New P2P lender aims to disrupt the credit card market
A NEW peer-to-peer lender is set to launch with the aim of disrupting the credit card market.
Elfin Market will offer consumers a line of credit with the same flexibility as a credit card but with much lower interest rates.
The platform is targeting the 55 per cent of credit card customers who do not manage to clear their balance every month and thus end up paying high interest rates.
The so-called Elfin Purse is a line of credit which borrowers may draw upon as often as they like, up to a £2,000 credit limit, with a representative APR of 5.8 per cent.
The platform’s co-founder and chief executive Mansour Bouaziz previously worked in Goldman Sachs’ fixed income trading division in London, where he covered loans, revolving credit and many other credit products.
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“I’ve been following fintech for many years and noticed a gap in the market,” Mansour Bouaziz, chief executive and co-founder, told Peer2Peer Finance News.
“You can get cheap personal loans but they are not very flexible.
“We’re offering the same rates as those loans but with more flexibility.”
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Elfin Market gained Financial Conduct Authority approval in September 2018 and is readying for a soft launch next month, when it will open to a limited selection of borrowers and investors.
It is planning a full launch in the middle of 2019.
There is currently a waiting list on the website for interested investors and borrowers that has already attracted 120 sign-ups.
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The platform is purely open to retail investors, who can expect returns ranging between 3.8 per cent and 5.8 per cent depending on the maturity of the loan, with a minimum investment of £100.
It does not charge a fee for exit before maturity.
Elfin Market plans to launch a plastic payment card in the third quarter of 2019, providing its borrowers with another way of drawing credit from their Elfin Purse to make it as convenient as a traditional credit card.
In August 2018, Elfin Market closed its first fundraising round, raising £400,000 from 19 angel investors.