Janardana (Managing Director and Board Member).

history

In the first three financial years the company grew slowly but steadily and Zopa managed to post its business activities in this period with practically no credit losses. This enabled growth to accelerate and the ultimate breakthrough came after the financial crisis . In 2016, the company applied for a banking license and received it two years later. During this period, Zopa has raised a total of £ 60 million in funding in two funding rounds. Obtaining a banking license was a P2P lender's first major breakthrough into traditional banking. The banking license enables the company to expand its financing base and product portfolio with a new fixed-term deposit account and its own credit card. Since 2005, Zopa has loaned over £ 4 billion to nearly half a million borrowers, generating £ 250 million in interest.

founder

The company's founding team consists of Richard Duvall, James Alexander, David Nicholson, Tim Parlett and Giles Andrews, all of whom previously worked for the online banking company Egg Banking. However, Giles Andrews is currently the only one of the original founding team who still has an active role at Zopa. He was managing director of the company until 2007 and has been chairman of the board since 2015.

Business model

With its products, Zopa focuses on the placement of people who want to borrow money with people who want to lend their money. The aim is to divide the financial resources of a lender among at least 50 borrowers. The company generates revenue by charging the borrowers one percent of the loan amount. In addition, Zopa earns commission-based repayment insurance policies that the borrower chooses. Borrowers have the advantage of being able to take out smaller loans faster and cheaper than with traditional banks, while lenders have the opportunity to achieve higher returns than with conventional savings accounts.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Zopa aims for enough growth to stop explaining its name" . Telegraph. March 5, 2019. Accessed March 24, 2019
  2. ↑ "The FeelGood Money Company" . Zopa. Accessed March 24, 2019
  3. ^ "Meet the board" . Zopa. Accessed March 24, 2019.
  4. ↑ "The peer-to-peer lending industry celebrates its 13th birthday this year. Has it finally grown up?" . Verdict. Accessed March 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "P2P lender Zopa granted full UK banking license" . Financial Times. Accessed March 24, 2019.
  6. ^ "Our story" . Zopa. Accessed March 24, 2019.
  7. ^ "Zopa" . Crunchbase. Accessed March 24, 2019.
  8. ↑ Chaffey, Dave (2007). "E-business and E-commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice" . London, United Kingdom: Pearson Education. p.75. Accessed March 24, 2019
  9. ^ "Meet the board" . Zopa. Accessed March 24, 2019.
  10. ↑ Chaffey, Dave (2007). "E-business and E-commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice" . London, United Kingdom: Pearson Education. p.75. Accessed March 24, 2019