Feb 07 2006
Having a chat
Chewing the fat, shooting the breeze, having a natter - call it what you like, talking to people is darn important and everyone should do it as often as they can (except in libraries). We talk to our members as much as possible, through our blog and discussion board and by getting people to email contactus@zopa.com if anything's on their mind.
14 comments
Pete
re Prosper – ‘Groups’ seem like a great idea. Could it work over here (neighbourhood loans) I don’t know – but it is an interesting concept.
Personal Finance Advice
Thanks for the comment at my blog and I’m looking forward to when Zopa makes its debut in the US. As I posted, the current system at Prosper.com poses a lot of risks to those lending money at the moment due to a lack of people seeking loans. There is no way to spread the risk across a number of people on your own. It should be quite interesting to see how they develop in the coming months as well as when zopa, too, enters the field
frankyj
When are you guys coming to the US? I like your business model more due to the passive nature of it, vs. prosper where it’s more manual (although they do have a “standing order” feature). This looks like it will be a really interesting marketplace development.
Chad
Dave,
Thanks for your comment on my site. I enjoy seeing competition and I enjoyed the focused point of your post on my blog. Based on your excitement to keep Prosper at bay, I wish you the best. Press on! I enjoy the simplicity of your site and look forward to watching the race.
Dave
Thanks everyone! It’s good to know that when we launch in the US we’re going to have some support out there! I think the differences between us and Zopa distill down to 2 main areas – the group functionality of Prosper, and the different ways in which we match up lenders and borrowers.
I don’t have much doubt that if the Prosper Group leaders can successfully recruit good quality borrowers, then it will be a powerful viral driver of their business. However, it’s interesting to note that at the moment, non group borrowers significantly outnumber group borrowers on their site – and the percentage of loans being funded is pretty low. What’s more – if it does work, I believe it’s a relatively simple proposition to replicate for Zopa.
The way in which lenders and borrowers are matched is, I believe, significantly more sophisticated at Zopa than at Prosper. At Zopa, borrowers instantly know that they can get their loan (or not) and also know that they are getting the best possible rate – which is better for them. For lenders, it is reassuring to know that, without doing any additional work, their money will be split up over many many borrowers – managing their risk.
I think that for Prosper to move in this direction is far harder than it is for Zopa to move towards Prosper’s model.
Audun
Hey
Interesting reading! I visited http://www.prosper.com and there I read that the Prosper marketplace was patented (patent pending)….
Joseph D. Hugh
We have been in operation for almost a year now in South Korea.
Our lending maximum is 66% per annum. It’s a great market with lots of borrowers of small money, plus we have credit evaluation system from a respectable credit bureau in Korea which lets lenders see the credit of the borrowers.
We have patent pending and is the only e-marketplace for borrowers and lenders.
Feel free to contact me for investments or exchange of ideas!
Our site: http://www.donjoy.net
Bobby Wilson
It says patent pending, but I do not see a filing date nor anything publish at the patent office? weirdos!
Thomas
Hi,
I’m really interested in the Zopa’s business concept, that I find really ingenious, and I’m interested in the patent question. Like said one post earlier, Prosper is patent pending,. So how can Zopa go to America if the concept is already patented ? The question is actually, what is patented on Prosper or Donjoy: the general concept, or just the website functionalities ? And did Zopa deposit any patent too ?
I look forward to here about you.
Tom
Dave
Looks like lots of patents….
We’ve applied for patents in the UK for the Zopa marketplace matching system – which is very different to Prosper’s (I don’t know about Donjoy). I don’t think anyone can patent the concept of ‘P2P lending’, and as all the companies seems to be going about it in different ways, I think we’ll all be OK!
Heidi
As a current Prosper member I have to ask…when will Zopa be available in the US??? Although Prosper is easy to use and one can select whom they lend to and create groups…they do NOT pay interest on funds sitting in your account and ACAT transfers take 3-5 days! This is a lot of “lost” interest and makes it difficult to maximize return. I like that Zopa pays interest on funds in your account and I will switch as soon as I can!
NHDC a Trust Regd
We at the NHDC a Regd Trust are committed to Establish a 1000 Bed Hospital are striving for soft loan US $ 500 Million @ concessionary rate of interest for ten years against BANK guarantee .
Please help us if you can suggest us or provide us the said amont for terms explaned above.
thanking you
for NHDC
Dev Raj Sharma
Chairman
Tel/Fax +91-11-25278194,25274273
Jeff Paul Scam
I have read your post and found it very interesting so I like to add it on my website because recently I have started a small business of internet marketing so this post will help me in my marketing business.
SJ
Posted on February 9th, 2006 at 9:52 am
Hello Chaps
A first glance, the prosper market looks much more transparent than zopa, you can see exactly who is lending to whom, at what rates and see much greater detail about the borrowers. Perhaps it is riskier to lend as there is less spread of risk across multiple borrowers, but then the lenders can manage this themselves.
The community aspect of prosper is very powerful as people aren’t just people, they belong to communities and groups and propser recognises this.
But then zopa is much more colourful
Best.