Mintos has launched a new loan originator from Russia! Dozarplati is one of the largest loan originators in the North-West region of Russia and investors now have the opportunity to invest in its short-term and instalment loans listed in Euro (EUR) and Russian rubles (RUB).
Dozarplati was established in 2011 in Russia and it has more than 100 offices across 14 cities in the country. The company aims to fill the gap between paydays for its customers by offering short-term loans. Dozarplati’s main goal is flexibility for its customers, that’s why it offers its services through its many branches, mobile app and also allows borrowers to take out a loan 24/7 online and on holidays. Dozarplati issues loans to borrowers above the age of 18 and they can receive the funds within 15 minutes. Since its inception, the total loans originated for Dozarplati has reached USD 30 million. The company’s net loan portfolio is USD 4 million, and it has sustained an impressive 48% equity ratio.
The company is included in the State Register of Microfinance Organisations of the Central Bank of Russia and all of its activities are regulated by the Central Bank. All loans issued by the company comply with the laws of the Russian Federation.
The average Russia-issued loan from Dozarplati is EUR 200 with a maturity of up to 12 months. You can expect an annual net return of up to 11% for its loans listed in EUR and 17.5% for its RUB loans. In the future, Dozarplati also plans to increase its offering on Mintos and place its business loans for investment.
All loans from Dozarplati are secured with a buyback guarantee and will be repurchased if the loan is delinquent for 60 days or more. In addition, to ensure the interests of the loan originator are aligned with the investors, the company will maintain 10% skin in the game.
The Mintosmarketplace just got bigger as IuteCredit Group now offers personal loans for investment in Moldova. This is in addition to IuteCredit personal loans issued in Albania already on the marketplace.
IuteCredit Group was founded in 2008 and operates in Moldova, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo. The Group has a loan portfolio of EUR 20 million and has helped more than 170 000 customers. It aims to be the fastest and most efficient personal loan provider in the region.
“IuteCredit is a fast growing company and we appreciate the speed, flexibility and diversification in our funding. Investors on Mintos will allow IuteCredit Moldova to be more dynamic and disburse loans quicker and in greater volumes, which will allow the company to continue growing. We really appreciate Mintos as a marketplace which brings together the interests of different players of the market: investors, lenders and customers,” Stanislav Tuzlucov, CEO of IuteCredit Moldova.
The average Moldova-issued loan on Mintos from IuteCredit will be EUR 400 with a repayment period of 13 months. The expected return for investors will be up to 12%.
To align its interests with those of the investors, IuteCredit will retain 10% of each loan placed on Mintos on its balance sheet. All Moldova-issued loans from IuteCredit will come with a buyback guarantee and IuteCredit Group will undertake the obligations of repurchasing delinquent loans.
IuteCredit Group started its operations in Moldova in 2008. It is currently one of the alternative finance market leaders in the country. Since its inception, more than 200 000 loans have been issued in Moldova worth more than EUR 60 million. The typical borrower for IuteCredit Moldova is between 18 to 68 years old and borrows an average amount of EUR 400 for personal needs.
The group has been profitable since 2010. Currently, IuteCredit Moldova has 41 000 customers. The average maturity of loans is 13 months, and the annual percentage rate (APR) is 74%.
IuteCredit joined Mintos in June 2017 offering to invest in personal loans issued in Albania. To date, EUR 4 million has been financed through the marketplace.
To obtain exposure to IuteCredit Moldova loans, investors will be able to invest in loans issued by Mintos Finance to IuteCredit Moldova, where repayments depend on the borrower’s payments. Each loan issued by Mintos Finance to IuteCredit Moldova will be pegged to a respective loan issued by IuteCredit Moldova to the final borrower. Mintos Finance is a Mintos group company.
1pm is the latest loan originator to offer Mintos investors the opportunity to select its loans for investment based on loan risk categories. The inclusion of the risk categories will allow you to make a more informed investment decision and, therefore, increase your chances of success.
1pm was the first loan originator from the United Kingdom to launch on Mintos, offering its business loans for investment. Now you can select your investments in its loans based on its five risk categories which assess the likelihood of the borrower defaulting on their loan. The link between the borrower default rate and the risk categories is based on real-world statistics collected by a variety of credit agencies. These agencies collect extensive global credit reporting information and compare the company’s who default based on industry and size amongst other factors to forecast which company’s are the most likely to default within the next 12 months.
Category
Scoring
EABDR*
Very low risk
71 – 100
0.09%
Low risk
51 – 70
0.30%
Moderate risk
30 – 50
0.46%
High risk
21 – 29
2.32%
Very high risk
1 – 20
8.37%
*Expected Annual Bad Debt Rate
1pm bases its risk categories on the size of the business determined by the criteria of Companies House – a United Kingdom government department which incorporates and dissolves limited companies, examines and stores company information and makes it available for the public. Other factors taken into consideration when assessing the creditworthiness of a borrower is information on the business, commercial track records, directors, consumer track records, financial trend information, payment performance, company size, age of business, industry sector, geographical region and management and owners of the business.
The inclusion of the risk categories will allow you to make a more informed investment decision and increase your chances of success.
1pm was founded in 2000 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006. The company offers many finance solutions to SMEs within the United Kingdom including asset and vehicle finance, hire purchase, commercial loans and invoice financing. It is dedicated to helping the United Kingdom’s economy grow by providing finance to businesses. The company joined Mintos in February 2018.
PeerBerrylaunched on the 1st of November 2017 with loans originated primarily by Aventus Group and its subsidiaries. Since, they have started adding other credible European loan originators to diversify the investment opportunities. PeerBerry strongly believes that passive income guarantees stable economy and better lifestyle hence their mission is to bring passive income to everyone.
Aventus Group is an international successful payday lender, founded in 2009. Profitable from its first year of operations, Aventus Group has created the team of experienced specialists and now holding strong positions in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Moldova. The company puts a strong emphasis on responsible lending. Aventus Group brings to PeerBerry 3 leading loan originators from across Europe.
PeerBerry is a peer-to-peer marketplace for private lenders to invest into loans originating from non-banking lenders – the Aventus Group and its daughter companies. Portfolios of non-banking borrower requests mainly consist of short-term consumer loan requests across Europe. Unlike traditional banking they offer private investors access to the non-banking lending sector.
Who is eligible to invest?
Individuals and companies from within European Union can become investors at PeerBerry. Join us: complete a short registration form and activate your investor account by depositing initial funds. Keep in mind that you must be at least 18 years old, and that we only accept deposits from credit, payment or electronic money institutions within the European Union.
In what currencies can investments be made?
Investor Account can be opened only in EUR, but they accept deposits in all currencies. Payments received in currencies other than EUR will be converted to EUR according to the Swedbank currency exchange rates.
How can funds be transfered?
You can transfer money to your investor account from your bank account registered in European Union. Transfers in EUR can be done easily and at low cost using SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) transfers.
Investing
Both manual and auto-investment are availabile. All loans come with a 60 days buyback guarantee. PeerBerry will buyback loans (principal amount and accrued interest for full term), if a borrower is over 60 days late with the repayment.
Auto Invest automatically implements your chosen investment strategy. After you have entered your investment criteria, Auto Invest will automatically invest in suitable loans. You can access Auto Invest at any time and follow your portfolio activity in real time to make sure it is working according to your investment goals. Auto Invest is a very efficient tool for saving time spent on investing activities.
You can pause or cancel Auto Invest at any time.
Once you have confirmed your investment criteria, Auto Invest will review loan listings and invest funds in loans that meet your preferences. Auto Invest will continue to automatically analyze and invest in suitable new loans as soon as they are listed. If you change any Auto Invest setting, all available loan listings will be rechecked to make sure they meet your investment criteria.
Can investors cancel the investments?
For investments to long term loans investors have an option to use “Sell back”. Sell back means that you will get invested money into particular loan and counted interest after 14 days the Sell back option is activated. For this service extra fee will be charged. Unfortunatelly, approved investments to short term loans cannot be cancelled. To get your funds back you need to wait until the loan agreement is closed or a Buyback Guarantee is activated.
Loan originators
Pujcka7
Pujcka7 has been operating on the Czech Republic market since 2012. The company is a member of the APNÚ (Association of Non-Bank Loans Providers). Pujcka7 pays great attention to the assessment of clients’ finances and commitments. Since the beginning more than 70 000 satisfied clients have put trust in their services. Not in vain the company is recognized as one of the most favorable non-bank loans lenders in Czech market.
Key figures of Pujcka7:
Amount of issued loans in 2017: 94.038.637 CZK;
Revenue in 2017: 45.074.452 CZK;
Active portfolio at the end of 2017 (where overdue is less than 90 days): 21.456.509 CZK.
Smart Pożyczka
Smart Pożyczka was launched 4 years ago in Poland. From the beginning, the company has focused on innovative IT solutions and big data analysis for effective risk management. The company is proud of reliable clients and their feedback which encourages daily improvement. Over 60% of customers come back to Smart Pożyczka and use smart and simple way to take repeated loans.
Key figures of Smart Pożyczka:
Amount of issued loans in 2017: 54.291.475 PLN;
Revenue in 2017: 16.994.631 PLN;
Active portfolio at the end of 2017 (where overdue is less than 90 days): 11.899.558 PLN.
Pożyczka Plus
Pożyczka Plus is a consumer loan provider profitably operating in Poland since 2012. The company is a member of Loan Companies Association and has won numerous awards in the local market. Since launch, Pożyczka Plus has granted loans to over than 250 thousand customers. In past years the company increased its market share by 15%. The customers are highly satisfied with a trustworthy, innovative and fast service. Consequently, Pożyczka Plus is one of the most innovative lenders in Poland.
Key figures of Pożyczka Plus:
Amount of issued loans in 2017: 47.695.134 PLN;
Revenue in 2017: 14.929.806 PLN;
Active portfolio at the end of 2017 (where overdue is less than 90 days): 10.453.778 PLN.
SOSCredit
Despite strong competition in just a few years after launch SOSCredit has established itself as one of the key players in the Czech Republic and is highly rated by its clients. SOSCredit has managed to achieve this through innovative IT solutions that enable quick and reliable risk assessment and loan decisions in just 15 minutes. Customers love the speed, quality customer service and transparency with no hidden fees or commission.
Key figures of SOSCredit:
Amount of issued loans in 2017: 65.637.700 CZK;
Revenue in 2017: 37.728.388 CZK;
Active portfolio at the end of 2017 (where overdue is less than 90 days): 19.385.621 CZK.
Crowdfunding is not a new concept, in fact, it’s been around for centuries. Investopedia describes it as:
“Crowdfunding is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture. Crowdfunding makes use of the easy accessibility of vast networks of people through social media and crowdfunding websites to bring investors and entrepreneurs together, and has the potential to increase entrepreneurship by expanding the pool of investors from whom funds can be raised beyond the traditional circle of owners, relatives and venture capitalists.”
Which can be summarised as decentralizing the banking monopoly by bringing together investors and people in need of finance. It’s unique compared to the traditional method of raising capital (especially a start-up) because your funding options were limited to a small group of wealthy individuals and institutions – today the power is in the hands of the individuals.
3 types of crowdfunding
Whilst there are still many niches of crowdfunding, here are the top 3:
Donation Model – This is commonly used for charity projects, such as raising funds for medical costs, foreign aid or specific organizations. Those who donate do not receive anything in return as their motive is usually believing in the specific cause or wanting to help. Two of the biggest platforms in this space are www.justgiving.com and www.gofundme.com.
Reward Model – If someone has an idea for a product, they may release the prototype of this on a page like www.kickstarter.com and allow people to make pre-orders. No equity is given here and it gives the business owner the opportunity to ‘Kick-start’ their project with guaranteed customers in the pipeline.
Equity model – You’ve seen Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den right? Imagine this, but instead of a panel of 5 billionaire’s you have a panel of thousands of ordinary people willing to invest their hard earned money for a given percentage of a business. The end goal for investors is to receive an appreciation in their initial investment based on the future success of the company, for example, profits and dividends.
The bottom line for the success of each model is a secure and trusted platform that connects both end users. A huge benefit of using these platforms is that some have a screening process that validates the concept or project before posting, it’s then published in a clear and understandable way for everyone. From the perspective of the person looking to raise the funds, they have the advantage of reaching a vast market of investors with most of the marketing and PR taken care of by the platform itself.
What is the difference between Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending and Crowdfunding?
In short, crowdfunding as an investment focuses on the equity based reward whereas P2P investments (occasionally referred to as ‘Debt Crowdfunding’) fund a share of a loan which can be issued for personal, business, real estate use and more. With crowdfunding, your investment grows if the company grows and in turn makes a profit. On the other hand, your P2P investments can start to generate a return for you very quickly as borrowers start to make their monthly repayments, returning your initial principal and also interest on a monthly basis.
Generally, P2P lending can be viewed as lower risk and does not require the investors to have any previous financial knowledge as most platforms take care of all the hard work of screening the borrowers for you.
What are the benefits of crowdfunding and P2P other than interest?
This form of micro-financing truly is something revolutionary. Giving the power back to the individuals to mass fund a project that they truly believe in has a positive snowball effect on the wider economy. Projects and borrowers that traditionally may not have been funded by the banks (and would therefore have been forgotten about) now have a unique chance, with the end result being:
Following a successful launch of ExpressCredit Botswana on Mintos, ExpressCredit now offers you investment opportunities from Zambia as well, through its local company YesCash Zambia Limited. Now you can invest in its Zambia-issued personal loans and enjoy returns of up to 14%.
ExpressCredit prides itself on its customer service and endeavours to give its clients a personal approach through its seven branches and two sales offices in Zambia, with more branches to be opened in 2018. It was incorporated on May 11, 2016, and obtained a non-deposit taking microfinance institution licence on December 23, 2016, from the regulatory governing body, the Bank of Zambia. Some of the equity investors in ExpressCredit and Mintos overlap.
Currently, ExpressCredit primarily offers short-term loans to its customers and matches the repayment dates of the loan to their salaries. It also offers instalment loans to employees of institutions from the Government of Zambia. The company has received a PERMIC code from the Office of the President under the Public Service Management division which allows the company to directly debit repayments from the borrower’s salary. For borrowers who are not employed by the Government, the repayments are directly debited from their bank account. As a result, ExpressCredit loans from Zambia have one of the lowest default rates on Mintos. Initially, the loan originator will place its short-term loans for investment on Mintos, which it issues to non-Government employees.
“ExpressCredit is pleased to expand our presence on the best marketplace for loans in the world. Our mission is to deliver accessible and affordable financial solutions through superior customer service and technological innovation to become one of the top microfinance organisations in Zambia. Our partnership with Mintos and continuous investments in technology, branch network and people will ensure that we follow our mission,” says Chilufya Mutale, CEO of ExpressCredit.
The average Zambia-issued short-term loan from ExpressCredit is around EUR 137 and you can expect a net annual return of up to 14%. Borrowers repay the loan in a single instalment after 30 days.
All loans from ExpressCredit on Mintos are secured with a buyback guarantee and will be bought back by the company if it becomes delinquent for more than 60 days. In addition, the company will maintain 15% of each loan placed on the marketplace on its balance sheet as its skin in the game.
As of February 2018, ExpressCredit had a total loan book size of more than EUR 3.6 million. After its business launch in the fourth quarter of 2016, the company reached its first positive EBITDA in November 2017, while recording its first net profits after tax in February 2018. The company achieved EUR 164 thousand of total profits in its first two months of operations in 2018. The company is continually looking at opportunities for innovation and increasing its ability to cater for all of its customer’s needs.
Investors on Mintos can now invest in online unsecured personal loans issued by EcoFinance in Russian rubles (RUB). This new investment product will allow Mintos investors to earn much higher rates of return and increase diversity.
EcoFinance was the first loan originator from Russia to join the Mintos marketplace and now offers its RUB loans for investment with annual returns of up to 17%. Russia-issued EcoFinance loans listed in RUB range from around RUB 5 000 to 30 000. The repayment period is up to 30 days.
There are two ways to invest in RUB loans on Mintos: transferring RUB directly to your investor’s account on Mintos or by converting your primary currency into RUB on the Mintos marketplace. For EUR to RUB conversions on Mintos, there is a market-level fee of 0.7%. Find out more details on “Deposit/Withdraw/FX” section in your investor’s account.
Taking into consideration the legal requirements and investors’ interests, investors are able to obtain exposure to EcoFinance loans by investing in loans issued by Mintos OU to Mintos Finance SIA, both Mintos Group companies.
EcoFinance joined Mintos in November 2017, initially offering its unsecured personal loans for investment in euro (EUR). Already, the company’s turnover through the Mintos marketplace is more than EUR 400 000.
ID Finance now offers even more investment opportunities on Mintos by launching its Kazakhstan-issued personal loans listed in Euro (EUR) and Kazakhstani tenge (KZT) on the marketplace under its Solva brand. This is in addition to the loans already available for investment from Georgia and Spain.
Solva Kazakhstan specialises in issuing personal online loans to individuals and small and micro-entrepreneurs. The company offers borrowers fast access to funds, an online application can be made in less than eight minutes and borrowers receive a decision instantly. Since its establishment in 2016, it has funded more than 6 100 loans worth around EUR 4 million. The operations of Solva Kazakhstan are regulated by the National Bank of Kazakhstan. ID Finance Group has two fully-owned lending companies operating in Kazakhstan – Solva Kazakhstan and MoneyMan Kazakhstan.
The average Kazakhstan-issued loan on Mintos from Solva Kazakhstan is EUR 650. You can expect an average net annual return of up to 11% for the company’s loans listed in EUR and 17% for KZT loans.
Solva Kazakhstan loans are secured with a buyback guarantee and will be repurchased if they are delinquent for more than 60 days. In addition, the company will retain 10% of each loan placed on the marketplace.
Established in 2012, the ID Finance group is a pioneer in the fintech industry in emerging markets. It is a fast-growing data science, credit scoring and digital finance provider. It is the largest online consumer lender in the CIS region and a leading one in Europe. Headquartered in Barcelona, the company operates in Spain, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Poland, Russia, Brazil and Mexico. The Research and Development centre of ID Finance is based in Minsk, Belarus. So far, the group has originated loans worth more than EUR 275 million and it had a net loan portfolio of around USD 77 million, as of December 31, 2017.
ID Finance joined Mintos in 2017 and has since funded EUR 21 million worth of loans. Kazakhstan is the third country the company offers investment opportunities from on Mintos and it currently lists loans in three currencies – EUR, KZT and the Georgian Lari (GEL).
You can now invest in 11 currencies on Mintos as loans listed in the US Dollar (USD) are now available on the marketplace. This is thanks to GetBucks, which now also lists its Botswana-issued consumer loans in the USD, in addition to Euro (EUR).
“We enjoy offering investors the ability to diversify their portfolio, whilst at the same time ensuring our funding matches some of our external exposures. The addition of the USD to Mintos is a great way to achieve diversification for all parties,” says Tim Nuy, CEO of MyBucks.
GetBucks loans listed in USD will be the same as all Botswana-issued consumer loans on Mintos from the company. These loans are issued by three subsidiaries of the company, Cashcorp (Proprietary) Limited, GetBucks Botswana and TU Employee Benefits (Proprietary) Ltd (TU). On Mintos, Cashcorp offers investors short-term loans, whereas GetBucks Botswana and TU place their long-term personal loans for investment on the marketplace.
The average short-term Botswana-issued loan from GetBucks is USD 300, with a repayment period of 30 days. You can expect an average net annual return of up to 11%.
Botswana-issued long-term loans from GetBucks range from around USD 100 to USD 50 000 and the repayment period is from 6 to 36 months. The expected annual net return is up to 13%.
“The addition of the USD to our marketplace is a great achievement. One of our aims at Mintos is to give our investors many opportunities to achieve their investment goals. Now, investors have the opportunity to invest in 11 currencies on the marketplace- and this will only continue to grow. We hope investors will enjoy investing in loans listed in USD, which is the most commonly traded currency in the world,” says Martins Sulte, CEO and Co-founder of Mintos.
GetBucks offers a large range of products on Mintos, including consumer loans in Botswana, Poland and recently added investment opportunities in Kenya and Zambia. The company now offers loans for investment on Mintos in three currencies – EUR, Polish zloty and USD.
In order to be able to draw up a budget of incomes and expenses as accurately as possible, it is best to keep our daily records of spendings so we don’t omit anything. That’s why we can use more tools, either to write daily spending on an agenda at the end of each day, or to use an app on your mobile phone that you have at your fingertips at any time, and we can write down the expenses as we perform them, either use an excel file, so we can personalize it to fit our needs better.
A great deal of daily spendings goes on various occasions, such as snacks during the day or city walks to a coffee. Do not omit to keep track of these costs because at the end of the month you will realize that they will weigh heavily in the budget and you will wonder where the difference is.
For a better financial discipline, it is a good idea first to achieve a forecasted revenue and expenditure budget and then to draw up the budget actually made to figure out what is the difference between estimates and reality, and so you can improve your financial behavior. The forecasted budget can also be considered a target for your budget and try to fit into it.
Every month, the first expenses we have to make are the ones for our future, this are the sums allocated to savings and investments. After making sure that we first saved the amounts proposed, we can only then make the fixed costs that if we omit them in a month they will attract interest and penalties. Finally, we can allocate the difference for variable expenses.
As with fixed costs, to ensure that we do not postpone savings by the end of the month to see if we still have resources available for them, we can set automatic payments to our savings or investment accounts and so we will have better and better financial results.
To ensure that unforeseen expenses do not affect your monthly budget, it is advisable to have an emergency fund of at least 3-6 salaries that you can use only in emergency situations. This way, you will surely know that no matter if your car breaks down or you have an urgent medical problem, you will be able to resolve it without borrowing or delaying until you have the financial resources to solve the problem.
To improve spendings, try to divide them into expenditures that represent needs and expenses that are wishes. Start budgeting all the time by analyzing your wishes and see which ones can be eliminated for better long-term results.
Ultimately, the purpose of our revenue and expenditure budget is to manage our financial resources more efficiently. It is important, after realizing the family budget over a period of several months, to analyze its evolution in order to improve our financial behavior in terms of cost reduction in order to save more and ultimately invest in order to reach our established financial goals more quickly.
