By Chris Baraniuk | NewScientist
Crowdsourced loans and peer-to-peer lending are cutting banks out of the mortgage market – and this is just the start.
Need a mortgage? In the near future you may find yourself canvassing strangers online for a loan instead of your bank. The rise of a new kind of crowdfunding website is opening up the potential for everyone to take part in – and profit from – financial services, without a bank in sight.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, which connects those who need money with those looking to grow their own, has enjoyed a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years, fuelled by a shortage of credit at one end and lacklustre interest rates at the other.
The trend began in earnest when sites like Zopa began helping people secure personal loans through crowdsourced funding. But now an increasing number of peer-to-peer investors are looking to get a slice of the property market.
