Is social lending the next evolution of banking?: LiveSimplicity discussion forum

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Is social lending the next evolution of banking?

In the world of Ebay, where every consumer can buy and sell products online, and the increase of social networking sites, has social lending (one person lending money to another for a small fee) become a real possiblity?

View A

Social lending is only in its trial period and will never work unless heavy security and regulations are placed on it. People will never be able to provide the reliable service of a bank. Banks will not be going anywhere anytime soon.

View B

Social lending will revolutionize the way we borrow money. Since interest rates are set by the individual lender, borrowers can benefit by lower rates and an increased competitive atmosphere.

11 comment(s) so far

BigCheez thinks: Social lending may be revolutionary only if there is some type of feedback system similar to Ebay. I need to be able to judge whether a person is likely to pay a loan back and there needs to be some type of protection for both parties to manage disputes. I'm sure there will be more issues with private lending versus lending from a bank simply because banks have more power to ruin credit, etc. private lenders would have to have the same type of power although on a smaller scale. Zopa.com was one of the first to try out social lending. Some interesting discussions on their blog about it.

jk thinks: No. eBay will apply rules and processes to protect itself and then the lending relationship. Business lending is inevitable and unfortunatey will attract loan sharks.

Aos thinks: jk, I don't think we're talking about Ebay doing the lending, but rather the concept of consumers to consumer interaction. I think it's important to remove the middle man that causes transactions like this to become costly, however I think it's important to have some type of regulation for security reason.

Simpler thinks: BigCheez, I think you have a good point there. However, often the feedback systems don't seem to work properly. Look at eBay - most of their ratings are 99% and above. Is this credible and how does it allow you to separate good sellers from bad. I tried giving someone a neutral rating since I got a product different from shown on the photo - only to be bullied by the seller and told that "I don't know how eBay works"... Not really something that inspires confidence in such rating systems.

JBonnin thinks: Didn´t 2006 Nobel Peace awarded Muhammad Yunus and the Grammen Bank prove that social lending is the step to follow against poverty while completely viable?

Having started it 30 years ago only, with $27 from his own pocket, the bank is today a solid institution while at the same time helping poor people to launch their own businesses.

idesign thinks: Great point jBonnin!! It only takes a small start to help someone out. You never know what that small loan might become. Mr. Yunus is a perfect example of that.

crayzon thinks: I agree that it could work, but there has to be a mechanism to measure reliability. I for one, would not lend money to anyone without having a full credit check.

chrisek thinks: Does anyone have a few bucks I could borrow?

idesign thinks: Our latest Nobel Peace Prize winner has shown lending is about giving someone opportunity to contribute. If one family in poverty can borrow enough money to buy a cow, that cow can produce milk and provide nourishment to its owner and to a village, which in turn makes money for the owner. It has been shown that most of these micro loans are paid back quickly given the level of trust between the lender and the borrower although I'm not sure this would be true in all parts of the world.

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