Consumers flock to peer-to-peer finance

The first ten days of July 2012, immediately after the LIBOR story broke, saw a 150% increase in the amount of new Saver money deposited compared to the previous month.

According to RateSetter.com CEO Rhydian Lewis, savers are choosing peer-to-peer to set their own interest rates.

Rhydian said:

"With peer-to-peer, you are the only one setting the rate. We have had thousands of people registering since the scandal. Peer-to-peer is challenging the banks’ once dominant position in the world of personal finance."

Peer-to-peer finance has already experienced massive growth over the last year, and recently broke through the £250m barrier in loans facilitated in the UK. Advances in technology and the introduction of RateSetter’s unique Provision Fund, which sidesteps the problem of defaults, has seen the number of RateSetter registered users swell to over 140,000.

He continues:

"The rate-setters at the Bank of England set the Base Rate. A handful of large banking institutions set LIBOR. Through peer-to-peer you now have thousands of normal people setting their own interest rates."