European P2P platforms respond to Kazakhstan unrest
Kazakhstan has been in a state of emergency after experiencing its worst unrest in its 30 years of independence.
On 2 January demonstrations started in the oil hub town of Zhanaozen in response to rising fuel prices after the government lifted its price cap on liquefied petroleum gas.
The public demonstrations grew to reflect discontent at the government and former president Nursultan Nazarbayev and spread to nationwide protests that reportedly led to dozens of deaths and around 1,000 people being injured.
Troops from Russia and other countries are currently in the nation to restore order.
In recent years, Kazakhstan has developed a burgeoning peer-to-peer lending industry, with European platforms such as Mintos and Robo.cash sourcing borrowers and investors from the country. In light of the unrest, these platforms have been quick to respond to investor anxieties about Kazakhstani loans.
Here Peer2Peer Finance News summarises some of the responses from those European P2P lending platforms with exposure to the Kazakhstan market.
Mintos
On 10 January, Mintos removed access to loans issued in Kazakhstan due to social unrest in the country. Then on 11 January, the platform said that although the situation in the country has stabilised over the last few days, it will keep its cautionary measures in place until further notice.
Mintos said the situation is outside of the affected lending companies’ control, and added that the increased interest for pending payments will not apply in this case and that interest will continue to accrue at the normal rate of the loan for any pending days.
The platform also said that it expects delays in payments as internet outages are ongoing and international payments are still on hold.
Read more: Mintos focuses on transition to Notes following stellar December
“We’re in close contact with the lending companies in Kazakhstan,” Mintos said in a blog on its website.
“They confirm that their operations are not affected and that they continue to collect borrower repayments. They expect that the restrictions on international payments will be lifted in the coming days.”
Yesterday (13 January) Mintos removed the cautionary measures, and loans issued in Kazakhstan by GFM, IDF Eurasia, Jet Finance, LF TECH and Sun Finance Kazakhstan are now fully available again and included in the platform’s strategies.
Mintos said that internet connections in Kazakhstan have been restored, and the restrictions on international payments were lifted and the platform has received proof of payment from all of its lending companies from Kazakhstan.
Robo.cash
On 12 January, Robo.cash said that at the moment the European P2P platform’s Kazakhstani offshoot continues to operate online and focuses on working mainly with existing and repeat clients while offline offices are only working in the cities where it is safe to work.
The platform said it is cutting the supply of loans on the platform, and it will continue this way until it sees that the situation is stable and safe for the lender. Robo.cash said that current loans will run as planned and will close on their due dates.
Read more: Robo.cash cuts interest rates on short-term loans
“Robocash Group takes the responsibility to cover all payments to investors on time and to the full extent,” the platform said in a blog on its website.
“If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at [email protected].”