Peer to Peer lending startups in Korea has continued to grow. They have done a great job of bringing lenders and borrowers together online. It is beneficial for lenders are they get a much higher rate of return than what is currently available from other investment options in Korea. In addition, they can choose the level of risk they are willing to accept through these platforms. For borrowers in Korea, these P2P lending platforms offer an alternative to banks in Korea which could charge higher interest rates, especially if the borrower’s credit rating is low. In addition, since the process is online, the process for getting a loan is quick and convenient.
Some of these peer-to-peer lending sites in Korea allow you to get a loan directly from other individuals. In addition, many offer a much-implied application process and fairer credit score ratings. The fintech ecosystem in Korea is loaded with disruptive P2P lending startups using the latest technologies such as AI, big data, and even Blockchain. In addition, many banks in Korea are looking to partner with these startups to offer their customers a better lending/borrowing experience.
Top Peer to Peer Lending Startups in Korea
PeopleFund
Korean Fintech Startup PeopleFund is a Korean peer-to-peer money lender. They partnered with Jeonbuk Bank to access a nationwide commercial banking database that helps it control the quality of loans. PeopleFund currently rejects about 5 percent of all consumer loan applications. Currently, they are the fastest-growing marketplace lender in Korea in terms of loan volume. Furthermore, PeopleFund has in-house lawyers and solicits the services of external law firms on a need-basis to protect users.
People Fund recently closed a $63 million Series C round led by Bain Capital with participation from Goldman Sachs. This brings their total funding to date to $83 million. The funds will go to hiring AI engineers to advance its credit-scoring algorithm and credit-scoring system. They aim to grow into the #1 player in the Korean non-bank lending market to provide better loan options for Koreans. Moreover, the traditional personal credit loan market in South Korea is estimated to be a $67 billion industry.
“First-tier banks share blacklists of bad borrowers. By having access to such information, we can maintain quality control by weeding out borrowers who are chronically late or are deliberate defaulters,” said CEO of PeopleFund, Joey Kim.
LENDIT
Korean Fintech Startup Lendit is a peer-to-peer lending marketplace where investors provide loans (APR 4.5~15%) to creditworthy borrowers in exchange for interest income (over 6% annual return). It leverages technologies to lower the cost of the traditional banking system. In addition, it reduces the volatility of returns through diversification based on machine learning. In addition, the adoption of what is equivalent to the US P2P financing platform Lending Club’s secondary market, FolioFN, will enable the higher liquidity of Lendit’s platform. Currently, investors in the Lendit platform cannot retrieve any of the principal of their investments or any interest earned until the notes from borrowers reach their maturity date.
Lendit had a massive series C funding round where they raised $44 million from H&Q Korea. They have raised in total over $65 million to date. They will use the fund to update their credit scoring model and zero contact finance platform.
8percent
8percent is a South Korean online peer-to-peer lending platform. They were the first Korean Fintech startup to get an investment from BRV Capital Management. BRV Capital Management is an early investor of PayPal. 8percent was founded in 2014, and they connect lenders and borrowers, focusing on medium-interest rate loans. Most of their clients include startups in Korea, small businesses, platform operators, and gig workers. Their latest funding round with BRV raised a little over $38 million.
Honest Fund
Next on our list of the top Korean Fintech startups is Honest Fund, a peer-to-peer personal loan, and investment service provider. Therefore, they provide customers and investors alternative investment and lending services across many asset classes, including real estate, infrastructure financing, and unsecured personal loans. Furthermore, Honest Fund has raised over $18 million in funding and closed its latest Series B round at $10 million. In 2022, Honest Fund will focus on enhancing its services through big data, AI, and recruiting to create an all-in-one investment platform.
“We strive to become Korea’s leading alternative investment platform and a technology’driven financial firm that keeps innovating the loan sector,” said CEO of Honest Fund, Seo Sang-Hoon.
