In the midst of ongoing debate about the new budget announced last week, peer to peer lenders and borrowers can take comfort in a new program that will boost security and reliability in the industry.
Starting April 6 2016, the government will operate the Innovative Finance ISA, which extends ISA eligibility to peer to peer loans. The chancellor's office is also investigating whether to add crowdfunded debt securities and equities to the list of eligible transactions. For rebuildingsociety.com and other peer to peer lending operations, this is welcome news.
"The announcement to launch the Innovative Finance ISA is major step forwards for savers looking to earn a passive income from their interest earnings," said rebuildingsociety.com Managing Director Daniel Rajkumar. "Without the volatility of share prices and with continuously compounding yields, the Innovative Finance ISA has the potential to outperform others, where traditional financial institutions have creamed the margins for too long."
Leaders of other platforms have also been outspoken in their support of the move.
"The Chancellor seems determined to unblock finance, allow innovation to flourish and crucially give savers and investors more control over their money. I see the Innovative Finance ISA as part of that new spirit," said RateSetter CEO Rhydian Lewis. "It will be an immediate boost for hundreds of thousands of everyday investors and has the potential to move the dial on the availability of small business and personal finance in this country.”
The addition of the Innovative Finance ISA is just one small piece of a complicated budget plan that has seen some debate as to its likely impacts. We'll have our eyes on whether other crowdfunding and peer to peer transactions become eligible for ISAs, and look forward to the launch of the Innovative Finance ISA next year.