Ever had an opportunity beckon to you that feels so near, but taking out a loan to achieve it seems too hard? You can be so close to hopping on that plane,…
Ever had an opportunity beckon to you that feels so near, but taking out a loan to achieve it seems too hard?
You can be so close to hopping on that plane, or trading up on a car, or transforming your home, and yet sometimes those financial stars never quite align.
Sometimes the longer we put something off the more difficult, out of reach and expensive it becomes. Some opportunities don’t knock twice.
Falling short on funds but not wanting to head off cap in hand to the same old bank isn't an unusual situation to be in.
Beyond falling in with high interest sharks or grappling with the perils of your credit card, alternatives that don't include reaching out to family and friends but do include a fair and transparent deal have been thin to the point of being invisible.
Good news.
The good news is that the options for getting a loan are changing and won't ever be the same again. That change is thanks to a go-to alternative that's caught the new Sharing Economy wave called peer to peer lending.
It's taken off in the US through the enterprising Lending Club and in the UK through P2P pioneer Zopa (founded 2005) and recently arrived in New Zealand.
It's simple.
The formula for P2P isn’t that complicated.
Put simply P2P connects people who have money to lend with people who want to borrow - free of an institution standing over you, and without any intermediary, aside from the straightforward admin done by the company to make it happen.
If you want to borrow today to enjoy a better tomorrow - whether it’s a modest $1000 or a chunkier amount - then it's all there on screen, plainly set out with repayment options you choose.
As with so many 21st century shifts in convention and 'millennial momentums' that reduce the role of the middleman, the people who turn to P2P find that there is the opportunity for a better deal.
Listen to the Harmoney.
Through social media channels like Twitter and Facebook there's a steady chorus of support emerging for New Zealand’s first and only peer to peer lending marketplace, Harmoney.
Spontaneous feedback on public forums includes:
- SO SO SO easy from Diane
- Looks bloody brilliant from Rob
- A fantastic idea from Finn
- I love this concept... my loan was funded so fast and money was in my account the next day from Joanne.
The gist is that people 'get it', and they're having a positive experience.
It's human to want to make our own way in life and to secure future choices as painlessly as possible.
Suddenly the world of lending and borrowing has become simple and much more human, and that's just what borrowers at Harmoney are noticing. The world of lending and borrowing is changing for good.
