What people are
saying about us

Money Magpie

Why I save with Zopa
“...I mentioned Zopa.com as a useful alternative if you need a loan. I also mentioned that I am a Zopa Lender and very happy with the service.”

Reader's Digest

A life without banks
“In these times of miniscule savings rates and tight-fisted lending from banks, the solution may have arrived: citizens are doing it for themselves.”
Thanks to our lender '29murfee12' for sending in this scan!

CNBC European Business

Bank Balancers
“The chastened banking sector is ceding large parts of its core business to savvy, ethically armed entrepreneurs.”

The Independent

Where can savers find a home for their cash?
“Money lending website Zopa can be an attractive alternative for your savings”

Lovemoney.com

Three cheap ways to borrow money
“Szu Ping Chan rounds up some of the best loans on offer, and some creative alternatives...”

The Times

Arising out of the ashes
“The mainstream banking system has taken 100 years of trust and blown it overnight... Zopa.com are reinventing banking for the Facebook generation.”

The Economist

Opportunity Gently Knocks
“...Derisory interest rates are encouraging savers to seek better returns elsewhere... For borrowers spurned by their banks, low-cost and unleveraged social lenders are an attractive alternative.”

The Telegraph

Us Now and social networks: interview with director Ivo Gormley
“Us Now, a new film illustrates how online networks are changing the way we live together.”

Scottish Daily Express

Online lender may be answer if banks say 'No'
“Zopa website is offering affordable credit.”

Yahoo! Finance

7 ways to beat the bank
“If you have a pretty healthy credit score then cut out the banks altogether and consider Zopa.com.”

The Independent

Borrowers have never had it so bad, so time to review your choices
“Need a loan but put off by exorbitant rates? Chiara Cavaglieri maps out the options for how to get your hands on the cash.”

The Guardian

Zopa: The 'savings account' paying 9%
“It's touted as the new model of savings and loans to replace our broken banks. Rupert Jones examines Zopa.com, the website that matches up depositers and borrowers.”

Norwich Evening News

Best of the web
“With the banking system not exactly looking a great investment at the moment, many are looking at alternatives.”

Financial Times

A green shoot
“Which finanical institution has just reoprted a 140 per cent rise in lending year on year? The answer is Zopa, the online "lending site"... The recovery starts here.”

Consumer Choices

Zopa loans - Ask our expert
“Zopa is certainly a very interesting new development in the credit market and a borrowing option that deserves a closer look.”

The Independent

Social lending website Zopa profits from banks' decline
“Zopa, the social lending website that cuts out banks, lent a record £2.5m in February and is piling on new members as the credit drought makes its service more attractive.”

The Telegraph

10 ways to get a better return on your money
“Getting a decent return on your money can seem a daunting task. A year ago building society savers were earning 7pc on their money. Today, with the Bank Rate standing at a record low of 0.5pc, most accounts pay less than 1pc.”

Bloomberg

Lenders and borrowers bypass bank with peer-to-peer site

This Is Money

Should you gamble to boost your savings?
“How much risk should savers take in the search for higher income?”

Motley Fool

A new asset class with great potential
“Could this relatively new asset class offer better long-term returns than shares, with lower-risk beside?”

The Times

Zopa's peer-to-peer model proves tempting for disillusioned savers
“We explain why people are bypassing conventional accounts and flocking to the online lending exchange in their thousands.”

The Times

Labour can't control the pinstripe puppets
“People are trying increasingly to bypass the banks because they mistrust the bankers.”

This Is Money

How to get a better return on your savings
“Savings rates may be plummeting, but there are several creative steps you can take to make sure you make the best of your nest egg.”

Evening Standard

The middle men taking the credit and heading for the top
“Now and again I come across a person with an idea that's so clever, yet simple, that I kick myself for not thinking of it first.”

The Sunday Times

Top tips for saving in a slump
“Rates are dire but you can still prosper by checking our gilts, gold, equities, social lending, life settlements and bonds.”

MSN Money

Banking dinosaurs die, but look who's come to replace them
“Internet-based loan market Zopa is one of the most promising candidates to come blinking into the sunlight.”

The Telegraph

Zopa: Where DIY bankers get 9pc
“Lenders and borrowers who want better rates are forsaking the banks to cut out the middlemen.”

Sunday Herald

Savers and borrowers join up
“A little-known person-to-person lending exchange has seen increasing numbers of savers, unhappy with the derisory interest rates offered elsewhere, join up in the last month.”

The Independent

Zopa takes up where the bank leaves off
“Julian Knight and Nargis Ahmad look at the site matching individual lenders and borrowers who recoil from hight-street rates.”

Money Week

How safe is social lending?
“Britain's ground-breaking 'social lending' exchange is enjoying a boom in business thanks to the credit crunch.”

Motley Fool

Make your savings work harder
“With interest rates falling, Harvey Jones explores the best ways to increase the return on your savings.”

Money Magpie

Get 9.1% on your savings with Zopa
“Imagine being able to make an average of 9.1% on your savings in this financial climate! That's what the people at Zopa are claiming their lenders made during 2008. In fact, it is possible to make 12% as a Zopa lender if you're willing to lend to riskier borrowers...”

This Is Money

Zopa offers top loans and savings rates
“As loan providers cut down on their lending and raise rates, increasing numbers of people who are disillusioned with the banking system are turning to loan website Zopa.com, which aims to match up borrowers with lenders.”

Yahoo! Finance

Get a loan without a bank
“Aah, where are they now, those banks who were our best friends just a few months ago? They couldn't lend to us fast enough when times were good. Now you'd be lucky to get a loan without having to offer your first born child as security.”

Radio 4 - Today Programme

If the banks won't lend you more money, where else can you go to get it?
“The other source of finance could be something called 'Social Lending'....”

The Times

How to handle loan rejection
“As lending conditions continue to worsen, we explain the options open to beleaguered borrowers.”

Derbyshire Evening Telegraph

More people are banking on the web to get them out of debt
“Struggling to consolidate his debts, Paul Robinson took the unusual step of borrowing £100 from 20 strangers he met over the internet.”

Monevator

Zopa Update: Interest rates rise for savers, but bad debt doesn't
“Back in March 2008, I asked if rising interest rates at Zopa were an opportunity for cash-rich savers or an accident waiting to happen. Nearly 10 months on, I'm yet to see any bad debt.”

The Plymouth Herald

Author Bob's sci-fi dream
“A Liskeard author has used a peer-to-peer loan to realise his dream of releasing his own series of sci-fi novels.”

Evening Standard

Be an online lender - and beat cuts in savings rate
“With saving rates at most banks running below 3%, and set to fall further if the Bank of England cuts interest rates again this Thursday, here's an ingenious way to improve your return.”

Halifax Evening Courier

Inter-lend on the net
“Internet social lending is becoming an increasingly popular way of lending and borrowing money as an alternative to banks.”

The Bolton News

Where to turn when the banks say no
“A new form of lending is heling a Bolton investor to take advantage of the banks' reluctance to lend.”

The Telegraph

Cost of personal loans trebles in 2008, says MoneyExpert.com
“The most competitive products for a £5,000 loan come from Zopa...”

The Scotsman

Making money by lending money
“These are lean times for borrowers seeking affordable loans and savers looking for decent returns. So it's no surprise that the two parties are turning to each other for the rates they can't get from the banks, courtesy of social lending website Zopa.”

Motley Fool

Two smart ways to get a better savings rate
“There are still two places that savers can stash their cash and get a market-leading return.”

The Times

The £1bn rip-off on trackers
“Borrowers have been left out in the cold as lenders profit from plummeting interest rates”

The FT

Peer-to-peer is the 'Next Big Investment Idea'
“...the overall winner is a simple concept that has already demonstrated its potential: peer-to-peer lending, via the internet.”

The Yorkshire Post

It's a shoot-out for survival as high noon hits the High Street
“...Anticipating our deepening mistrust of the personal financial services market, [Zopa] provides real value by matching people who would like to lend money for a decent return with people who are looking for loans.”

The Telegraph

Ways to beat the rate cut and get and income of more than 5pc
“The Bank of England's move to cut interest rates to a 300-year low will bring some much needed cheer to borrowers. But for savers and income seekers the landscape is getting increasingly tough. There are still ways to generate an income on your savings, however...”

The Guardian

Recession? What recession?
“A new style of bank, which creates a community out of lenders and borrowers to get both sides better deals, is flying in the face of recession.”

BBC2 - Working Lunch

Banks are stricter ... so some people are going elsewhere
“... It's not a bank. It's a meeting place on the internet for borrowers and lenders to get together and do business.”

The Guardian

Zopa shows banks how to do it right
“...Zopa is enjoying a boom. In the third quarter new borrowers soared by nearly 50% to 3700 compared with the previous quarter. Why is this happening - and is it safe?”

Finextra

Credit crunch winners
“Giles Andrews, co-founder and managing director of Zopa, spoke to Finextra about how the banking crisis is encouraging more people to turn to social lending...”

City A.M.

Julie Meyer: Financial services firms need to remember the service
“...Zopa has benefitted from banks tightening customer loans; loans are up because of the better rates (for both sides).”

Marketing Week

Zopa adds humanity to money lending process
“Zopa is a social lending website where ordinary people with spare money can lend it to those who need to borrow - cutting out the middleman (the big banks).”

MyFinances.co.uk

Banking alternatives
“Zopa.com - which means 'zone of possible agreement' - has been around for three years now and since the credit crunch last year, business has doubled.”

CNN

Online bank alternatives
“With banks failing across the world, where do you go for a loan and if you're lucky enough to have money, where do you park your hard-earned cash?.”

The Sunday Times

How the wealthy are beating the turmoil
“The rich are getting returns of 10% and you can too.”

The FT

Innovatve lending increases
“The tightening of lending practices by high sreet banks is pushing consumers towards entrepreneurial technology-based solutions.”

The Independent

Bypass the credit jam and drive loan costs down
“This week new cars will roll off forecourts up and down the country as the 58 registration is introduced. And despite endless warnings about the dire effects of the credit crunch, much of this spending will be financed through credit.”

CreditChoices

Progressive Zopa opens doors for young adults
“For 20 to 25 year olds, obtaining a loan can be difficult. Social lender Zopa believes it has the solution to this problem.”

FT.com

Reap the payback in lending to strangers
“Savers can earn an average interest rate of 8.9 per cent, higher than the best fixed rate bonds, by lending directly to borrowers seeking an alternative to bank loans.”

The Telegraph

50 ways to profit from the economic gloom
“Become a lender yourself and get a return of 10 per cent.”

The Independent

The Googles of tomorrow
“From a book club taking on Amazon to the loans firm shaking up banking - Tim Walker meets the creators of the next digital superbrands.”

Metro

Get loan through 'Dragons' Den'-style pitch
“Budding entrepreneurs and those seeking some extra cash will be able to secure loans through a 'Dragons' Den'-style pitch on lending site Zopa from the New Year.”

MotleyFool

How to get cheaper loans
“...what if you could get a loan without having to approach your nasty old bank at all?.”

MoneyNet

Zopa social lending 'immune' from credit crunch
“Social-lending bank Zopa is being touted as the most affordable source for credit in the wake of the current global financial crisis.”

TimesOnline

How to tap in to online riches
“Another face of the new "democratised" economy is peer-to-peer lending. Zopa.com puts internet users who have money to lend in touch with those who want to borrow.”

Square Mile Magazine

A user-friendly alternative to doing business with your high street bank
“Then there is the transparency - lenders can see exactly who they are lending to and what those borrowers are doing with the money. Reasons for borrowing have ranged from publishing a sci-fi trilogy to IVF treatment, solar heating for a bungalow... and lots of weddings.”

The Independent

In the zone: the online exchange where people become banks
“The popularity of Zopa, an online money exchange that aims to cut out the middle man, continues to grow. It has just picked up an award for its internet technology from specialist magazine The Banker, the irony of which is not lost on its creators, who have spent the past two years positioning their enterprise as an alternative to corporations.”

MSN Money

Cutting out the banks
“Many of us hate banks. They are big, inefficient and impersonal, they have so many ways to charge us, yet we just can't seem to do without them. So is that how it is always destined to be? Not according to Zopa...By cutting out the bank middlemen and many of the overheads, borrowers get lower rates and lenders get higher ones.”

IT Week

Web 2.0 Wealth Check
“New business models like Zopa show that the social computing information revolution can take place in any industry.”

CNBC

“For those using the site, a sense of control and community is a large part of the appeal.”

The Sunday Telegraph

Would you lend money to a stranger?
“The sceptics who questioned the chances of a company that matches people willing to lend money with borrowers who are complete strangers may have to hold their hands up and admit they were wrong.”

The Sunday Herald

Cut out the banks with lending the eBay way
“James Watson is a 31 year-old software analyst from Fife. He signed up to Zopa a few months ago. 'I like the concept,' he says. 'It's a bit like lending money to a friend or relative, because you can find out about the borrowers and chat to them over the website. It's all so much more human and personal.”

The Guardian

Super Zopa
“When the online financial marketplace Zopa launched two years ago, it outlined its ambition to become the eBay of the banking world. Many thought it might end up simply being a flash in the pan. But Zopa – a financial 'exchange' where people meet to lend and borrow money – has proved the doubters wrong.”

Investors Chronicle

Smart investors use the web
“Zopa brings money-making opportunities to the private investor which were previously only open to institutions.”

BBC Breakfast (and BBC Click)

“The concept is called Social Lending and the idea is to introduce people who need money to people who want to borrow some – cutting out the middlemen like banks and mortgage companies. Zopa is a pioneer in this space. For the past two years it has allowed members to borrow and lend on their own terms.”

The Banker

Putting a face to the online banking revolution
“Online product developments such as the peer-to-peer banking innovation, Zopa.com (online lending exchange), are radically changing the way financial transactions, big and small, can be done. These technologies can disintermediate the traditional bank role....The Zopa model, which cuts out the banks in the middle, can provide better lending rates and a clear opportunity to revamp lending attitudes and mechanisms.”

Financial Adviser

“Because social lending schemes embrace the trends that are defining the current age, they are likely to become increasingly important.”

Money Week

A web-based way to bypass the banks
“At Money Week, we love the idea of Zopa. We like the idea of cutting out the middleman and of helping people to help each other. And we like the basic claim Zopa makes: borrowers get cheaper rates via Zopa than they would if they borrowed from the banks, and lenders get higher rates than they would get if they saved via the banks... Does that mean you should be using Zopa? If you are a lender, the answer might well be yes (as) Zopa has much to recommend it.”

The Banker

Peer-to-peer lending strives to break the banking mould
“Rather like online auction market eBay, UK-based Zopa and its US counterpart Prosper represent the phenomenon of internet-savvy people who want to dispense with established intermediaries and their fees and like the idea of being part of a new community.”

Mail on Sunday

Is lending £25,000 to a stranger a good idea?
“A growing dislike and distrust of banks – their hidden fees, extortionate penalties and poor service – is driving many people to look elsewhere for loans and savings. And Zopa, the world's first online lending and borrowing exchange, is one of the biggest beneficiaries.”

Investment Adviser

Breaking New Ground
“Investors are always looking for new asset classes – especially those deemed low risk. Enter Zopa, the self-styled eBay of personal finance, which is wooing investors with promised returns of between 6 per cent and 14 per cent.”

The Banker

The brave new world of Web 2.0
“Many of those at the forefront of the Web 2.0 revolution claim that this marks the true beginning of online banking – not just a potentially inert online presence for an offline bank, but a complete virtual experience connecting one consumer to another to conduct financial transactions such as mortgages and small-business loans, all without the interference of middlemen: the banks. Take, for example, the social lending model of such sites as Zopa...”

The Daily Telegraph

Lend to strangers at the click of a mouse
“Zopa allows people to beome DIY bankers online... With the average return a healthy 6.8% before tax and after bad debt and fees, it is a tempting offer. Lenders effectively tie up their cash for the period of the loan, which averages three years, and bear the risk of defaults directly, but the top rates beat best buys on the open market, such as Northern Rock's three-year bond, paying an APR of 6%.”

Working Lunch (on BBC 2)

“An ebay for money.”

BBC World Service

“Social lending is a new type of business. Banks have been lending for eons so these websites are breaking new ground.”

International Herald Tribune

Internet lenders could prove disruptive
“A website based in Britain, Zopa.com, and another in the United States, have started businesses that connect individuals eager to borrow money to other people willing to lend, offering both sides better interest rates than banks... Banking analysts suggest that these hyper-efficient operations, with few employees and no costly real estate, could force changes to established banks.”

The Sunday Times

Zooming Zopa
“When it launched I was as sceptical as any about the idea, but after two years it clearly works.”

This is Money

Is Zopa a good investment?
“According to Barclays Capital's analysis of the historical performance of asset classes, (lender returns at Zopa) are better than the annual return from cash and gilts over the past 10 years, and have certainly been better than a saver would have seen from bonds over the past two years.”

The Daily Mirror

Bank of You and Me
“Faceless banks charging huge interest rates and slapping on penalties at the slightest excuse are encouraging growing numbers to seek alternatives. To fill the gap, imaginative ideas such as Zopa, an internet-based business where people borrow from one another, are starting to spring up.”

The Banker

Innovation: How to improve
“Banks are currently trying to figure out how to react to the community space – known as Web 2.0 or internet-only sites that emphasise collaboration among users – with new arrivals like Zopa providing a model, or perhaps a threat.“

The Scotsman

Zip to Zopa for the going rate
“Zopa offers a quick and easy benchmark for the best financial deals available.”

The Fair Investment Company

Zopa: Cut out the banks
“Zopa, a so-called ‘peer-to-peer' or ‘prosumer' (producer-consumer) network, allows individuals to lend and borrow directly between themselves.”

What Investment?

A revolutionary new type of savings scheme
“If your financial resolution for 2007 is to get your savings in tiptop shape then Zopa lending could be your answer.”

Easier Finance

Spring clean your finances – double the interest earned on your savings
“Those looking to knock their finances into better shape should explore Zopa lending – a new alternative to savings that last year paid out more than double the average deposit account, and more than the very best accounts available.“

Personal Computer World

Web could transform banking
“Banking is about to face the kind of social transformation credited to so-called Web 2.0 services like MySpace and YouTube, according to a new study. The reason is that that web facilitates a return to one of the oldest forms of financial service, Social Lending... Social Lending has re-emerged in the form of several online schemes such as UK-based Zopa, which allows members to borrow money invested by others.”

Which?

Best ways to borrow
“Zopa is a novel idea and might be worth a look if you want to borrow or lend.”

Money Extra

Social Lending – the zone of probable agreement
“If you are a bit of an individualist, don't like the idea of always doing business with big corporations, are the sort of person who shops on eBay and uses the internet for social interaction, then you are just the sort of person who could be in the market for Social Lending.

Bloomberg.com

Internet's free services start to bite at bankers
“In recent years the Internet has hammered the media industry... Banking may well be next. The Internet hates middlemen, and bankers are quintessential intermediaries. Take a look at some recent start-ups that threaten their trade. Last year, London-based Zopa.com started a service that matches lenders and borrowers directly.”

Silicon.com

Big-bank confidence dented by social banking
“Social Lending uses the age-old concept of borrowing and lending money person-to-person, which in the past has normally taken place in private between friends and family. Sites like Zopa take Social Lending into the public domain, cutting out the banks and stopping the bank manager getting fat at everyone else's expense.”

The Guardian

Internet lenders threaten banks
“The social networking phenomenon that has fuelled the rapid growth of websites such as YouTube and MySpace could be about to threaten the dominance of the big banks by transforming the way we borrow and save, according to a study published today.”

TNT Magazine

Lend on me
“With the launch of Zopa, the world of credit and debt has taken a giant leap into the internet age.”

The Independent

The five best new ideas for a modern money map
“Banks and insurance companies are not renowned for moving with the times – more often than not, innovation is an alien concept. But that doesn't mean the financial services industry doesn't occasionally come up with a new idea. And the best ones could save – or make – you serious amounts of money... Zopa.com is an internet site that gives people the opportunity to lend to individual borrowers for their mutual benefit.”

Motley Fool

Better than banks and building societies
“Everyone's a winner with Zopa, the ebay for money, except banks and their shareholders of course!”

The Guardian

Can Britain produce a success like YouTube?
“So what's the next big thing?... Zopa is like a betting exchange, but for loans. The site puts those with money to lend in touch with creditworthy borrowers.”

Financial Adviser

Zopa to target personal debt with new asset class
“The concept of the service, which already has over 100,000 members, is to tap into the most profitable sector of high street banking – personal debt.”

Motley Fool

Two high interest alternatives
“Despite the recent rise in interest rates, the table-topping savings accounts haven't been jumbled around much. This isn't good as lack of competition means no pressure for banks to provide a better service... If you're fed up with relying on banks, here's one way to cut them out of your savings: lend money to other individuals through the lending and borrowing exchange Zopa. OK, this is perhaps more of an investment rather than a savings account, but it seems like a pretty safe bet for most lenders.”

The Daily Express

Beware greedy lenders that punish good habits
“While the UK faces a growing personal debt problem, greedy lenders often discourage customers from clearing debts quickly by imposing penalties for paying off loans early... James Alexander of internet-based lending exchange Zopa is calling on the Government to ban early-redemption penalties... Zopa lets you pay off your debts at any time without penalty.”

CNN Money.com
(reproduced in Business 2.0)

Eleven technologies that'll change it all
“The innovation: peer-to-peer lending
The disrupted: traditional banks

Any industry making a huge profit margin off its customers is a good candidate for disruption. Banking is a classic case – just think of the 19 percent interest you pay on credit cards and the 2 percent you earn on your savings account. Zopa is closing the gap by using the Web to allow personal lending on a massive scale.”

Financial Times

Early redemptions
“At a time of growing concern about levels of personal debt, it seems perverse that lenders should penalise customers who want to reduce their outgoings... James Alexander, COO of Zopa, is calling for a government ban on early redemption penalties.”

The Sunday Telegraph

We can all be bankers now
Zopa, the internet business that introduces borrowers to private lenders, is now 18 months old. Pamela Atherton tracks its progress.

The Daily Telegraph

Net Benefits of a Lending Revolution
Bill Gates described Richard Duvall as “one of the most dynamic people I've ever met”. Duvall laughs: “I don't know if he says it about everyone but it's something I'm happy to quote.” The accolade will do him no harm as he builds up support for a personal finance website dubbed the eBay of lending. Duvall, who previously led the team that created internet bank Egg, launched Zopa in March 2005.”

Best Practice Magazine

Finance: Highly rated
“As an enterprising accountant looking at new borrowing or investment alternatives for clients, consider peer-to-peer lending. In the UK, one company in particular is bringing the concept of micro lending to the masses via its website, www.zopa.com, bypassing traditional banks and providing a new asset class for retail investors.”

What Investment

Product of the Month
*****
“No bank in the middle, no huge overheads, no unethical investments – it's a completely new way of doing things and a completely new asset class for your portfolio. Zopa could permanently change the way people save and invest their money”

Metro

Cash points
“By spreading your money around, you limit the damage caused if any one investment takes a dive. On the buffet are such things as shares, bank accounts, bonds and National Savings. But now you can become part of a lending exchange. A website called zopa.com lets you lend money through its online company”

This is money

Create your own bank
“The way High Street banks make their money is simple – charge borrowers more than they pay out to savers. And judging by the record profits most of the banks announced earlier this year, they do it very well. But a growing band of consumers is fighting back, taking control of their own finances and setting themselves up as their own mini-bank.”

The Guardian

Leading Questions
An interview with Richard Duvall, chief executive and co-founder of Zopa

Business week

Lots of Loans, But No Banks
“Finance co-ops have hit the Web, and they look like a good deal for borrowers and lenders... One of the Web's most intriguing trends is the rise of peer-to-peer lending communities such as London-based Zopa Ltd.”

The Times

Would you lend cash to a stranger?
“You may think the idea sounds crazy, but a growing number of people are lending money over the internet – and they are receiving market-beating rates in the process. In fact, the idea has proved so popular that the British internet company that came up with the concept has decided to expand into the United States.”

The Guardian

When bingeing ends in cheers
“Zopa, now 15 months old, is made up of some senior ex-Egg people, all of whom are getting something from Zopa that they couldn't achieve in their previous jobs.”

IT Week

Zopa shows what Web 2.0 can do
“UK startup Zopa aims to offer the equivalent of eBay for financial services. Instead of buying and selling goods, however, Zopa members lend and borrow money – with interest.”

Irish Times

Lending website banks on the eBay generation
“It caters for people who earn good money but not necessarily into their bank account on the last Thursday of each month, and it allays the fears of those who worry that their savings are being invested by the bank in a manner that they would find unethical.”

TowerGroup

The Case for Peer-to-Peer Online Lending Exchanges
“Zopa... represents the aligning of many macro trends, such as the maturity of the internet in terms of borrowers and commercial trust-based relationships. Another trend is that technology is more afforbale, easier to use, rapidly evolving, and sensitive to users' demands. The ‘virtual organization' is also more acceptable today than it was years ago. And giant killers such as Google, EasyJet, and other no-frills airlines are proliferating. Now financial institutions like Zopa... are coming from nowhere to challenge the established order in what may be the start of a new revolution.”

Forrester Research

Zopa shows that P2P lending can work
Peer-to-peer lending is here to stay. P2P lending may seem a novel concept, but individual lending has a longer history than banking itself and is still common in more traditional societies, particularly in Asia. Now that Zopa has proven that an online lending marketplace has consumer appeal, we expect other firms will follow.”

The Sunday Express

Will Trusting the Net Pay Off for You?
“Zopa.com, just over a year old, has 63,000 people registered. The site has been dubbed “the people's bank” and lets individuals lend money to others.”

The Motley Fool

How I Opened My Own Bank
“Alas, the banks (and to a lesser degree, the building societies) have an iron grip over lending to individuals in the UK, and that will never change, right? Wrong – and to prove it, I set up my own bank earlier this year. What I did was become a member of Zopa.....”

The Oldie

...and Mammon
“The basic attraction is that, by largely eliminating the middleman, both participants enjoy significantly better rates than those normally on offer....Banks are not yet shaking in their shoes. But they probably need to be aware that they now have a serious do-it-yourself rival.”

Financial Times

Zopa lending system gets $15m
“Zopa plans to expand into the US after raising $15million from existing private equity investors Benchmark Capital and Wellington Partners. It has also received backing from new investor Bessemer Venture Partners which originally backed Skype.”

Alpesh Patel

Show me the returns
“Lending through Zopa is becoming an important part of many people's portfolio, alongside their savings and investments... There's a strong chance that in the future people will talk about three things to do with your money: saving, investing and lending.”