What people are
saying about us

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.....”

  |   Local copy

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.”